Cronauer v. State
| Decision Date | 21 November 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 16107,16107 |
| Citation | 322 S.E.2d 862,174 W.Va. 91 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Application of Betty Ann CRONAUER For a Writ of Habeas Corpus v. STATE of West Virginia. |
Syllabus by the Court
1. "In habeas corpus proceedings instituted to determine the validity of custody where petitioners are being held in connection with extradition proceedings, the asylum state is limited to considering whether the extradition papers are in proper form; whether there is a criminal charge pending in the demanding state; whether the petitioner was present in the demanding state at the time the criminal offense was committed; and whether the petitioner is the person named in the extradition papers." Syl. pt. 2, State ex rel. Mitchell v. Allen, 155 W.Va. 530, 185 S.E.2d 355 (1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 946, [92 S.Ct. 2048, 32 L.Ed.2d 333] (1972).
2. A rendition warrant issued by the Governor of this State under W.Va.Code, 5-1-8(a) [1937], in response to a request for extradition from the executive authority of a demanding state pursuant to the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, as amended, W.Va.Code, 5-1-7 to 5-1-13, "substantially recite[s] the facts necessary to the validity of its issuance" with respect to the crime charged therein, as required by W.Va.Code, 5-1-8(a) [1937], if the rendition warrant contains a statement that gives the person sought to be extradited reasonable notice of the nature of the crime charged in the demanding state; and a circuit court, when determining the sufficiency of a rendition warrant in a habeas corpus proceeding challenging the validity of custody in connection with extradition proceedings, may examine underlying documents filed by the demanding state in support of its request for extradition.
Benjamin N. Snyder, Clendenin, for appellant.
Catherine A. McMullen, Asst. Atty. Gen., Charleston, for appellee.
This action is before this Court upon the appeal of Betty Ann Cronauer, the appellant and petitioner below, from a final order of the Circuit Court of Clay County in which that court denied the appellant's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The appellant was seeking habeas corpus relief from her arrest and custody pursuant to a warrant upon requisition (rendition warrant) issued by the Governor of West Virginia in response to a request from the Governor of California for the appellant's extradition to that state. The appellant had been charged in California with violating a penal statute relating to child custody. This Court has before it the petition for appeal, all matters of record and the briefs of counsel.
In May, 1980, a North Carolina court appointed the appellant guardian of the estate of five children of her deceased husband. The appellant is the stepmother of the five children. Two months later, Jennifer Reese, a half sister to the five children, traveled to North Carolina and removed the children to Orange County, California. Soon thereafter, Reese filed a petition in the Superior Court of Orange County, California seeking guardianship of the persons and estates of the children. On July 31, 1980, the Superior Court entered an order that stated: "[P]ending hearing on this Petition for Guardianship on August 21, 1980, the minors are ordered to remain where they are, and as to the minors present, no person may remove them from Orange County pending the hearing." Reese was finally appointed full guardian of the five children on May 22, 1981.
The petition for appeal states that in February, 1981, the appellant removed two of the children from Orange County, California and transported them back to North Carolina. In March, 1981, Reese filed in California a complaint against the appellant charging a violation of Cal.Penal Code § 278 [West 1976], which makes it unlawful for any person to maliciously take a child from the lawful custody of another. 1 A warrant was issued for the appellant's arrest, however, the State of North Carolina refused to extradite the appellant to California upon request of the governor of that state. 2 In September, 1981, a North Carolina court ordered the appellant to return the two children to Reese and she complied; and the appellant's guardianship over the estates of the five children was thereafter terminated.
In December, 1981, the appellant was arrested in Clay County, West Virginia, upon a warrant issued against her as a fugitive from justice. The appellant was released on bond posted by her mother from North Carolina. However, the appellant was later ordered recommitted to the county jail for a period of 60 days and her bond forfeited pursuant to W.Va.Code, 5-1-9(h) [1937]. 3
On August 5, 1982, the Governor of the State of West Virginia issued a rendition warrant for the appellant's arrest based upon a request for her extradition from the Governor of the State of California. The rendition warrant and requisition from California both stated, inter alia: "Betty Ann Cronauer stands charged with the crime of violation of a child custody order...." The appellant had remained a fugitive until September 3, 1982, when a hearing was held in the Circuit Court of Clay County upon the State's motion for forfeiture of the appellant's bail. At this time, the appellant was arrested on the Governor's rendition warrant.
