him each answer as it is taken down, and correct or add to it, until it is made conformable to what he declares is the truth; 4. If the witness decline answering a question, that fact, with the reason for which he declines answering it, as he gives it, must be stated; 5. If papers or documents are produced before them, and proved by the witness, they must be annexed to his deposition, and be subscribed by the witness, and certified by the commissioners; 6. The commissioners must subscribe their names to each sheet of the deposition, and annex the deposition, with the papers or documents proved by the witness, to the commission, and must close it up under seal, and address it, as directed thereon; 7. If there be a direction on the commission, to return it by mail, the commissioners must immediately deposit it in the nearest post-office. If any other direction be made, by the written consent of the parties, or by the officer, on the commission, as to its return, they must comply with the direction. § 651. Copy of last section to be annexed to commission. A copy of the last section must be annexed to the commission. § 652. Commission, how returned, when delivered to agent for that purpose. If the commission and return be delivered by the commissioners to an agent, he must deliver it to the clerk to whom it is directed, or to a judge of the court in which the indictment is pending, by whom it may be received and opened, upon the affidavit of the agent, that he received it from the hands of one of the commissioners, and that it has not been opened or altered since he received it. § 653. Id. If the agent be dead, or from sickness or other casualty, unable personally to deliver the commission and return, as prescribed in the last section, it may be received by the clerk or judge from any other person, upon his making an affidavit that he received it from the agent, that the agent is dead, or from sickness or other casualty, unable to deliver it, that it has not been opened or altered since the person making the affidavit received it, and that he believes it has not been opened or altered since it came from the hands of the commissioners. § 654. When and how filed. The clerk or judge receiving and opening the commission and return must immediately file it, with the affidavit mentioned in the last two sections, in the office of the clerk of the court in which the indictment is pending. § 655. Commission returned by mail, how disposed of. If the commission and return be transmitted by mail, the clerk to whom it is addressed must open and file it in his office, where it must remain, unless the court otherwise direct. 656. Commission and return to be open for inspection, and copies to be furnished. The commission and return must at all times be open to the inspection of the parties, who must be furnished by the clerk with copies of the same, or of any part thereof, on payment of his fees, at the rate of five cents for every hundred words. § 657. Deposition to be read in evidence. What objections may be taken thereto. The deposition, taken under the commission, may be read in evidence by either party on the trial, and the same objections may be taken to a question in the interrogatories, or to an answer in the deposition, as if the witness had been examined orally in court. See People v. Haight, 13 Abb. N. C. 197; 3 N. Y. Cr. Rep. 60. 205 CHAPTER V. Inquiry into the Insanity of the Defendant, Before or Dur. ing the Trial, or After Conviction. Sec. 658. Appointment of commission; their proceedings. 659. If found insane, trial or judgment suspended, and defendant to be committed to state lunatic asylum, if his discharge be dangerous to the public peace or safety. 660. If defendant committed, bail exonerated or deposit of money refunded. 661. Detention of defendant in asylum, and proceedings on his becoming sane. 662. Expenses incident to sending defendant to asylum, how paid. § 658. Appointment of commission; their proceedings. When a defendant pleads insanity as prescribed in section 336, the court in which the indictment is pending, instead of proceeding with the trial of the indictment, may appoint a commission of not more than three disinterested persons, to examine him and report to the court as to his sanity at the time of the commission of the crime. If a defendant in confinement, under indictment, appears to be at any time before or after conviction, insane, the court in which the indictment is pending, unless the defendant is under sentence of death, may appoint a like commission to examine him and report to the court as to his sanity at the time of the examination. The commission must summarily proceed to make their examination. Before commencing they must take the oath prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure, to be taken by referees. They must be attended by the district attorney of the county, and may call and examine witnesses and compel their attendance. The counsel of the defendant may take part in the proceedings. When the commissioners have concluded their examination they must forthwith report the facts to the court with their opinion thereon. Jurisdiction of N. Y. Special Sessions. § 64, ante. The statute only authorizes a commission to take testimony out of the state