Court Opinion

ID: 9662373
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 23:07:20.776836+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:38.983847
License: Public Domain

Sam Robinson, Associate Justice, dissenting. I dissent in this case because more than two terms of court have elapsed since the warrant for Pellegrini’s arrest was issued and no extradition proceeding calculated to bring him to trial has been instituted. It is my opinion that the Prosecuting Attorney should be directed to withdraw the warrant he has heretofore filed with the superintendent of the Texas Penitentiary for the arrest of Pellegrini because no attempt was made to extradite him within the two terms of court. The warrant in question was obtained from the Municipal Court of Port Smith on January 20, 1953, and filed with the superintendent of the Texas Penitentiary. The warrant in itself may cause Pellegrini to serve as much as 10 years in the Texas prison that he would not have to serve except for the warrant. Section 12, Article 781b, Texas Criminal Code, provides that a prisoner is eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence. But, it is a common practice for prison officials to deny parole where the prisoner, if given clemency, would merely be turned over to another State for trial. In addition, because of the Arkansas warrant for the arrest of Pellegrini, this prisoner will not be allowed privileges he might have otherwise enjoyed. Certainly he would not be made a trusty. This denial of privileges and 10 years additional penal servitude is all brought about merely by the filing of a warrant charging the defendant with an offense for which he is not likely to be tried after 15 years have expired. No charge has been filed against Pellegrini in the Circuit Court and there has been no indictment returned by a grand jury and no felony information filed by the Prosecuting Attorney. An information filed in Municipal Court or a Justice of the Peace Court by the Prosecuting Attorney-for the purpose of obtaining a warrant for arrest is not a felony information upon which one can be tried in the Circuit Court. Pellegrini is serving a 15 year sentence in Texas, and due to the warrant from Sebastian County being in the hands of the superintendent of the Texas prison, he will have to serve the entire 15 years. He will not get a parole after serving 5 years • — ■ one-third of his sentence. During the 15 years he is serving his sentence in the Texas prison, several prosecuting attorneys will have been elected in Sebastian County and will have completed their terms of office. As heretofore stated, there is no case pending against Pellegrini in the Sebastian Circuit Court. At the end of the 15 years no one is likely to remember the case. At that time, when the Texas officials notify the Sebastian County officials that Pellegrini is to be released and that the Arkansas warrant can be served, then it is very probable that the warrant will be withdrawn. It will be impractical to try him. The case will be stale, witnesses not available or unable to identify the defendant after such a long lapse of years. We have held that where a prisoner is serving a sentence in the Arkansas Penitentiary, and there is another charge pending against him in a court of this State, he must be brought to trial within two terms of court or the charge must be dismissed. Fulton v. State, 178 Ark. 841, 12 S. W. 2d 777. Ark. Stats. § 43-1708 provides: “If any person indicted for any offense, and committed to prison, shall not be brought to trial before the end of the second term of the court having jurisdiction of the offense, which shall be held after the finding of such indictment, he shall be discharged so far as relates to the offense for which he was committed, unless the delay shall happen on the application of the prisoner.” Of course, the Arkansas officials may not be able to obtain custody of a prisoner serving a sentence in a sister State, but there is no good reason why an effort should not be made within two terms of court to bring him to trial by the institution of extradition proceedings. It is a policy of the federal government to cooperate with the States and permit federal prisoners to be tried on charges pending against them in the State courts while they are still federal prisoners. Ponzi v. Fessenden, 258 U. S. 254, 42 S. Ct. 309, 66 L. Ed. 607. There is no reason why the several States should not also cooperate. Filing a warrant with a superintendent of a prison, where the prisoner for whom the warrant has been issued has not been charged by a grand jury indictment and where no felony information has been filed by the prosecuting attorney in a court of record, is a vicious practice and should not be tolerated. In many instances, men are serving sentences in penal institutions where there is a warrant from another State pending against them, and they do not even know of the existence of such a warrant. Even if they are informed of the warrant, they usually have no idea of their rights in the matter and are helpless and unable to do anything about it. Pellegrini’s initiative is certainly unusual, as proven by the fact that his is the first petition of its kind to be filed in this court.