Pothier v. Rodman

Background

A jailed defendant arrested in Rhode Island faced removal for trial in the Western District of Washington on an indictment alleging murder at Camp Lewis. He filed a habeas petition in the District Court of Rhode Island and asked that the commissioner’s proceedings be sent up. The District Court refused to discharge him or stop his removal. The defendant then sought to appeal directly to the Supreme Court and moved to proceed without paying costs (in forma pauperis), but his supporting affidavit was made by his lawyer rather than by the defendant himself.

Reasoning

The Court considered two issues: whether the defendant’s in forma pauperis request met the statute’s requirements and whether the Supreme Court could hear the appeal. The Justices held the poverty affidavit must be made by the applicant, not only by counsel, and found that the appeal did not fall into the narrow classes allowing direct Supreme Court review under §238. The question raised went to the merits—whether the alleged crime site was within exclusive federal jurisdiction—so the correct route for review is the Circuit Court of Appeals, not the Supreme Court. Because the appeal was filed in the wrong court, the Court denied the pauper motion and ordered the appeal transferred.

Real world impact

This is a procedural ruling. It requires defendants seeking free appeals to submit their own sworn poverty affidavit. It confirms that habeas-related orders like this are sent to the appropriate federal circuit court, and it transfers this appeal to the First Circuit for resolution.