Ex Parte Frazier

• Decision Date: 12 April 1922
• Docket Number: (No. 6921.)
• Citation: 239 S.W. 972
• Parties: Ex parte FRAZIER.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

239 S.W. 972

Ex parte FRAZIER.

(No. 6921.)

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

April 12, 1922.

Appeal from District Court, Erath County; J. B. Keith, Judge.

Application by A. L. Frazier for writ of habeas corpus. From an order denying the application and remanding relator to custody, he appeals. Affirmed.

A. P. Young, of Stephenville, and Alden S. Young, of Graham, for appellant.

R. G. Storey, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

LATTIMORE, J.

Appellant was taken into custody by the sheriff of Erath county upon the revocation of a conditional pardon theretofore granted him. He sued out a writ of habeas corpus and upon a hearing was remanded. He has appealed to this court. The facts show that on November 30, 1921, he was granted a conditional pardon by Governor Neff, the grant being in the following language:

"Now, therefore, I, Pat M. Neff, Governor of Texas, do, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of this state hereby, for the reason specified, grant the said A. L. Frazier a conditional pardon as provided by law from said conviction and sentence passed upon him by the district court of Erath county, Tex.; the condition being that if this pardon is accepted by the beneficiary, he must conduct himself as a good and law-abiding citizen and not again violate the laws of this state before the expiration of the time for which he was sentenced; and if the said A. L. Frazier is guilty of any misconduct or violation of the laws of this state, or there arises any other good and sufficient reason in the opinion of the Governor, justifying him in doing so, this pardon is subject to be revoked at the Governor's discretion, and he, the said A. L. Frazier, may, by order of the Governor of Texas, be again taken into custody by the proper officers of this state and taken to and confined in the state penitentiary until the end of his sentence."

It was admitted on the hearing herein that said pardon was accepted by appellant. On January 21, 1922, a proclamation was issued by the Governor containing, among other things, the following:

"Whereas, it now being made known to me that since granting the pardon, he, the said A. L. Frazier, has abused the privileges granted him and been guilty of conduct unbecoming a good citizen:

"Now, therefore, I, Pat M. Neff, Governor of Texas, do, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of this state, hereby for the reasons specified, revoke the pardon of the said A. L. Frazier, and direct that he be again taken into custody and taken to and confined in the state penitentiary until the expiration of his sentence."

Appellant seems to think that his constitutional right to a writ of habeas corpus was denied. It is manifest from the record that the claim is groundless. The writ was granted, a hearing had, and a remand made by the trial court. The fact that appellant was not given the character of hearing which he demanded when brought before the lower court cannot be made the basis of a contention that he was denied the benefit of the constitutional guaranty to every citizen of his right to the writ of habeas corpus.

Appellant claimed—and here asserts— his right to a judicial ascertainment, or at least a hearing before the Governor, upon the question as to whether he had violated the conditions of his pardon. The decision of this proposition turns wholly on the terms of the grant of pardon as offered to him by the Governor, and accepted by appellant. Of necessity this is true. Appellant was a convict, held in custody by constituted authority, under sentence imposed by the courts. The Governor alone could grant him relief from his situation, and, the relief being one of grace and not constraint, the grantor could impose therein such conditions as he saw fit, within bounds of legality and morality. Appellant was...