The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1875-10-13

mon pleas, "wllo shall hold his office
for the term of four years." And i'll the
case of circuit judges the constitution.
al provision (article 4, section 13) is thai
'fOr each circuit judge shall be elected
by Joint ballot of the general assembly
a0ho shat hold his office for u term o.
four years.n We shall see that the de-
cision in Wright Us. Charles covers the
case of a circuit judge as fully as that ol
the clerk of court.
.4The supreme court say: "Ihe term OF
Office being fixed by the constitution,
the party holding it by election is enti-
tied to all the rights, powers and incl
dents which belong or pertain to it, and
by what course of reasoning the dura,
ton of the term is not to be lDcluded
among them, it is difficult to perceive.
The person elected to fill vacancy does
not succeed to the u'eeSpired portion OF
the term of his predecessor, but holds by
determinate tenure prescribed by the
constitution. The vacancy exists in the
office, the term is the duration Of 1t, MOI
dependent on the death or resignation Of
the person holding it, but on the iav.
No matter how the office becomes va
cant, the party elected to succeed to ii
is not in as the mere loc,sne tcnens, only
supplying the term of the person who
last succeeded him. If the Legislature
had, by express enactment, declared
What one elected to fill the uneXpired
term Of the office of clerk, made vacant
by death, should duly hold for that Pc
Rod. such 1rovisiOn aOouid be imperative
and void, for, as was said by Mr.. Justice
! Wright, iii the opinion of the court in
Register Us. Hemphill, 2S. G., 335, aUhere
the organic taW fres the term of office,
it is not IN the pOWer Of the legislature, by
an act, to change that tc,na." \
"The question is not as to the mode o1
filling the vacancy, but the tenure
by which the party elected shall hold
the office" + "In fact, every
election is to supply vacancy, no mat.
ter how arising" The supreme court
found authority on the questions raised
in various cases in this state and III
New York, and rendered judgement il
favor of w. E. Charles, the defendant
We fail to see why the decision JUS
quoted does not apply in every particu
lar to the case Of circuit judges elected
to fill vacancies, caused by death o.
resignation. The term Of office of the
circuit judges is fixed by the consti
tuition as the term of the clerks of cour
is fixed, and the objection that the
judges whom we named were expressly
elected to fill uneXpired terms is met by
the declaration of the supreme cour
that an act of the legislature, declaring
that person elected to fill the unexpir
ed term of office of q clerk should onl,
hold for such unexpired term, would b'
imperative and void. What an act o
of assembly cannot do cannot be effect
ed by terms Of joint resolution order
ing an election, or by the wording Of {
commission. The term of the office j:
fixed by the organic law at four years
and the legislature, in electing judge
elects him for the term, longer or short
er.
We deem this question of great i'm
portance to the people of the state, am
we trust that it will be so examined an
sifted that, before the legislature meet;
the power and duty Of that peculia
body, in the matter of the judicial cleo
! tions, will be knowe and understood b.
them and their constituents.-Neaps ant
Courier.