In Re Crane

The court is prepared to render its decision from notes made at the argument.

In this proceeding the petitioner seeks by habeas corpus to be released from the custody of the chief of police of the city and county of San Francisco, who held and confined the petitioner in the city prison under a warrant of arres't which was issued out of the police court of said city and county upon a complaint which charged the petitioner with the commission of a misdemeanor in this, that he had violated the provisions of section 1 of an act entitled “An act providing for the time of payment of wages.” The provisions of the act in question are as follows:

It is the contention of the petitioner that the act above quoted is unconstitutional in this, that it in effect permits an imprisonment on mesne process for debt; and that, therefore, his arrest and detention by the respondent pending a hearing of the charge in the police court is illegal.

In our opinion this contention is sound and must be sustained. Section 15 of article I of our state constitution provides in part that “No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action on mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud ...” By this…