People ex rel. Olin v. Warden of the District Prison

Headnote

People ex rel. Olin v. Warden of the District Prison, 170 App. Div. 289 , affirmed.

Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department, entered November 19, 1915, which reversed an order of Special Term dismissing' a writ of habeas corpus, sustained said writ and directed the discharge of the relator from custody. Respondent was arrested on complaint of her husband, charging that she was of intemperate habits and had been so for a period of two years prior to such complaint, and prayed that she be dealt with according to the provisions of chapter 436 of the Laws of 1903, specifically stating that on May 6, 1915, she was in a state of intoxication in the city and county of" New York, and further stating that she had never been an inmate of the penitentiary. The question involved is whether the magistrate had jurisdiction to hear and determine the charge in the complaint—that is, whether he had authority to try a female upon a charge of “ being of intemperate habits,” and, if he determined that the charge was made out, to commit her to an institution.