/ Class bjj &%} 6 PENNSYLVANIA h DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY. INSTRUCTIONS TO FOREST WARDENS. By I. C. WILLIAMS, Esq., of the Department of Forestry. Published by direction of the Commissioner of Forestry. WM. STANLEY RAY, STATE PRINTER OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1903. J> >s ~fC 0(b- D. of D. JAN 16 915 (2) N Pennsylvania Department of Forestry, Harrisburg, Pa., August 1, 1903. Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith for publication and distribution among those en- titled thereto, what I have called "Instruc- tions to Forest Wardens," prepared under your direction and at your request. It is intended to give those persons employed as care-takers, or wardens, upon the State lands held for For- estry Reservation purposes, such information as they will need with respect to the duties, rights, and liabilities imposed and conferred upon them by reason of the passage by the Legislature of the Act of March 11, 1903, P. L. 25. No attempt whatever at technical discussion has been made. The matter has been con- densed to the smallest compass thought ad- visable, with an endeavor to present it in plain narrative, easily comprehended by those not familiar with legal language or forms. It of necessity presents but a constricted view of the law relating to constables. Very respectfully, I. 0. WILLIAMS. Hon. J. T. ROTHROCK, M. D. Commissioner of Forestry. (3) (4) Instructions to Forest Wardens, who under the the Act of March 11, 1903, P. L. 25, are invested with Constabulary Powers. Among the laws enacted by the General As- sembly for the creation and protection of the Forest Reservations, the act of March 11, 1903 is important. The text of the acr in full is as follows: AN ACT Conferring upon persons employed, under existing laws, by the Commissioner of Forestry, for the protection of State Forestry Reservations, after taking the proper oath of office, the same powers as are by law conferred upon con- stables and other peace officers; to arrest, without first procuring a warrant, persons reasonably suspected by them of offending against the laws protecting timber lands ; also, conferring upon them similar powers for the enforcement of the laws and rules and regulations for the protection of the State Forestry Reservations, and for the protection of the game and fish contained therein ; and further, conferring upon them power to convey said offenders into the proper legal custody, for punishment ; this act to apply only to offences committed upon said reservations and lands adjacent thereto. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c, That the per- sons employed under existing laws, by the Commissioner of Forestry, for the protection of State Forestry Reservations, shall, after taking the proper official oath before the clerk of the court of quarter sessions of any county of the Commonwealth, be vested with the same powers as are by existing laws conferred "(5) 6 upon constables and other peace officers: to arrest on view, without first procuring a war- rant therefor, persons detected by them in the act of trespassing upon any forest or timber land within this Commonwealth, under such circumstances as to warrant the reasonable suspicion that such person or persons have committed, are committing, or are about to commit, some offence or offences against any of the laws now enacted or hereafter to be enacted for the protection of forests and tim- ber lands. Such officers shall likewise be vested with similar powers of arrest, in the case of offences against the laws or the rules and regulations enacted or to be enacted for the protection of the State Forestry Eeserva- tions, or for the protection of the fish and game contained therein: Provided, That the above mentioned rules and regulations shall have been previously conspicuously posted upon the reservation. Said officers shall fur- ther be empowered, and it shall be their duty, immediately upon any such arrest, to take and convey the offender or offenders before a jus- tice of the peace or other magistrate having jurisdiction, for hearing and trial, or other due process of law: Provided further, That this act shall extend only to the case of offences committed upon said Forestry Reservations and lands adjacent thereto; and the powers herein conferred upon said officers shall not be exercised beyond the limits thereof, except wmere necessary for the purpose of pursuing and arresting such offenders, or of conveying them into the proper legal custody, for punish- ment, as aforesaid. