I also was very, I wasn't sure I was going to take a complaint, and a justice of the peace will take a complaint lots of times because he doesn't have to try it. I knew I would have to try this case and that prompted me to go down and see what kind of evidence they had.
Mr. Rankin. Will you tell us what you mean by taking a complaint under your law.
Mr. Wade. Well, a complaint is a blank form that you fill out in the name, by the authority of the State of Texas, and so forth, which I don't have here, but it charged, it charges a certain person with committing a crime, and it is filed in the justice court.
The law permits the district attorney or any of his assistants to swear the witness to the charge. The only place we sign it is over on the left, I believe sworn to and subscribed to before me, this is the blank day of blank, Henry Wade, district attorney.
Over on the right the complainant signs the complaint. We mean when we say take or accept a complaint is when we swear the witness and we draw it up ourselves and word it and take it.
Mr. Rankin. Is that what you did in the Oswald-Ruby case?
Mr. Wade. Yes, sir; we did that. Now, as a practical matter that is not really filing the complaints. The complaint is not really legally filed until a justice of the peace takes it and records it on his docket.
Now, it goes to the justice of the peace court to clear the whole thing up and his purpose, he has—the law says you shall take him immediately before a magistrate, which is the justice of the peace.
The courts have held that it is not necessary in Texas, but there is a statute that says that, and then he—his purpose is to hold an examining trial to see whether it is a bailable case or not.
Then he sends it to the grand jury and the grand jury hears it and returns an indictment or a no bill and then it is in a certain court set with a docket number and then it is ours to try.