§ 9-14-14.Hearing of issue

Not every habeas case resolves on the papers alone. When the respondent’s return denies facts the petition alleged, or raises additional facts that put something new at issue, this section gives the judge the tools to sort out what happened.

The core power is the ability to hear testimony in a summary manner — a streamlined process suited to a proceeding designed to move quickly, rather than the full procedural apparatus of an ordinary civil trial. Backing that power up, the judge may compel witnesses to attend and compel the production of papers, so a disputed fact does not go unresolved for lack of evidence. The judge may also adjourn the examination if the matter needs more time, and the statute closes with a broad catch-all: the judge may exercise any other power of a court that the principles of justice require.

That catch-all phrase gives the judge real latitude. Rather than boxing the court into a fixed list of procedural tools, the legislature left room for the judge to fashion whatever process the particular dispute needs, so long as it serves the underlying goal of getting the facts right.