The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1870-04-23

to the District Court for action.
The prisoner. now appears, ana
asks to uuash the Indictment. for
want of iuris diction i'm the Lower
Court. In order to find what
jurisdiction the Parish Court has
in criminal matters. we must look
ITO the Constitution OF the State
of Louisiana Of 1868. The PARISH
Court was created by that instru-
ment, and draws its powers from
the organic law that gave 1t beng.
Art. So of the Constitution gives
the District Court, unlimited jul
risdiction in criminal cases. the
words are, sin criminal cases their
jurisdiction shall be unlimited.
There can be no doubt therefore,
that every Indictment or Informal
ton can properly originate IN the
District Court. Whatever jurls-
diction lin criminal procedure
the Parish Court may have is de-
rived from Art. 81 Of the Consti-
tuition Of 1868. The words are,
"the Parish Court shall have con-
current criminal jurisdiction III
T. all cases, when the penalty - not
necessarily imprisonment at hard
labor, or death; and when the ac-
cused shall have waived trial by
iurv." 1t was well known to those
who framed the Constitution that
the Parish Courts were prohibited
frGHl having jury; and shat eV-
cry one charged with q crime was
entitled to a trial by q jury. The
Constitution could not, therefore,
give the Parish Courts juris'aic-
! ton. unless the accused waived
a trial~by jury. This article OF
the Constitution requires two
things to confer jurisdiction.
y 1st. That the penalty for the
! crime of which the party stands
accused should not necessarily be
! ilnurisonment at hard labor Or
death. >s- -.
? 2nd. That the accused shall
haved waived trial by jury.
In this case the punishment IS
such that, had the trial by jury
been waived, the Lower. Court
would have had jurisdiction. One
ofthe definitions given by Web
! ster of the word sswhen," IL, ''af-
tersthe time:.'' insert tifis in the
article of the Constitutionin CUES
ton, and it reads as follows /:
"The Parish Courts shall have
Jurisdiction in all criminal cases
when the penalty is not necessa-
rily imprisonment at hard labor
or death; and after the accused
shall have waived the tria! by
iurv." The Jury not having been
20
: risdiction Of the Parish Court did
,; not attach, and the Judge Of the
Low er Court had no authority to
grant leave to the District Attor-
nev, "pro te1npore,', to file the
information. 1t is contended by
the District Attorney, "pro tenn
PORE" that the subsequent part
| Of the same article, (Which is in
the following language: "the Par
! ish Courts shall have such oth
1 jurisdiction as may be conferred
f'upoa them by -law,') authorizes
this proceeding. This leads us
to inquire what additional Grim.
final jurisdiction has been confer
I, red by the Legislature. The oEly
act to which the attention OF the
|
1870, p. 1856 Acts 1868, entitled an
!; act, s'provr'ing for1the appoint
/ ment Of a District Attorney, "rro
! tempore,' by each Parish, who
: shall be Parish Attorney, and
defining his duties, and powers,
J and the mode of proceeding in
: criminal cases in the Distric. and
I Parish Courts, providing for the
salary and fees Of the Parish and
District Attorneys pro tempore. '''
1t is contended that, Sec. 5 Of this
Act, confers the power on the
Parish Court to take jurisdiction
of the lesser crimes before q tria!
! by juryhas been waived. Oman
/! examination of this statute, 1t
will be found that it does not pur-
port to give any jurisdiction to
the Parish Court, and il it I'D
that, this section would in viola
ton of Article Ia Of the Consti-
tuition, which says, "cverv law
! o}>,Il 1r}tnrf or f.1,ia,f 8