The appellant thereafter filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court of Clay County pursuant to the provisions of W.Va.Code, 5-1-9 [1937], alleging that her arrest and confinement in the county jail was illegal because the face of the extradition documents issued by the Governor of West Virginia and the Governor of California did not clearly charge that a crime had been committed under California law. After a hearing upon the matter, the circuit court denied the petition but stayed execution of the extradition pending appeal to this Court.
The issues presented to this Court by the appellant are (1) whether the trial court erred when it ruled that the rendition warrant issued by the Governor of West Virginia contained a sufficient statement concerning the crime with which the appellant is charged in California, and (2) whether supporting documents may be examined by the circuit court when making such a determination. 4
This Court has established limitations upon the scope of inquiry for a circuit court when presented with a petition for a writ of habeas corpus by an accused resisting extradition to another state. These limitations are consistent with federal constitutional guidelines established by the United States Supreme Court in Michigan v. Doran, 439 U.S. 282, 289, 99 S.Ct. 530, 535, 58 L.Ed.2d 521, 527 (1978). 5 In syllabus point 2 of State ex rel. Mitchell v. Allen, 155 W.Va. 530, 185 S.E.2d 355 (1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 946, 92 S.Ct. 2048, 32 L.Ed.2d 333 (1972), we held as follows:
In habeas corpus proceedings instituted to determine the validity of custody where petitioners are being held in connection with extradition proceedings, the asylum state is limited to considering whether the extradition papers are in proper form; whether there is a criminal charge pending in the demanding state; whether the petitioner was present in the demanding state at the time the criminal offense was committed; and whether the petitioner is the person named in the extradition papers.
See also syl. pt. 2, Wooten v. Hatfield, W.Va., 287 S.E.2d 516 (1982); syl. pt. 1, State ex rel. Gonzales v. Wilt, 163 W.Va. 270, 256 S.E.2d 15 (1979).
In the first instance, the appellant contends that the form of the rendition warrant issued by the Governor of West Virginia is invalid because it fails to state the crime with which the appellant is charged in California. As noted above, the rendition warrant states that "Betty Ann Cronauer stands charged with the crime of violation of a child custody order committed in the County of Orange in said State of California."
In West Virginia, the procedures surrounding the interstate extradition of fugitives are controlled by the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, as amended, W.Va.Code, 5-1-7 to 5-1-13. See supra note 4. Under the Act, it is the duty of the executive authority of this State to arrest and deliver to the executive authority of any other state "any person charged in that state with treason, felony, or other crime, who has fled from justice and is found in this State...." W.Va.Code, 5-1-7(b) [1937].
The request for extradition from the demanding state, however, must contain a number of written documents. W.Va.Code, 5-1-7(c) [1937], provides:
No demand for the extradition of a person charged with crime in another state shall be recognized by the governor unless in writing alleging, except in cases arising under subdivision (g) of this section, 6 that the accused was present in the demanding state at the time of the commission of the alleged crime, and that thereafter he fled from the state, and accompanied by a copy of an indictment found, or by information supported by affidavit, in the state having jurisdiction of the crime, or by a copy of an affidavit made before a magistrate or justice there, together with a copy of any warrant which was issued thereupon; or by a copy of a judgment of conviction or a sentence imposed in execution thereof, together with a statement by the executive authority of the demanding state that the person claimed has escaped from confinement or has broken the terms of his bail, probation or parole. The indictment, information, or affidavit made before the magistrate or justice must substantially charge the person demanded with having committed a crime under the law of that state; and the copy of indictment, information, affidavit, judgment of conviction or sentence must be authenticated by the executive authority making the demand.
The request for extradition from the demanding state must also include an "affidavit or sworn evidence...
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