Probationer

“ If the hearing officer determines that probable cause is lacking, the hearing officer shall issue a written order directing that the probationer be released from confinement. If the hearing officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that the probationer violated the conditions of suspension, the hearing officer shall set forth that decision in a written memorandum, detailing therein the evidence relied upon and reasons for making the decision. ”

“ The difference to the probationer between imposition of sentence followed by probation, as in the Berman case, and suspension of the imposition of sentence, as in the instant case, is one of trifling degree. Probation, like parole, 'is intended to be a means of restoring offenders who are good social risks to society ”

“ They are divided into Special probationers, who are gentlewomen by birth and education, daughters of professional men, clergymen, officers, merchants, and others of the upper and middle classes, age from twenty-four to thirty, and Ordinary probationers. ”

“ Due process of law includes at least the idea that a person accused of crime shall be accorded a fair hearing through all the stages of the proceedings against him. I agree with the Court as to the value and humaneness of liberal use of probation reports as developed by modern penologists, but, in a capital case, against the unanimous recommendation of a jury, where the report would concededly not have been admissible at the trial, and was not subject to examination by the defendant, I am forced to conclude that the high commands of due process were not obeyed. ”

“ The focus of probation is not on how society views the offense, but on how the sentencing judge views the offender. 'Through the social investigation of the probation officer and the power to place suitable cases on probation,' the House Judiciary Committee stated in support of the first probation bill to be signed into law, 'the court is enabled to discriminate and adapt its treatment to fit the character and circumstances of the individual offender.' H.R. Rep. ”

“ I remarked on dismissing my clients, "that this will is a fabrication; but before such a question had been put in issue before a jury, some producible evidence of its being so should have been sought for and obtained. As it is, I can only watch the defendant's proof of the genuineness of the instrument upon which he has obtained probate: one or more of the attesting witnesses may, if fraud has been practised, break down under a searching cross-examination, or incidentally perhaps disclose matter for further investigation." ”

“ In England, after the advocacy of the probation system by the Howard Association, an Act was passed in 1887 ``to permit the conditional Release of first Offenders in certain cases.'' This law combines probation with sureties for good conduct. Judgment is given, but sentence is not pronounced. The suspension is not granted to any one who has previously committed an offence, or whose first offence would be liable to a punishment exceeding two years' imprisonment. There is no probation officer, for supervision is replaced by personal or other sureties for good behaviour. ”

“ If any person interested shall, within two years after probate had, appear, and by bill in chancery contest the validity of the will, an issue shall be made up whether the writing produced be the last will of the testator or testatrix or not; which shall be tried by a jury, whose verdict shall be final between the parties, saving to the court the power of granting a new trial, as in other cases; but if no person appear in that time the probate shall be forever binding ”

“ The main examples of the former class are revocation by burning, tearing, &c., by a later will, or by marriage of the testator (except as below) , incapacity of the testator from insanity, infancy or legal disability (such as being a convict) , undue influence and fraud, any one of which is ground for the court to refuse or revoke probate of a will. A will being ambulatory is always revocable, unless in one or two exceptional instances. Undue influence is a ground upon which frequent attempts are made to set aside wills. ”

“ Probation is a system of tutelage under the supervision and control of the court which has jurisdiction over the convicted defendant, has the record of his conviction and sentence, the records and reports as to his compliance with the conditions of his probation, and the aid of the local probation officer, under whose supervision the defendant is placed. ”

“ Placing petitioner upon probation did not affect the finality of the judgment. Probation is concerned with rehabilitation, not with the determination of guilt. It does not secure reconsideration of issues that have been determined or change the judgment that has been rendered. Probation or suspension of sentence 'comes as an act of grave to one convicted of a crime.' Escoe v. ”

“ In a publicly prosecuted case, the burden of proof that a defendant is guilty lies with the people's procuratorate; whereas in a privately prosecuted case, the burden of proof lies with the prosecuting party. ”

“ A day in a juvenile court is fascinating, and the experiences of a probation officer are not less so. The little, curly-headed culprits are so anxious to tell their story to the judge, or sometimes so stolid, that either way it is pathetic. There is much weeping when children are found guilty, and sudden relief when the meaning of probation is explained to them, and the confidences made to the probation officer are irresistible. ”

“ The suggestion that the order of the probate court is in reality not a judgment but only a 'judicial ascertainment' of credits does not affect our conclusion. No judgment against the United States is more than that. ”

“ Such a leap from the definition of petty offenses in 18 U.S.C. § 1 to the provision for probation in 18 U.S.C. § 3651 ascribes to Congress a determination I am certain it did not make, and misconstrues the nature of the probation statute. The probationary scheme does not purport to set specific sentences for particular classes of crimes, thus evincing an 'objective indication' of the 'seriousness with which society regards the offense,' the standard we have used in determining when the right to jury trial attaches. ”

“ It is elementary that probate proceeding by which jurisdiction of a probate court is asserted over the estate of a decedent for the purpose of administering the same is in the nature of a proceeding in rem, and is therefore one as to which all the world is charged with notice. ”

“ The statute requires the supreme court of the District, at general term, to review, upon appeal, any order, judgment, or decree of the special term, involving the merits of the action or proceeding. (2) The judgment of the special term admitting a will to probate and record, pursuant to the verdict of the jury upon issues relating to the competency of the deceased to make a will, clearly involves the merits of the controversy, because it establishes the validity as a will of the writing offered for probate. ”

