State v. Powell

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed the State's attempted appeal from a district court order granting Clyde Powell habeas corpus relief and ordering his release from psychiatric confinement. The majority held that Oklahoma law does not permit an appeal from an order granting or denying habeas corpus, while dissenting opinions argued that modern Oklahoma procedural law makes habeas corpus judgments appealable.

Holdings

1. No appeal lies from an Oklahoma district court order granting habeas corpus and discharging a person from restraint.
2. The district court's habeas corpus release order could not invoke the Oklahoma Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction, so the attempted appeal had to be dismissed for want of appellate jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the State could appeal from a district court order granting a writ of habeas corpus and releasing a person from confinement.
2. Whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court had appellate jurisdiction over the State's attempted appeal.

Disposition

dismissed