Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-03-17
CoEFL1Cr OF JuRIsDTaTIog

1880
sition Ct affairs, colored little perhape By
the bias which his views naturally wonld
have in form Of the u s Courts.-EDs
REpuBLICAS
KEoKUK, Iowa. March G.
20 the Editor ofthe Chicago Tribune:
On the Cd inst. the United States Dep
uty Marshal for Iowa arrested the Board
Of Supervisors of Lee Comfy, Iowa, upon
an attachment for contempt of the United
States Circuit Court at Chicago, for not
obeying the mandate of that court, requir-
ing them to levy tax TO pay three certain
judgments of J. Edgar Thomson against
Lee County had in said court.
Almost Immediately after the arrest
Harry Fulton, United States Deputy Mar
shat, was served by the sheriff Of this
county with a writ of habeas cQypus, re-
curing him Immediately to bring the
bodies Of the Supervisors arrested before
Hon J. NJ. Beck, one of the Supreme
Judges Of Iowa, at Fort Madison and to
show Why the said parties were held by
him.
AS Attorney for the Marshal, I pre-
pared The return upon the habeas corpus,
respectfully showing to His Honor,
Judge Beck, that said parties were arrest
ed, and in the possession Of the defendant
(Fultopl, By virtue Of the writ of attach
ment afo 'esaid That he held them and
iptel ded to take them to Chicago to ans
wer CT be punished for contempt of said
court, and that he refusedto bring before
His Honor or surrender them TO the ju-
riediction of the State courts.
Upon this return being made, 9 motion
was made by plaintiffs that the Marshal be
attached, and the Sheriff be required and
empowered to forcibIy take tho prisoners
from the Marshal and bring them before
said Judge, but as all these proceedings,
the arrest aud serving of the writ of ha6eas
corpus, etc., were had in the Court House,
and the parties we're all actually before
the judge, and counsel said no effort
would be made to remove the parties, IN
til final determination and order was
made on the Marshals return, the Judge
overruled the motions, and the cause was
then argued for two days by R. H Gil
more, Francls Sample, Hon. d F. Miller
and Judge j. NJ Casey, attorneys for the
Supervisors and by myself for the United
States Marshal We submitted the case
TO His Honor, Judge Beck, late Wednes-
day night, and to-day Judge Beck read
his opinion, about eighty pages long, and
unconditionally released the board.
Cheers from the crowd and Supervisors
greeted the announcement.
By my direction the United States
Marshal then demanded that they 60 with
him to Chicago, Notwithstanding their re-
lease. His Honor, Judge Beck, then
told the Marshal it would be sufficient for
hiuf to return on The writ that the prison
ers had been released on his order, and
that he had no power to call posse to
take them.out Of the State; and, there
upon, the return day of the writ having
passed, the Marshal, having no force at
his command, and being unable to take
seventeen men alone, let them 90.
The board then went into session, and
ordered fifteen hundred copies of Judge
Beck's opinion to be priated, aud copies
sent to General Grant, President of the
United States, all members Of his Cabinet,
members Of Congress, State and United
States Judges, and other parties.
Judge Beck holds that the United
States Court at Chicago bad no jurisdic-
ton; that the aaanIamus proceedings was
new suit; that all that TRANSFERRED in
Judge Drummond's court after Judgment
on the railroad coupons was a nullity :;
that State court had the right to go back
OF the warrant OF. arrest and inquire into
the cause of the commitment, notwith-
standing the warrant was under the hand
of the Clerk and the seal Of the court, and
feoited all the necessary jurisdictional facts
On the face of it.
He criticised the case of Ableman Us.
Booth, in q Howard, and refused to rec.
ognise the doctrine therein laid down as
binding on him. although he admitted
that most Of the points in the case in
hearing were raised and settled by the
Supreme Court Of the United States in
that case. 1858
He also said that an appeal might be
taken from his decision 30 the Supreme
Court of the State of Iowa, aud from
thence, q writ of error. would lie to the
Supreme Court of the United States and
that when the last-named coart reversed
the decision he had just made, and sent
a procede2do back to them, that he ard
his associate Justice would obey il, but
not tetore.
/ wrote you this as narrative Of the
facts OF the case, without expressing any
opinion OF the correctness or error of
Judge Beck in his decision, but a case of
more importance, and fraught with great
er consequences, has seldom occurred in
our courts.
by one fell stroke Judge Beck utilities
all the judgments of our United States
Courts on our railroad bonds; for back Of
all questions of procedure and practice.
he held that the said bonds, upon which
said judgments were obtained. were abso-
lutely null and void.
It is due to our Board Of Supervisors to
say that they have acted as they have,
only by reason of the decisions of our
State courts; and that they we're ready.
and, L think, would, Immediately after
Judge Beck s decision, had it been the
other way, have levied the tax and gone
with the Marshal to Chicago to purge
themselves Of the contempt. As it is,
| regard it but question of time. Sooner
or later they will have m Io tLts rarr