Coan v. Hilton
| Court | Supreme Court of New Hampshire |
| Writing for the Court | MARBLE, Justice |
| Citation | 23 A.2d 369 |
| Parties | COAN v. HILTON. |
| Decision Date | 02 December 1941 |
COAN
v.
HILTON.
Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Rockingham.
Dec. 2, 1941.
Exceptions from Superior Court, Rockingham County; Burque, Judge.
Habeas corpus proceeding by Harold D. Coan against George W. Hilton. The petition was dismissed, and the plaintiff brings exception.
Exception overruled.
Petition, for a writ of habeas corpus. Hearing before Burque, C. J., who dismissed the petition subject to the plaintiff's exception.
The petition recites that the plaintiff was delivered to the defendant, who is keeper of the house of correction in Rockingham County upon a mittimus dated July 15, 1940, issued by the Municipal Court of Portsmouth; that at a session of that court held on that date the plaintiff was charged wih a violation of section 7 of chapter 378 of the Public Laws; that he pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to serve a term of four months in the house of correction; that after sentence was imposed he "requested an appeal to the Superior Court but that such request for an appeal was denied"; that he later engaged counsel, who filed in his behalf
a motion seeking "a new trial of the complaint" in question and asking "that the judgment therein be vacated" and a plea of not guilty be substituted for the plea of guilty on the ground that through accident, mistake or misfortune justice had not been done; and that this motion was denied.
On August 15, 1940, the plaintiff was released on bail pending the transfer and determination of his bill of exceptions.
Sewall, Varney & Hartnett and Samuel Levy, all of Portsmouth, for plaintiff.
Frank R. Kenison, Atty. Gen., and Stephen M. Wheeler, Sol., of Exeter, for defendant.
MARBLE, Justice.
Since in the case of State v. Coan the municipal court had jurisdiction of the parties and the subject-matter of the prosecution, it is doubtful if any error committed by the Municipal Court in the conduct of that case can be corrected upon habeas corpus. State v. Towle, 42 N.H. 540; State v. Shattuck, 45 N.H. 205, 211; Kruzas v. O'Dowd, 83 N.H. 173, 175, 139 A. 580. If, however, "the refusal to grant the appeal was erroneous, a remedy might probably be had" by the institution of some "other proceeding" (State v. Towle, supra, 42 N.H. 546), and inasmuch as the petition could properly be amended by the addition of a prayer for the appropriate relief (Kruzas v. O'Dowd, supra), it is deemed advisable to consider briefly the questions which the plaintiff seeks to raise.
...To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Bonser v. Courtney, 83-308
......Hungerford supra (quoting State v. Towle supra ); see State v. Coan, 91 N.H. 489, 490, 23 A.2d 369, 370 (1941). . However, this court has held that the jurisdiction of a court can be "lost" when ......
-
State v. Baron
...... Springer v. Hungerford, 100 N.H. 503, 505, 130 A.2d 538; State v. Coan, 91 N.H. 489, 23 A.2d 369; Frisbie v. Collins, 342 U.S. 519, 522, 72 S.Ct. 509, 96 L.Ed. 541; Hobson v. Crouse, 332 F.2d 561 (10th Cir.1964); State ......
-
Rochester School Bd. v. Public Emp. Labor Relations Bd., s. 7710
...... See State v. Coan", 91 N.H. 489, 491, 23 A.2d 369, 370 (1941). Under these circumstances, the petition was premature and could properly be dismissed. . \xC2"......
-
Carpenter v. Berry
......Kruzas v. O'Dowd, 83 N.H. 173, 139 A. 580; Sylvester v. State, supra; Philpot v. State, supra. See also State v. Coan, 91 N.H. 489, 23 A.2d 369. Dictum in the case of State v. Owen, 80 N.H. 426, 117 A. 814, and in the Kruzas case, if it may be said inferentially to ......