State ex rel. Zack v. Kriss, 195 Md. 559

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals reviewed an appeal from an order remanding Joseph Anthony Zack in an extradition habeas corpus proceeding. The court held that the appeal was procedurally defective, that the Attorney General could delegate the extradition investigation to a Special Assistant Attorney General, and that conflicting evidence did not clearly and satisfactorily establish that Zack was absent from Pennsylvania when the alleged crimes occurred; the appeal was dismissed.

Holdings

1. Although Zack did not follow the statutory procedure requiring an application for leave to appeal, the court addressed the procedural issue because the State elected not to raise the defect and the court considered it in the interest of justice; the appeal was ultimately dismissed.
2. A Special Assistant Attorney General may conduct the investigation and report to the Governor because Maryland law authorizes the Attorney General to assign duties required of him by law to assistants and special assistants, subject to his direction and control.
3. Zack did not overcome the presumption supporting the governor's extradition warrant because the evidence concerning his presence in Pennsylvania was merely conflicting. Habeas corpus was not the proper proceeding to try the question of alibi, and the warrant therefore remained controlling.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the appeal was properly before the Court of Appeals when Zack appealed directly from the habeas corpus remand order instead of applying for leave to appeal as required by statute.
2. Whether a Special Assistant Attorney General could conduct the extradition investigation and report to the Governor under Maryland law.
3. Whether Zack's conflicting alibi evidence clearly and satisfactorily established beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not in Pennsylvania when the charged burglaries occurred, thereby overcoming the presumption that he was a fugitive from justice.

Disposition

dismissed