Commonwealth v. Ramsey

Citations

• 42 Pa. Super. 25
• 1910 Pa. Super. LEXIS 288

Syllabus

<p>Courts — Constitutional courts — Quarter sessions — T.erms—Constitutional law.</p> <p>1. The constitutional designation of the court bearing the name of quarter sessions as one of the courts in which the judicial power of the commonwealth shall be vested, creates no implication of a restriction of the power of the legislature to establish more than four terms or sessions each year, or to delegate to the court itself the power to fix the number of its terms beyond four, and to establish the times for holding the same.</p> <p>Criminal law — Presentation by district attorney — Indictment—Discretion of court — Appeals.</p> <p>2. The discretionary power of the district attorney to prepare a bill of indictment without a previous binding over or commitment of the accused, is to be exercised, in the ordinary case, under the proper supervision of the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, and in all cases of its exercise is subject to its revision and approval. In such a proceeding the action of the officer and the court can be brought to the appellate court for purposes of review only when the abuse of discretion has been both manifest and flagrant.</p> <p>3. The fact that the reasons which influenced the district attorney to resort to such mode of prosecution are not set forth in the record, is not a fatal objection upon appeal. No presumption that the district attorney did not have valid reasons for his action, arises from the refusal to set them forth upon the record, or to state them for the information of the defendants.</p> <p>4. The fact that there is a pending indictment against the prisoner, will not prevent the district attorney from making a special presentation.</p> <p>Criminal law — Trial—Juries.</p> <p>5. Where there are four juries impaneled in other cases, but there are still forty-two remaining, the court may in its discretion proceed with the trial of another case, and the defendant in such case has no ground whatever for complaining of the action of th