United States ex rel. Drury v. Lewis

Citations

• 129 F. 823
• 1904 U.S. App. LEXIS 4775

Syllabus

<p>1. Federal Courts — Jurisdiction—Habeas Corpus.</p> <p>A court or judge of the United States has jurisdiction to grant a writ of habeas corpus for the purpose of reviewing the legality of the restraint of liberty of any prisoner held in custody under the authority of a state, whenever it is alleged that he is in custody for an act done or omitted in pursuance of a law of the United States, or in violation of the Constitution or of a United States law or treaty.</p> <p>2. United States Soldiers — Offenses—States—Civil Jurisdiction.</p> <p>Under Rev. St. § 1342, art. 59 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 955], providing that when any officer or soldier is accused of a capital crime, or of an offense against the person or property of any citizen of any of the United States punishable by the laws of the land, the commanding officer and the officers of the regiment, troop, battery, etc., to which the person so accused belongs, except in time of war, shall, on application duly made, use their utmost endeavor to deliver him to a civil magistrate in order to bring him to trial. Held, that such enactment was a distinct recognition by Congress of the general jurisdiction in time of peace of the civil courts of the state over persons in the United States military service accused of offenses against citizens of the state.</p> <p>3. Same — Homicide—Military Guard — Arrests.</p> <p>Where, on a writ of habeas corpus to obtain the discharge of two members of the United States army from an indictment for murder, .found by the courts of the state where the offense was committed, it appeared that the shooting of deceased occurred in the streets of a city, outside the military reservation, while petitioners were endeavoring to arrest deceased for depredations committed on such reservation, but the evidence was conflicting as to whether the shooting was done while deceased was endeavoring to escape or after he had stopped, thrown up his hands, and offered to surrender, the determination of wh