Wititaker Wright v. William Henkel

• Decision Date: 01 June 1903
• Docket Number: No. 661,661
• Citation: 190 U.S. 40,47 L.Ed. 948,23 S.Ct. 781
• Parties: WITITAKER WRIGHT, Appt. , v. WILLIAM HENKEL, United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York, et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

190 U.S. 40

23 S.Ct. 781

47 L.Ed. 948

WITITAKER WRIGHT, Appt.,

v WILLIAM HENKEL, United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York, et al.

No. 661.

Argued April 28, 29, 1903.

Decided June 1, 1903.

Whitaker Wright applied to the circuit court of the United States for the southern district of New York for writs of habeas corpus and certiorari on March 20, 1903, by a petition which alleged:

(1) That he was a citizen of the United States, restrained of his liberty by the marshal of the United States for the southern district of New York, by virtue of a warrant dated March 16, 1903, issued by Thomas Alexander, 'United States commis- sioner for the southern district of New York, and commissioner duly authorized by the district court of the United States for the southern district of New York, and also commissioner appointed under the laws of the United States concerning the extradition of fugitives from the justice of a foreign government under a treaty or convention between this and any foreign government,' which warrant was couched in these terms:

'Whereas, complaint has been made on oath under the treaty between the United States and Her Majesty, the late Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, concluded and signed at Washington, on the 9th day of August, 1842, and of the supplementary treaty between the same high contracting parties, signed July 12, 1889, before me, Thomas Alexander, one of the commissioners appointed by the district court of the United States for the southern district of New York, and also commissioner especially appointed to execute the acts of Congress, entitled 'An Act for Giving Effect to Certain Treaty Stipulations Between This and Foreign Governments for the Apprehension and Delivering up of Certain Offenders,' approved August 12, 1848 [9 Stat. at L. 302, chap. 167, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 3591], and of the several acts amendatory thereof, that one Whitaker Wright did heretofore, during the month of October, in the year 1899, and in the month of December, 1900, in the city of London, in that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, and within the jurisdiction of his said Britannic Majesty, commit the crime of fraud as a director of a company, to wit, did heretofore, in the month of October, in the year 1899, and in the month of December, 1900, at the city of London aforesaid, then being a director of a certain body corporate, to wit, the London & Globe Finance Corporation, unlawfully make, circulate, and publish certain reports and statements of accounts of the said corporation, which were false; the said Whitaker Wright then well knowing the said reports and statements to be false, with intent thereby to deceive and defraud the shareholders or memebers of the said corporation; that the said Whitaker Wright is a fugitive from justice of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and is now within the territory of the United States; that the crime of which the said Whit- aker Wright has so as aforesaid been guilty is an offense within the treaty between the United States and Great Britain.'

(2) That the warrant was issued on a complaint by His Britannic Majesty's consul general at the port of New York, as follows:

'First. That one Whitaker Wright did heretofore and in the month of December, 1900, in the city of London, in that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, and within the jurisdiction of his said Britannic Majesty, commit the crime of fraud as a director of a company, to wit, did heretofore and in the month of October, in the year 1899, and in the month of December, 1900, at the city of London, aforesaid, then being a director of a certain body corporate, to wit, the London & Globe Finance Corporation, unlawfully make, circulate, and publish certain reports and statements of accounts of the said corporation, which were false; the said Whitaker Wright, then well knowing the said reports and statements to be false, with intent thereby to deceive and defraud the shareholders or members of the said corporation.

'Second. That the said Whitaker Wright is a fugitive from the justice of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and is now within the territory of the United States.

'Third. That the crime of which the said Whitaker Wright has so as aforesaid been guilty is an offense within the treaty between the United States and Great Britain.

'Fourth. That deponent's information and belief are based upon messages received by cable from his Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, one of the said messages stating that a warrant had been issued in England for the apprehension of the said Whitaker Wright for the offense herein charged and directing deponent to apply for a provisional warrant, under the treaty for extradition, between the United States and Great Britain.

'That deponent has, since the apprehension of the said Whitaker Wright yesterday, cabled to His Majesty's said foreign secretary for fuller details as to said crime, and an answer is directly expected, but that the said Whitaker Wright may be detained, pending the arrival of such information, deponent asks for a provisional warrant herein.'

(3.) 'That the aforesaid complaint states no facts which create jurisdiction for the issuance of the aforesaid warrant, and for the detention of your petitioner; that it does not state any facts which show that your petitioner has been guilty of any offense within the provisions of any extradition treaty between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.'

(4.) That he had duly objected to the continuance of any proceedings under the complaint and warrant, on the ground that the commissioner had no jurisdiction; but his objections had been overruled, and the commissioner had adjourned the proceedings until March 30, 1903.

(5.) That on March 18, 1903, he presented to the commissioner an application to be admitted to bail pending the proceeding, and, in support of the application, filed with the commissioner the affidavit of his attending physician, which was to the effect that petitioner was suffering from bronchitis and a severe chill, which might develop into pneumonia, and that the confinement tended greatly to injure his health and to result in serious impairment; but that the commissioner denied the application on the ground that no power existed for admitting petitioner to bail; (6) that the cause of imprisonment was the charge and the refusal to admit to bail.

(7.) That the imprisonment and detention were illegal, and the warrant void, the complaint stating no jurisdictional facts to warrant imprisonment and detention. That the denial of the right to give bail constitutes a violation of the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, and § 1015 of the Revised Statutes (U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 718), and of the common law of the United States, and constitutes a deprivation of liberty without due process of law.

The writs prayed for were granted, and, after hearing, dismissed and the application to be admitted to bail denied, March 30, the opinion being filed March 25, and copy of final order served March 28. The case was then brought to this court by appeal.

At the argument it was made to appear that, on March 31, His Majesty's consul general at New York made a new complaint, which reiterated the original charge, with some amplification, and added that Wright 'did also, at the times and places aforesaid, then being a director and manager of said company or corporation aforesaid, with intent to defraud, alter and falsify books, papers, and writings belonging to the said company or corporation, and made and concurred in the making of false entries, and omitted and concurred in omitting material particulars in books of account and other documents belonging to the said company or corporation; and did also, at the times and places aforesaid, then being a director of the said company or corporation as aforesaid, alter and falsify books, papers, and writings, and made and was privy to the making of false and fraudulent entries in the books of account and other documents belonging to the said company or corporation, with intent to defraud and deceive shareholders and creditors of said company or corporation, and other persons.'

It was further stated: 'That deponent's information and belief are based upon a certified copy of a warrant, issued by one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the city of London, for the apprehension of the said Whitaker Wright, for the offense herein first enumerated, and a certified copy of the information and complaint of the senior official receiver in companies liquidation (acting under the order of the high court of justice) and the depositions of Arthur Russell and John Flower, in support thereof, upon the application for a summons against the said Whitaker Wright, and the depositions of George Jarman and Harry Gerald Abrahams, on which information and complaint and depositions the said warrant was granted for the apprehension of the said Whitaker Wright,' etc. Copies of these papers accompanied the complaint, and reference was made to cable messages from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

On this complaint a warrant was issued and the accused arraigned before the commissioner, and it was thereupon stated that the demanding government would abandon all further proceedings under the complaint of March 16, and consented to the discharge of the prisoner from the arrest thereon. The commissioner held that, as the proceedings under the previous warrant had been carried into the circuit court, he was without power to discharge the prisoner under that warrant. Subsequently, the order of the circuit court dismissing the writs of habeas corpus and certiorari, and remanding the prisoner, was brought to the commissioner's attention, but counsel for the prisoner stated that papers were being prepared for the purpose of...