Case ID: port_1/html/0478-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "By Mr. Justice Thornton :", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

A. & A. W. Byers vs. H. H. Freeman et al.
    
    
      Error from St. Clair Circuit Court.
    
    Where the record does not show the evidence upon which the Circuit Court decided a case brought before it from a justice of the peace, the court will presume that the evidence was such as to justify the judgment given.
    This was a case brought before the Circuit Court, by cer-tiorari from the office of a justice of the peace. The Circuit Court gave a judgment superseding the judgment given by the justice of the peace, and awarded cost against the plaintiff in the action before the justice.
    Peck, ■ for the Plaintiff in error.
    The court erred in superseding finally the judgment of the justice of the peace. The case should 'have been tried de novo. The Circuit Court had no- right to act as a mere revising tribunal. There was error also in awarding costs against the plaintiff. This judgment of supercedeas is a novel kipd of judgment not known to the law. Our statute does not authorise it; and the common law allows of no such judgment in a common law court. If such judgment were allowable, I still contend that the giving costs upon it would be error.
   By Mr. Justice Thornton :

This is a writ of error from the judgment of the Circuit Court, in a case brought before it by certiorari from a justice of the peace. The amount in controversy being under twenty dollars, it was of course triable de novo by the court, upon its merits, without issue, according to the equity and justice of the case.

The record does not show the evidence upon which the judgment was rendered ; and we will presume that it autho-rised the result ; which was a judgment against the plaintiff in error carrying costs. The form of this judgment, though not technical, is in fact and substance, a judgment against the plaintiff in error as to the matter in controversy*

Let the judgment be affirmed.