Opinion
July 2, 1970
Motion for summary reversal granted, and the judgment of Supreme Court, New York County, entered June 9, 1969, dismissing the writ of habeas corpus and remanding the relator, unanimously reversed, on the law, on the facts and in the interests of justice, the writ sustained and the relator discharged from custody. Relator was taken into custody in this State on January 10, 1969, upon a warrant charging she was a fugitive from justice from the State of Missouri. On June 9, 1969, relator's writ of habeas corpus was dismissed, and an appeal was taken on June 13, 1969. While some of the blame for delay in prosecuting the appeal may be laid at the door of appellant's counsel, the major reason lay in the misplacing of the extradition papers and other relevant documents by the prosecution. It need not be stressed that unreasonable delay in the prosecution of criminal appeals, while an appellant languishes in jail, creates an impermissible injustice. In the instant case, relator has now spent more time in the Women's House of Detention than she would have served had she been immediately turned over to the Missouri authorities in January, 1969, to complete a two-year sentence imposed upon her in that State in 1965. "Unreasonable delay in the determination of criminal actions is subversive of the public good and a disgrace to the administration of justice". ( People v. Solomon, 296 N.Y. 85, 87.) In the interests of justice, therefore, relator's application for a summary reversal of the dismissal of the writ should be granted, and appellant ordered discharged.
Concur — Stevens, P.J., Eager, Capozzoli, McGivern and Tilzer, JJ.