"
Thus ended this most remarkable attempt upon the liberty of a United
States Supreme Court Justice, under color of State authority, the
execution of which would again have placed his life in great peril.
The grotesque feature of the performance was aptly presented by the
following imaginary dialogue which appeared in an Eastern paper:
Newsboy: "Man tried to kill a judge in California!"
Customer: "What was done about it?"
Newsboy: "Oh! They arrested the judge."
The illegality of Justice Field's arrest will be perfectly evident
to whoever will read sections 811, 812, and 813 of the Penal Code of
California. These sections provide that no warrant can be issued by
a magistrate until he has examined, on oath, the informant, taken
depositions setting forth the facts tending to establish the
commission of the offense and the guilt of the accused, and himself
been satisfied by these depositions that there is reasonable ground
that the person accused has committed the offense. None of these
requirements had been met in Justice Field's case.
It needs no lawyer to understand that a magistrate violates the plain
letter as well as the spirit of these provisions of law when he
issues a warrant without first having before him some evidence of the
probable, or at least the possible, guilt of the accused. If this were
otherwise, private malice could temporarily sit in judgment upon the
object of its hatred, however blameless, and be rewarded for perjury
by being allowed the use of our jails as places in which to satisfy
its vengeance.
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