Misreturn

The certiorari for bringing the trial into the superior court of criminal jurisprudence, it was contended had not been directed to the person who had the prisoner in custody – it was also argued, that there had been a misreturn, and a discontinuance of the prosecution, which rendered the procedure on it by the Judges illegal.

If a venire is awarded to the coroners, and returned by two of them only, whereas at the time of the award and return thereof there were two more, this is only a misreturn, and aided.

We can not, therefore, avoid the conclusion that a return was made of the service of the writ, and from this it results that this was an insufficient or misreturn, which is amendable.

In Goodwin v. Montenaigh (1601), the Court held that where tales were awarded in a case to be tried per medietatem linguae, aliens and denizens should be returned and identified, to maintain the quality of the original panel. Since such identification had not occurred, the judgment was stayed at the defendant's request, and a misreturn declared. Upon presentation of an affidavit that six aliens and six denizens were sworn, however, the plaintiff had judgment without a new trial (for the Court had declared a misreturn and not an arrested judgment).

So it seems that any other error in the process against jurors, will occasion a mistrial as much as those which are termed discontinuances; ( a ) as where an improper process ( b ) is awarded, where it is directed to a wrong officer, ( c ) has a wrong ( d ) venire, misrecites former ( e ) process, is misreturned or not returned ( f ) at all.

In each case inquiry of the strictest kind was set on foot, and where possible, the individual whose religion had been alleged to have been misreturned was interrogated by the enumerators upon the part of the Commissioners.

Thousands of papers had been misfiled or misreturned to the files during the past several years and hundreds are missing.