United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Collins v. McDonald, 258 U.S. 416 (1922)

Collins v. McDonald

No. 150

Submitted March 2, 1922

Decided April 10, 1922

258 U.S. 416

Syllabus

1. In a proceeding in habeas corpus on behalf of a person imprisoned under sentence of a court-martial, the inquiry must be limited to the jurisdiction of the court-martial over the offense charged and the punishment inflicted. P. 258 U. S. 418.

2. To sustain the jurisdiction of a court-martial in a collateral attack by habeas corpus, the facts essential to it existence must appear. P. 258 U. S. 418.

3. Taking property "from the presence of" another feloniously and by putting him in fear is equivalent to taking it from his personal protection, and is, in law, a taking from the person -- a robbery, as defined by § 284 of the Criminal Code. P 258 U. S. 419.

Page 258 U. S. 417

4. It is not necessary that a charge in court-martial proceedings should be framed with the technical precision of a common law indictment. P. 258 U. S. 420.

5. In habeas corpus, objections to a court-martial trial which are mere conclusions not supported by the record or concern merely errors in the admission of testimony cannot be considered. P. 258 U. S. 420.

Affirmed.

Appeal from an order of the district court sustaining a demurrer to a petition for habeas corpus and refusing the writ.