State ex rel. Smith v. Dowd

Decision Date14 February 1955
Docket NumberNo. 29140,29140
Citation124 N.E.2d 208,234 Ind. 152
PartiesSTATE of Indiana ex rel. Ralph W. SMITH, Appellant, v. Alfred F. DOWD, as Warden of the Indiana State Prison, Appellee.
CourtIndiana Supreme Court

Frederick F. McClellan, Ralph V. Cecil, Clarence E. Benadum, Muncie, for appellant.

Edwin K. Steers, Atty. Gen., Carl M. Franceschini and Frank E. Spencer, Deputy Attys. Gen., for appellee.

LEVINE, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment denying appellant's petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

The question here presented is whether the alleged surrender of appellant by the Sheriff of Madison County to the Federal authorities for violation of a parole from the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, waived the right of the State of Indiana to exact the punishment ordered by the court for an armed robbery for which appellant had been sentenced to the Indiana State Prison for a term of ten years.

The pertinent facts are as follows:

On June 24, 1949, while appellant was a Federal parolee, he was arrested for armed robbery. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to Indiana State Prison for ten years on June 30, 1949. He was taken to the Madison County Jail, and, on July 1, 1949, was released by the Sheriff to the Federal authorities and transported to the penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was confined until the 6th day of November, 1951, when he was returned to Indiana. He was returned to Madison County on said date, and, on November 14, 1951, taken to Indiana State Prison, where he has since been confined.

Appellant contends that the State of Indiana did not have the 'right, power and/or authority to accept or gain jurisdiction and/or custody of this petitioner upon his release from said Federal Penitentiary, neither did the State of Indiana possess the right, power, and/or authority to impose the order of sentence and commitment of said Madison Circuit Court.' Appellant further contends that a delay of two years and five months in executing the judgment of said court deprived the State of Indiana of the power to impose and restrain appellant under said judgment.

The evidence is conclusive that appellant was charged in the Madison Circuit Court with having committed an armed robbery. He was tried by a jury and found guilty. On the following day the court pronounced sentence and entered judgment.

We do not believe that the Sheriff of Madison County could waive the rights of the State of Indiana to exact the penalty imposed by the court on the verdict of the jury. The sheriff does not represent the State of Indiana in matters of granting paroles or pardons, which are in the province of the Governor or legally constituted Parole Board, and hence could not relinquish for the State of Indiana jurisdiction over the appellant. See Gilchrist v. Overlade, 1954, Ind., 122 N.E.2d 93, and Hackney v. Welsh, 1886, 107 Ind. 253, 8 N.E. 141.

No legal or constitutional right of the appellant was violated when he was taken into custody by the Federal authorities, or when he was turned over to the custody of the appellee to serve the sentence of the Madison Circuit Court. Due process had been accorded to appellant. Rooney v. Hunter, D.C.1945, 64 F.Supp. 165.

In the opinion of the court, a delay in the...

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8 cases
  • Woodson v. State, 2-478
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • December 29, 1978
    ...258 Ind. 550, 282 N.E.2d 792; Phend v. Thais (1972), 154 Ind.App. 498, 290 N.E.2d 128. Judgment affirmed." Again, in State v. Dowd (1955), 234 Ind. 152, 124 N.E.2d 208, our Supreme Court held that a delay in the execution of a judgment of commitment does not satisfy the judgment. In that ca......
  • Knowles v. Gladden
    • United States
    • Oregon Supreme Court
    • June 14, 1961
    ...the sentence imposed on him in California for the violation of federal law. See Ponzi v. Fessenden, supra; State ex rel. Smith v. Dowd, 1955, 234 Ind. 152, 124 N.E.2d 208; Zerbst v. McPike, 5 Cir., 1938, 97 F.2d 253; In re Illova, 351 Mich. 204, 88 N.W.2d 589; In re Hostetler v. Hudspeth, 1......
  • Overlade v. Wells
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • July 1, 1955
    ...enforce or complain because it was not exercised. Gilchrist v. Overlade, supra, and cases there cited. See also: State ex rel. Smith v. Dowd, Ind.Sup.1955, 124 N.E.2d 208. Second: Could appellee be held in the Indiana State Prison for a period equal to the unexpired maximum term of his sent......
  • Guerrieri v. Maxwell
    • United States
    • Ohio Supreme Court
    • December 5, 1962
    ...discharge therefrom. Knowles v. Gladden, 227 Or. 408, 362 P.2d 763 and 24B C.J.S. Criminal Law § 1999, p. 688. In State, ex rel. Smith, v. Dowd, 234 Ind. 152, 124 N.E.2d 208, the court said, in regard to this type of a 'No legal or constitutional right of the appellant was violated when he ......
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