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsist- ent herewith be and the same are hereby re- pealed. Approved — The 11th day of March, A. D. 1903. SAML. W. PENNYPACKER. It will be observed that this act confers large discretionary powers as well as import- ant duties upon persons employed by the State Forestry Reservation Commission, in the care of State lands held for Forest Reservation pur- poses. These persons, while not so designated by the act, are commonly known as Forest Wardens. Before proceeding to a discussion of the duties and liabilities of Forest Wardens under this law, it may be desirable to consider in a brief manner the office of constable in general, his duties, his qualifications, and his liabilities under existing laws. The office of constable is an ancient one. His title is derived from the fact that originally he was Comes stabuli, count of the stable, chief of the horse, of the ancient military barons and war lords of Europe. The con- stable of France was a high officer of the crown, and the Lord High Constable of Eng- land was the commander-in-chief of the army, the keeper of the peace of the nation. He was also invested with judicial power and regu- larly held his court for the cognizance of such matters as were within his jurisdiction. The constable of to-day is still a conserva tor of the peace within his county. He is the executive officer of a township, a ward, or a borough, but may exercise his authority throughout a county. He is required to exe- cute civil process and every precept directed to him. A constable formerly held his office for a year, but now for tliree years. He must give a bond for not less than five hundred dol- lars nor for more than three thousand dollars, unless he is a free holder with unincumbered property of the value of one thousand dollars. The court of quarter sessions of any county may remove a constable from office if it appear upon petition that he is unfit and incompetent to discharge his official duties, or where he shall not have given the security required. He may command others to assist him in making arrests or executing writs, where assistance is needed. In civil process, the service of a summons is 9 the most common duty of a constable. A sum- mons is a writ signed, dated, and issued by a justice of the peace, directed to a constable, commanding him to give notice to a person named therein to appear at a certain time and place to answer a complaint. A summons is the method of beginning a civil suit or action at law, and all natural persons, except those exempt, and corporations may be made de- fendants and served therewith. To every sum- mons there must be a return. This is the re- port of the constable as to the manner in which he has executed the writ. It must show the date and manner of service, be in writing, and be signed bv him. Certain actions are of the nature of both civil and criminal suits and are begun by capias instead of summons. In these cases the body of the defendant is taken, that is, he is placed under arrest. The person arrested must, with- out unnecessary delay, be taken before a mag- istrate for hearing, to be followed by a hold- ing to bail, a commitment, or a discharge. The service of a summons or of a capias on Sunday is unlawful and void. The constable cannot break an outer door to make service of these writs at any time. Certain persons are exempt from service of 10 process by reason of their position. They are ambassadors and public ministers of foreign countries and their employees; members of Congress and State legislators while in atten- dance upon their public duties; electors, that is, voters, attending elections, going to or re- turning therefrom; soldiers and militia men during term of service, unless for a debt in excess of f 20.00 contracted before enlistment; parties to a suit, counsel and. witnesses in at- tendance at court, or going to or returning therefrom; jurors, attorneys and agents in at- tendance upon court; and freeholders having unincumbered real estate to the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, are privileged from arrest. A constable who has made an arrest on capias may take a bail bond for the appear- ance of the defendant, but he must take suffi- cient security else he will be liable to the plaintiff. In executing civil process a consta- ble will have other duties to perform. They may consist of making an ordinary levy follow- ing a judgment obtained upon a summons, and a sale thereunder; making an attachment exe- cution; the attachment of fraudulent debtors; against non-resident debtors; and domestic at- tachment; serving distress warrants in land- 11 lord and tenant cases; executing a writ of pos- session; making returns to court of unlicensed places where liquors are sold; the illegal sale of liquors by licensed persons; the sale or giv- ing away of liquors on election day, or near militia encampments; attendance on election and the duties incident thereto. A Forest Warden would probably never be called upon to exercise an}- of these duties and for that reason no further comment thereon is necessary. In criminal cases, the duty of a constable is especially to preserve the peace, and make ar- rests for violation or breach thereof. He has power to imprison and break outer doors when necessary to prevent homicide, riot, or a dan- gerous breach of the peace. Every person is in morals bound to take notice of violations of law and make complaints thereon; but a constable is legally required to prevent crime and bring the perpetrators lo justice. An arrest is "the apprehending or restrain- ing of one's person, in order to be forthcoming to answer an alleged or suspected crime." It is a literal seizing of the body and the holding of it in custody. In making an arrest, more than mere words is necessary. It is not sufficient to say, "I 12 arrest you," or "you are my prisoner," or "I have a warrant for your arrest." But if the person so addressed submits and goes with the officer, the arrest is complete. If the defend- ant run away and escape without