Ex Parte Van Zandt

The petitioner is held in durance under a warrant issued by a magistrate of the county of San Joaquin, upon a complaint charging him with the crime of forgery. The allegations of the complaint are positive and not on information and belief. [1] He urges the single point in support of his plea for liberty that a magistrate should not, on the complaint alone, unfortified with depositions,, issue a warrant for the arrest of a person charged with the commission of a felony. He cites sections 811, 812, and 813 of the Penal Code as authority for his position. It is, we think, universally conceded that a complaint made upon information and belief must be thus supported. (Ex parte Dimmig, 74 Cal. 164 , [ 15 Pac. 619 ].) While this case is clearly authority for the claim that a complaint based only upon information and belief will not support a 'criminal proceeding, it is, likewise, authority to the effect that the complaint alone may, under proper circumstances, be entirely sufficient.

We quote from that case the following instructive language: “Of course, where there was some evidence upon which the magistrate acted, we would not interfere. It may also, be true that the original…