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20 Va. Cir. 104

Hembrick v. Murray

Chesterfield County Circuit Court

Decided March 1, 1990

Chesterfield County Circuit Court · decided 1990-03-01

Relies on Morgan v. Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court · Ringley v. Commonwealth

Decided 1990-03-01

By JUDGE WILLIAM R. SHELTON

¶1The Court has reviewed [the] petition for a habeas corpus and finds that it must be denied.

¶2The Supreme Court of Virginia has established that the Virginia habeas statutes are limited in applicability to those situations where the defendant is actually incarcerated at the time of the request. In the case of Blair v. Peyton, the court states that "the habeas corpus statutes are designed to provide relief in the form of a ‘discharge’ (Code Section 8-603) . from the ‘person in whose custody’ (Code Section 8-598) a petitioner is ‘detained without lawful authority’ (Code Section 8-596)." Blair v. Peyton, 210 Va. 415, 417 (1970). See also Morgan v. Juvenile and Domestic Relation Court, 491 F.2d 456 (4th Cir. 1974). In Blairthe Court denied the defendant’s request for a habeas because the request was argued after the defendant was released from jail.

¶3In the case at hand the defendant’s petition has indicated that the defendant is not currently incarcerated but is instead out on bond pending appeal. This Court feels that pursuant to the court’s opinion in Blairit would be improper for this Court to grant a writ of habeas corpus where the defendant is not presently incarcerated.

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