being touched by the constable, there is no arrest. The constable must, therefore, exercise some corporal taking or restraint. A slight re- straint, a mere touching, is held to be suffi- cient. The constable should inform the person whom he takes that he arrests him; but when the arrest is made during the actual commis- sion of an offense, this is not necessary. A constable may use violence in making an arrest but only such violence as is necessary. If the officer in attempting to arrest is resisted by the defendant, he may and must use all the force necessary to subdue his prisoner. If the offense committed or about to be committed is a felony, and the prisoner resists and es- capes, the officer, after informing him of his order and intention, may shoot to compel him to stop. If the offense involved is a misde- meanor only, he has no right to shoot a person evading arrest. Prisoners should be treated fairly and kindly after arrest, and only as much violence used as is necessary to restrain. It is usual and pro- la per to make a search of the person in order to find such evidences of guilt as may be sus- pected. Property thus taken from a prisoner must be turned over to the magistrate to await the final outcome of the case. Since the distinction between felonies and misdemeanors affects the officer's power and manner of making arrests, every constable should clearly understand the difference be- tween them. By felonies we understand those heinous and more serious crimes as contra-dis- tinguished from the milder and more trivial kinds, which are called misdemeanors. Ori- ginally felonies were those offenses which were punished capitally or by imprisonment, and were accompanied by forfeiture of lands and goods; all others were misdemeanors. Ori- ginally, therefore, it was the kind of punish- ment meted out for an offense which deter- mined whether it fell within one or the other class. This distinction has disappeared in America, and crimes are by express statutory enactment declared to be either felonies or misdemeanors, and the punishment prescribed thereby. No one would undertake to describe a felony or a misdemeanor by exact definition. They are known as such only by statutory enactment and simple enumeration. 14 The following are felonies: Murder, robbery, larceny, rape, burglary, arson, sodomy, bug- gery, counterfeiting, passing counterfeit money knowingly, assault and battery with intent to kill, or intent to kill by administering poison, or by stabbing, or other means; shooting or at- tempting to shoot a person; stabbing with in- tent to maim or disfigure; explosion of gun- powder or other explosive with intent to harm; or sending any such explosive or other dan- gerous thing, or throwing at a person any acid or corrosive substance, with like intent; ad- ministering chloroform or stupefying drugs in an attempt to commit a felony; procuring an abortion; breaking open by day or by night, with intent to commit a felony, aay house, barn, stable, shop, etc.; attempting to wreck a railroad train, or to blow up a house with in- tent to destroy it or harm persons within. It will be noticed that the intent is the de- termining feature of many of the above fel- onies.. No one can be supposed to be able to read the mind of another, to discover his in- tent; but it is a safe rule to follow that a per- son intends the consequences of his act, and when a constable has reasonable ground to sus- pect the intent of an act and acts accordingly, he will be protected, though mistaken. The 15 reasonable ground of suspicion should be clear. The following acts are misdemeanors: The adulteration of goods, candy, liquors, etc., as- sault and battery with or without a weapon, bribery, corruptly influencing voters, selling- votes, selling cigarettes to persons under six- teen years of age, compounding crimes, carry- ing concealed deadly weapons, conspiracy, cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct, keep- ing disorderly houses, disturbing public meet- ings, drunkenness, duelling, embezzlement, corruptly influencing jurors, escape from cus- tody, aiding prisoners to escape, voluntarily or negligently permitting them to escape, carrying dangerous detonating explosives upon public conveyances, selling firearms to persons under sixteen years of age, the manu- facture and sale of toy pistols, extortion, false pretense, forgery, fortune telling, gambling, fraudulent insolvency, lewdness, libels, con- ducting lotteries, malicious mischief and tres- pass, mayhem, dissemination of obscene litera- ture, maintaining a nuisance, running an opium joint, perjury, prize fighting, profanity, riot, seduction, sending threatening letters, etc. The offenses enumerated in the various acts of Assembly for the protection of forests and woodlands, and of which the forest wardens 16 have special cognizance by reason of the act of March 11, 1903, hereinbefore cited, are all misdemeanors. Arrests are made in two ways, either with or without a warrant. A warrant is a writ, or an authority in writing, issued by a justice of the peace usually, directing and commanding a constable to take the body of the person named therein and bring him before the justice to answer a charge against him. The warrant should give the name and surname of the per- son to be arrested, or such