In Re Merwin

The petitioner was charged with the crime of murder. He entered pleas of “not guilty” and “not guilty by reason of insanity.” At the hearing on the first of these pleas the jury returned a verdict of guilty of murder of the second degree. At the subsequent hearing on the second plea the jury returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. The petitioner was thereupon committed by the court to the state hospital for the insane at Talmage. After having been confined in that hospital for more than a year, he applied to the trial court for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he was then sane, and, upon a hearing duly had, the court made an order discharging him from such confinement. The people thereupon gave notice of appeal from the order. Section 1506 of the Penal Code provides:

The first question which naturally arises is whether the people are given a right of appeal in cases such as this. The answer to this question depends upon whether the petitioner has been convicted of a crime. Section 26 of the Penal Code provides:

Section 1016 provides:

It would require a peculiar process of reasoning to reach the conclusion that a defendant who was finally found not guilty…