which is to be read on the trial of an indictment. People v. Haight, 3 N. Y. Cr. Rep. 60; 13 Abb. N. C. 197. Powers of commission. People v. Rhinelander, 2 N. Y. Cr. Rep. 335. Commission not mandatory. People v. McElvaine, 125 N. Y. 596; 8 N. Y. Cr. Rep. 156. See Crim. Law Mag., Vol. 2, No. 5; 3 Med. Leg. Jour. 1; People ex rel. Mooney v. Walsh, 21 Abb. N. C. 299; People v. Taylor, 138 N. Y. 398. When court justified in refusing to appoint commission. People v. Tobin, 176 N. Y. 278. Unwarranted commitment. People ex rel. Forrester v. Sheriff, 114 App. Div. 861. § 659. If found insane, trial or judgment suspended, and defendant to be committed to state lunatic asylum, if his discharge be dangerous to the public peace or safety. If the commission find the defendant insane the trial or judgment must be suspended, until he becomes sane; and the court, if it deem his discharge dangerous to the public peace or safety, must order that he be, in the weantime, committed by the sheriff to a state lunatic asylum, and that unon his becoming sane, he be redelivered by the superintendent of the asylum to the sheriff. Powers of commission. People v. Rhinelander, 2 N. Y. Cr. Rep. 325. See People v. Haight, 3 N. Y. Cr. Rp. 60; 13 Abb. N. C. 197; People ex rel. Mooney v. Walsh, 21 Abb. N. C. 299; People ex rel. Forrester v. Sheriff, 114 App. Div. 861. § 660. If defendant committed, bail exonerated or deposit of money refunded. The commitment of the defendant, as mentioned in the last section, exonerates his bail, or entitles a person authorized to receive the property of the defendant, to a return of any money he may have deposited instead of bail. § 661. Detention of defendant in asylum, and proceedings on his becoming sane. If the defendant be received into the asylum, he must be detained there until he becomes sane. When he becomes sane, the superintendent must give a written notice of that fact to a judge of the supreme court of the district in which the asylum is situated. The judge must require the sheriff without delay to bring the defendant from the asylum, and place him in the proper custody until he be brought to trial, judgment, or execution as the case may be, or be legally discharged. See People v. Haight, 3 N. Y. Cr. Rep. 60; 13 Abb. N. C. 197. § 662. Expenses incident to sending defendant to asylum, how paid. The expenses of sending the defendant to the asylum, of keeping him there, and of bringing him back, are, in the first instance, chargeable to the county from which he was sent; but the county may recover them from the estate of the defendant, if he have any, or from a relative, town, city, or county, bound to provide for and maintain him elsewhere. County of Jefferson v. County of Oswego, 102 App. Div. 232. § 662a. Costs of commission charge upon the county. The costs of any commission of lunacy, pursuant to the provisions of this article, shall be a charge upon the county in which the commission shall have been executed. The commissioners are entitled to such compensation for their services as the court may direct. [Added L. 1903, ch. 129. In effect Sept. 1, 1903.] 207 CHAPTER VI. Compromising Certain Crimes, by Leave of the Court. Sec. 663. Certain crimes, for which the party injured has a civil action, may be compromised. 664. Compromise to be by permission of the court. Order thereon. 666. No public offense to be compromised, except as provided in this § 663. Certain crimes, for which the party injured has a civil action, may be compromised. When a defendant is brought before a magistrate, or is held to answer on a charge of a misdemeanor, for which the person injured by the act constituting the crime has a remedy by civil action, the crime may be compromised, as provided in the next section, except when it was committed 1. By or upon an officer of justice while in the execution of the duties of his office; 2. Riotously; or 3. With an intent to commit a felony. Am'd L. 1884, ch. 63. See Gallagher v. Stoddard, 47 Hun, 101. § 664. Compromise to be by permission of the court. Order thereon. If the party injured appear before the magistrate, or before the court to which the depositions and statements are required, by section 221, to be returned at any time before trial or commitment by the magistrate, or trial on indictment for the crime, and acknowledge in writing that he has received satisfaction for the injury, the magistrate or court may, in his or its discretion, on payment of the costs and expenses incurred, if such magistrate or court shall see fit so to direct, order all proceedings to be stayed upon the prosecution and the defendant be discharged therefrom. But in that case, the reason for the order must be set forth therein and entered upon the minutes. Am'd L. 1884, ch. 63. Civil action pending. People v. Judges, 13 John. 85. See Gallagher v. Stoddard, 47 Hun, 101; Fagnan v. Knox, 66 N. Y. 525. § 665. Order, a bar to another prosecution. The order authorized by the last section is a bar to another prosecution for the same offense. § 666. No public offense to be compromised, except as provided in this chapter. No crime can be compromised, nor can any proceeding for the prosecution or punishment thereof upon a compromise, be stayed, except as provided in sections 663 and 664. |