The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-06-17
Opinion Of Judge Graham in the Case
of the State against Hubert
and Governor Moses.

I
the Orangeburg case be quashed, ano
thee as to him be struck from the
docket. In support of his conclusions
the Judge publishes an opinion in which
he assigns various reasons, and cites
! various authorities. He relies upon the
Constitutional provision, as well as the
) ..overshadowing legal necessity OF the
case," to sustain his views, that before
Impeachment the Chief Executive is
not liable to Indictment, trial and pun
ishmcnt. Until deposed he is Cover
nor, and iGeposed he can only be in the
mode prescribed by the Constitution
that is by impeachment. Whilst clothed
with the robes of office, he is the repre-
sentative of the people, and it is impos-
sible to separate the individual from the
officer. The individual may be indicted,
tried and punished, but the officer is not
amenable to the process of the Courts.
Such is the position assumed by Attor-
ney.General Stanberry in the case OF
the State of Mississippi against john
son, President, and seems to be sustained
by the judgment of the Court. In the
case OF the State against Holden, the
same principle is announced, and it is
held that after impeachment he is liable
to indictment and punishment. All
the eases cited seem to proceed on the
ground that the Executive is not
amenable to judicial process, and hence
it seems foreign to the inquiry, to deter
mine whether the alleged offence is all
official act or not. The question is SIM
ply whether Governor can be tried by
the Courts before being deposed by the
Senate. Judge Graham indeed states
thet the offence charged is official mis-
conduct, and hence the subject of i'm
peachment, but we do not understand
that he bases his want of jurisdiction on
this ground, but that he has no right to
try the Governor for any offence until
impeached and deposed, and that any
1niscon duct or crime committed whilst
in Office, is such official misconduct as
would subject him to impeachment.
The case is pot without difficulty, and
seems to be one of those exceptional
ones, upon which differences of opinion
naturally arise.
The augusta Chronicle e. Sentinel pre-
sents the following forcible argument in
defence of the opinion of Judge Gra-
ham,
i'Many able lawyers are among those
who hold this opinion and declare that
the first step in the punishment of the
Executive Of State for crime must be
impeachment and deposition from office.
: After, and only after, that has been done
can the machinery of the Courts be put
in operation against him as against an
Orlipary criminal. 1t may seem mon
,styous that citizen who has been chosen
Governor of State may rob, rape or
murder with perfect impunity from ar
rest, trial or punishment until after a
resort to the doubtful, slow and unsatis-
! factory process of impeachment, while
another citizen who occupies no official
position is at once visited with the full
penalty of the lev for the commission
, of such offenses. But there must be
some seat of power, some sovereign au-
thority In every form of government,
and the Governor is the fountain head
of power in the States which constitute
the American Union. A blow struck at
him does violence to the whole State !;
and no matter what may be the mans
character or his crimes, his position
shields him from the operation of the
summary remedies which the laws fur
nish against other offenders. While the
application of the rule to this particular
case is extremely unfortunate, still the
wisdom and justice of the rule itself
cannot be successfully denied. Were
; this not the law one can easily imagine
how much mischief might be produced
and what scene of anarchy would en-
sure in all the States. An indictment
found by packed grand jury or by a
legal jury upon the er parte statements
of suborned witnesses would be suffi-
eient to overturn any government. The
law, therefore, has wisely tdetermined
that it is better to choose the infinitely
lesser evil of the two and to give a guilty
Executive chance of escaping we'll
merited punishment rather than sane.
.tion a practice which wOlld prove SO
fruitful of mischief to the whole coun-
try"
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