“ A court of probate must, indeed, inquire into and be satisfied of the fact of the death of the person whose will is sought to be proved or whose estate is sought to be administered, because, without that fact, the court has no jurisdiction over his estate ”

“ But it was almost universally recognized that no will could have effect, for any purpose, until admitted to probate and record by the local authority, although in some states, while the original probate was conclusive until set aside, for all purposes and as to all persons, in others it was conclusive, while in force at all, only as to personalty and for the purposes of administration, and not as a muniment of title as to devises. ”

“ In a preceding instruction which the court had given to the jury, upon the application of the defendant himself, the probate of the deed by Governor Livingston before Judge Hobart, was treated as prima facie evidence of a delivery. It was there stated that the probate was 'only prima facie evidence, or evidence from which a delivery may be presumed, and may be rebutted by direct or circumstantial evidence, which raises a contrary presumption.' Is it not plain, then, that, if not so rebutted, the plaintiff is entitled to recover? What is prima facie evidence of a fact? ”

“ The probation officer is present at the judge’s side when he decides a case, and is given charge of the offender, whom he takes by the hand, either at his parent’s residence or at school, and continually supervises, having power if necessary to bring him again before the judge. ”

“ The view we take of the statute was evidently the one adopted by the judge of the probate court, where the proceedings in lunacy were heard, since that court, upon the return of the sheriff, and the failure of the alleged lunatic to appear, either in person or by counsel, in order to protect her interests, entered an order appointing a guardian ad litem 'in the matter of the petition to inquire into her lunacy;' and an answer was filed by such guardian, denying all the matters and things stated and contained in the petition, and requiring strict proof to be made thereof according to law. ”

“ No one, except a person charged with an offence when giving evidence on his own application, and as to the offence wherewith he is charged, is bound to answer a question if the answer would, in the opinion of the court, have a tendency to expose the witness, or the wife or husband of the witness, to any criminal charge, penalty, or forfeiture, which the court regards as reasonably likely to be preferred or sued for. ”

“ Increasingly common is the probation system, the essence of which is to suspend the sentence of the court upon certain conditions. The offender is placed in charge of a court officer who will stand in the relation of friend and guardian to him, in order to supervise his conduct and to attempt his reformation. ”

“ The considerations it involves are entirely apart from any re-examination of the merits of the litigation. Probation was designed 'to aid the rehabilitation of a penitent offender'; 'to take advantage of an opportunity for reformation which actual service of the suspended sentence might make less probable.' Thus probation cannot be demanded as a right. 'The defendant stands convicted; he faces punishment, and cannot insist on terms or strike a bargain.' Burns v. ”

“ On hearing such petition, the probate court shall examine every executor and administrator upon oath as to the truth and correctness of his account before the same is allowed; but such examination may be omitted when no objection is made to the allowance of the account and there is no reason to doubt the justness and correctness thereof; and the heirs, legatees, and devisees may be examined on oath upon any matter relating to the account of any executor thereof is called in question. ”

“ The record before us indicates that the judge exercised his discretion to deprive a man of his life, in reliance on material made available to him in a probation report, consisting almost entirely of evidence that would have been inadmissible at the trial. ”

“ If, in hamstringing protest groups, a trial judge is bound only by a five-year maximum probation period and the limits of his imagination in conceiving restrictive conditions, I would at least require that those on the receiving end be tried frist by a jury. ”

“ Agency B.—"I have seen very few individuals in the course of my experience who could not be brought to see the right viewpoint if they were intelligently approached, even though the probation officer had considerable to do with their arrest. It is in my opinion not altogether important what occurs before the man's arrest but how he is treated after he comes within the jurisdiction of the probation officials." ”

“ No person shall be excused from attending and testifying, or producing any books, papers, or other documents before any court or magistrate, upon any trial, investigation, or proceeding initiated by the district attorney for a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, upon the ground or for the reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of him may tend to convict him of a crime or to subject him to a penalty or forfeiture ”

“ After judgment of guilt, the trial court is authorized 'to suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and to place the defendant upon probation * * *.' (Italics supplied.) By this language Congress conferred upon the court a choice between imposing sentence before probation is awarded or after probation is revoked. In the first instance the defendant would be sentenced in open court to imprisonment for a definite period; in the second, he would be informed in open court that the imposition of sentence was being postponed. ”

“ The two essentials of success in probation work are:—judges who have an intelligent and sympathetic interest in the problem, and probation officers fitted by temperament and training to secure the best possible results. ”

“ In a civil proceeding the plaintiff claims a right, and the court secures it for him by putting pressure upon the defendant to that end; as when one claims a debt that is due to him, or the restoration of property wrongfully detained from him, or damages payable to him by way of compensation for wrongful harm, or the prevention of a threatened injury by way of injunction. In a criminal proceeding, on the other hand, the prosecutor claims no right, but accuses the defendant of a wrong. He is not a claimant, but an accuser. ”

“ Treat is authority for the proposition that a writ of habeas corpus can be made the basis of a review of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, where proceedings were had under a constitutional statute giving the court authority to examine into the charges, and to convict or acquit the accused, when the proceedings show no attempt to exert the jurisdiction of the court in excess of its authority. ”