Curran v. Woolley

• Decision Date: 06 May 1954
• Citation: 9 Terry 382,104 A.2d 771,48 Del. 382
• Parties: , 48 Del. 382 CURRAN et al. v. WOOLLEY et al.
• Court: Supreme Court of Delaware

Page 771

104 A.2d 771

9 Terry 382, 48 Del. 382

CURRAN et al. v. WOOLLEY et al.

Supreme Court of Delaware.

May 6, 1954.

Herbert L. Maris and Charles F. G. Smith, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Irving Morris, Wilmington, for appellants.

Stephen E. Hamilton, Jr., Deputy Atty. Gen., for appellees.

SOUTHERLAND, C. J., and WOLCOTT and TUNNELL, JJ., sitting.

WOLCOTT, Justice.

The question raised by this appeal is one of procedure. The appellants, hereinafter referred to as the petitioners, contend that they have a right to proceed to a hearing on the merits of their contention that they are illegally imprisoned by way of petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The Board of Trustees, hereinafter referred to as the State, maintain, however, that the petitioners must first exhaust the remedies available to them under Rule 35 of the Criminal Rules of the Superior Court before they may be heard upon a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Rule 35 of the Criminal Rules of the Superior Court is, in part, as follows:

'Rule 35. Correction of Reduction of Sentence

'(a) Correction of Illegal Sentence. The court may correct an illegal sentence at any time. A prisoner in custody under sentence and claiming a right to be released on the ground that such sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution and laws of this State or the United States, or that the court imposing such sentence was without jurisdiction to do so, or that such sentence was in excess of the maximum sentence authorized by law or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may file a motion at any time in the court which imposed such sentence to vacate, set aside, or correct the same. * * * If the court finds that the judgment was rendered without jurisdiction or that the sentence imposed was illegal or otherwise subject to collateral attack, or that there was such a denial or infringement of the constitutional rights of the prisoner as to render the judgment subject to collateral attack, the court shall vacate and set aside the judgment and shall discharge the prisoner or re-sentence him or grant a new trial or correct the sentence as may appear appropriate. The court need not entertain a second motion or successive motions for similar relief on behalf of the same prisoner.'

The petitioners, after a trial before a jury, were found guilty of rape and on March 15, 1948, the jury having recommended them to the mercy of the court, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

In April, 1953, the petitioners, alleging that they had been convicted and imprisoned in violation of the Constitutions of Delaware and of the United States, sought a writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court of New Castle County.

The petition alleged, in support of the charge that they were unconstitutionally imprisoned, that certain statements signed by them were admitted into evidence during their trial; that those statements were false and misleading and known to be so to the police; that the police officers at the trial gave perjured testimony in connection with the statements; and that, by reason of prejudicial press and radio coverage of the events before trial, it was impossible for the petitioners to obtain a trial before a jury free of bias and prejudice.

The State moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that it failed 'to state any ground upon which relief of Habeas Corpus can be granted.'

By order dated September 25, 1953, and by further order following re-argument of the State's motion dated November 10, 1953, the Superior Court dismissed the petition without prejudice and directed the petitioners to exhaust remedies available to them under Rule 35 of the Criminal Rules of the Superior Court before again presenting a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Del.Super., 101 A.2d 303.

From the two orders of the Superior Court, the petitioners have appealed. Their appeal, therefore, brings before us for decision solely a question of procedure, viz., whether the petitioners must first proceed under Rule 35 before petitioning for a writ of habeas corpus. We, accordingly, are not concerned in this appeal with the merits of the petitioners' contentions and, therefore, are not to be understood as expressing any opinion upon them.

The precise question before us is whether or not a prisoner committed to prison pursuant to a judgment of conviction, legal on its fact, may have his conviction and sentence re-examined in the light of circumstances dehors the record through the medium of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Absent extraordinary circumstances, we are of the opinion that he may not do so in the courts of Delaware.

10 Del.C., § 6902, provides that every person illegally restrained of his liberty, except those committed on a charge of felony, 'the species whereof is plainly and fully set forth in the commitment', shall have remedy by writ of habeas corpus. In our opinion this statute is declaratory of the common law right to a writ of habeas corpus.

At common law as applied in this State, the writ of habeas corpus is not a writ by which errors in the conduct of a trial sufficient in themselves to obtain a reversal of the conviction on appeal can be taken advantage of to obtain the release of the prisoner. After a judgment of conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction and a subsequent commitment pursuant thereto, a prisoner may not obtain his discharge by a writ of habeas corpus no matter how illegal or erroneous the judgment of conviction might have been, if the judgment of the court is legal on its face. Biddle v. Board of Trustees, 3 W.W.Harr. 425, 138 A. 631. Furthermore, upon a hearing on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought by a prisoner under sentence pursuant to conviction, the only material fact to be ascertained is the existence of a judgment of conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction and a valid commitment of the prisoner to enforce the sentence. If that fact is ascertained, further inquiry into the allegations of the petition is precluded. State v. Schlemm, 4 Harr. 577, 578.

Historically, a hearing on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus when sought by a prisoner committed under a sentence of court has always been limited to an inquiry into the jurisdiction of the court ordering the commitment. The establishment of a commitment valid on its face...