Geiger

Defendant was charged with the crime of burglary perpetrated on October 9, 1895. When the case was called for trial he moved the court to stay all proceedings against him, and assigned as ground for such motion that he had been regularly committed as an insane person to an asylum for such persons, had not been legally discharged therefrom, and was then insane. The proof was that on November 9, 1892, he was duly committed by a judge of the superior court to the state asylum for the insane at Napa; he escaped therefrom on December 24, 1894, and never returned; no attempt was made to retake him; the resident physician, being of opinion that he was restored to reason, had before his escape intended to order his discharge if his condition did not change in a few days; and believing him to be then so restored said resident physician caused an appropriate record to-be made of his discharge as “recovered” very shortly after the escape. On this showing the court rightly denied the motion. The statute concerning the management of the asylum provides that the resident physician shall be the executive officer of the institution, and shall discharge such patients as, “in his opinion, have…