description as will enable the officer to identify him; it should state the offense committed and be signed by the person issuing it. When executed, the warrant should be returned to the justice show- ing the manner of execution. When a consta- ble receives a warrant he should proceed to execute it as soon as convenient and with rea- sonable secrecy. If he refuse to execute it, he is guilty of a misdemeanor. Where the official character of the officer is known to the person arrested, the warrant need not be shown nor need he give notice of his office, but he should state the reason of the arrest. A safe course to follow is to show the warrant if demanded. When arresting a stranger, the constable should either show his warrant or 17 give notice of his legal authority. A consta- ble should never part with his warrant. If the person inspecting it keep it, the officer may use as much force as is necessary to retake it. A constable may arrest without a warrant any one attempting to commit a felony, or on a reasonable suspicion that a felony has been committed. He may likewise arrest without warrant for breach of the peace committed in his presence; otherwise a warrant must be procured, unless the breach of the peace was committed with intent to commit a felony. A constable has no right to break open an outer door to execute civil process. Having a warrant for an arrest on the charge of tre- son, felony or breach of the peace he may break open an outer door to execute it. . He has the same right to break open a door to arrest with- out a warrant, where the arrest is made on his own authority, that he has with a warrant. He should however demand admittance before breaking, as a matter of precaution. Having made an arrest, a constable must conduct his prisoner before a magistrate for a hearing. The time within which this must be done is not governed by any precise rule. It has been decided that he cannot hold him three days while he is collecting evidence. If 18 the arrest is made at night, the hearing should be had the next day. If during the day, it should be held that day if the justice can be found before night. In the meantime the con- stable must keep his prisoner safely. He may confine him in a house, a lockup, or a jail, if one is convenient. If the person arrested be sick, the taking before the justice may be de- layed until such time as he may be safely re- moved. A prisoner is in the custody of the constable until his hearing is concluded. A warrant of arrest may be executed any- where within the Commonwealth and the offiln- der carried before the justice or other officer is- suing the warrant. When an arrest is made without a warrant and the prisoner carried be- fore the justice, the constable should then make an information giving the reason of the arrest, unless the prisoner waive a hearing and give bail for court. The foregoing discussion covers in part only the duties of constables, but is believed to be sufficient for the purposes here intended. In case of doubt how to act, a warden will com- municate at once with this Department. It will be noticed that under the act of March 11, 1903, the duties of constables so conferred upon wardens are to be exercised only upon 19 the State Forestry Reservations or upon the adjacent or immediately adjoining lands. Such violations of law as will most probably come under their immediate official cognizance will be those having to do with trespassing and the inflicting of damage to timber. Under the statutes, these are wilfully setting on fire any woods, lands, or marshes belonging to the Com- monwealth, cutting any timber therefrom, cutting or removing boundary trees and land marks, kindling fire on adjacent lands so as to communicate fire to State lands, cutting bark from, burning, or otherwise injuring trees, carrying any lighted candle, lamp, or torch, or other open fire into a forest, setting off fireworks within a forest; or any other act not herein specifically mentioned which will cause damage to forest lands or timber be- longing to the Commonwealth. Before proceeding to exercise his said office, a warden must go before the clerk of the court of quarter sessions of the proper county and take the official oath such as is taken by all constables. He is then invested with full au- thority under the act, so long as he remains in the employ of the Department of Forestry upon the State lands. 20 The act provides that arrests may be made in two classes of cases: 1. For those acts prohibited by existing laws now in force or hereafter to be enacted for the protection of forests and timber lands. 2. For violations of the rules and regulations made for the protection of the Reservations, or of the fish and game contained therein. In the first case, arrests may be made imme- diately after taking the oath; in the second, the rules and regulations must have been pre- viously conspicuously posted upon the Reserva- tions. The act expressly provides that ar- rests shall be made for offenses committed upon the Reservations or upon lands adjacent; and that the power of arrest on view without warrant shall not be exercised beyond these limits, except for the pursuit of offenders and the taking of them after arrest into proper legal custody. If an offender be caught in the act, he may be arrested then and there. If the indentity of the warden is not known to the person arrested, it should be declared and the official badge exhibited. It is probable that occasionally felonies and other misde- meanors may be commited upon the Forest Reservations. A warden will in such cases be governed by what has been stated above 21 with respect to constables generally. A rea- sonable suspicion on the part of the warden that a trespasser is about to commit or has committed a violation of the law, without see- ing him in the act, .will entitle the officer to make an arrest without warrant; but the cir- cumstances must be such, either from present appearance or from conduct on the part of the person suspected as would lead a reasonable person to suspect that an offense has been or is about to be committed, and by the person suspected. The offense and the person sus- pected must in some way be connected in the mind of the officer. Having made an arrest, the warden should take his prisoner before the nearest justice of the peace, or at least the one most convenient to reach. No unusual haste is demanded and no unnecessary delay should intervene. The justice will then proceed to hear the evidence. The warden making the arrest is a competent witness and may testify to all facts within his own knowledge or which he learned upon in- quiry. All witnesses having knowledge of the case in hand should be produced and if they refuse to come voluntarily, should be brought under subpoena. If a matter where summary conviction may be had, the justice will, if the 22 case is sufficiently proved, impose the penalty provided by the acts of Assembly; otherwise he will discharge the prisoner. If a case that is cognizable by the county court, the defen- dant may waive a hearing and enter bail for court; or after hearing, may be held to bail to answer at court, or he may appeal. After a prisoner has been sentenced to pay a fine, or in default of payment thereof, to an imprisonment as a punishment for his offense, it is the duty of the constable to take the de- fendant to the county jail, and by any method most convenient to the officer; and the expense of doing this is a part of the proper expenses of the case. For this purpose the justice will issue a mittimus (literally, u we send'-), an order to the constable directing him so to dispose of his prisoner. When the latter is safely de- livered into the custody of the keeper of the county jail, the duties of the constable are at an end. Should a warden need assistance in the mak- ing of an arrest, he may require bystanders to lend such help as may be needed. Upon their refusal to assist, they may be proceeded against and punished for such refusal. When attacked, a person has the right to re- sist in self defense. If a warden in making 23 an arrest is attacked by his prospective pris- oner or any of the latter's associates, he may and must use all possible force in resisting their attack and in his own defense. If it is necessary to take life in defense of one's own life, this is excusable homicide. It is not nec- essary that the person attacked should first submit to a beating or even worse injury before he acts in his own defense. He is not com- pelled to retreat as far as he is able before he opposes force with force; but may from the very outset resist and follow up his resistance until he has successfully driven off his assail- ant, or in the case of a warden, reduced him to subjection and arrest. This view of the law is expressly decided and upheld by the courts of Pennsylvania and by the Supreme Court of the United States. It remains further to say only that while acting in self defense, a warden should use as much deliberation and good judgment as the circumstances of the affair will permit and not follow up any ad- vantage obtained by him, in inflicting grievous and unnecessary injury upon his prisoner. Under the act of March 30, 1897, all consta- bles are ex-omcio fire wardens; and under the act of March 22, 1899, all constables are ex- omcio fire, game, and fish wardens. While it 24 may or. may not be a question whether the act of March 11, 1903 confers upon State Forest Wardens the powers contained in the two first mentioned acts, all wardens should be familiar with the provisions thereof and be prepared to report any violations thereof to the proper au- thorities and insist upon prosecutions in proper cases. Copies of the said acts above referred to and all the acts in force in the State on the subject of Forestry will be furnished each State employe upon Reservations, and the Commissioner of Forestry recommends that by continual study of the same, entire familiarity with their provisions may be acquired. After a reasonable time allowed for study, a regular drill and examination thereon is proposed to be held. Wardens so invested with authority must use good judgment and employ the dictates of reason so far as it is in their power to do. They must not be needlessly officious nor op- pressive in their acts; but while enforcing the laws must employ" such sound discretion as will enable them to do their whole duty, pre- serve the dignity of their official positions, and at the same time, to the end that all citizens may be led to recognize the aims of this De- partment, advance the Forestry Idea so far as thev may be able.