The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1878-04-20


no REMEDY. =
"ihr words Immediately following
and not pA"trA aye: 'On III" plea OF
mt I| rvr' ri, III" fact is to hc judged
of by tie conlt,' etc., y. :}i1."
Ital;;ord> Us 80 qualification to point
ont the >uhlcit,yr undrr which the
court here attempts t. shelter Itself.
Indeed. il is with Il sense Of humllia-
item that We d, so. The Attorney
General did not n'isqnotr, garb|e or
rnrlail the language Of Chief Jnstic"
Parker: but the Supreme Court OF
Louisiana did Ito $50. The Attorney
General quoted the eminent Massa,
chu>etts .jnli >t only so far AS he laid
down great general p1inriplr of law;
that pli' CT pal Of law is "'hat which is
or is not record is matter for evil
dcnce, ard may be proved like other
facts" This principle is. laid down by
Chief Justice Parker plainly and dis
tlnctly as a broad general principle,
and he concludes his uttelance on it
with period and u paragraph. The
Louisiana court intimatts that the
Attorney General has garh|ed or cur
tailed Chief Justice Parker 5 language
and, to maintain its own position and
its right to reverse the verdict of IA
Jury of the State on Il question of fact :,
lacks Oh to the general rlinciple of
law, underlying all Jurisprudence,
ennnciated by Parker, pat Of a sen
tencc and paragraph which follows.
ant which is enunci0tire on|y Of the tar
Of Massachusetts. "The words immc-
liately following" says Chief Justice
Manning, referring to tie Attorney
Generals quotation from Parker, are
Son a plea of nat tel record (what
constitutes a rtcord) the fact is to br
Judged of by the court" The Chief
Justice of Louisiana should. in all
fairness. have quoted the whole sen
tence. The Attorney General stopped
on period, aud with a paragraph
and an enumeration of distinct pin
ciple of law. Chief Justice Manning
stopped on a semicolon, in the midst
of paragraph, and contents himsel
with half of what Chief Justice Park
err said relative to the law of Massa
chusetts. The Chief Justice of Mass
achusetts having announced the prin
ciple of law, presented by Attorne,
General Ogden, continued in another
paragraph, thus: "On the plea of nu
iiel record, the fact is to be judged b.!
the cnurt; uho, no doubt, 1could cram
inc witnesses upon suggestion tina
there had been an Interpolation; an'
where the question comes up incidcE
tally on an issue to the jury, tho sam
species of evidence must be given tt
them.'
The difference between Attorne
General Ogden and the Suprcm
! Court in this particular case is slmpl
> this: Attorney General Ogden qnote'
the general principle of law laid dow
by Chief Justice Parker and applied
! under the constitution and laws
Louisiana, which certainly ought t
T. govern in the prosecution of viola
tons of the laws Of Louisiana, to
case arising under these laws, Will
the Supreme Court of Louisiana ha
quoted the principle of law laid dow
e by Parker, and his application Of
- under the constitution 0nd larS Of Md'
. sachusetts.
ANY reader of ordinary intelligence
lawyer or layman, who ppruses tn
g decision of Parker, will understand ;
4 a glance, that he is interpreting til
law under a constitution which en-
powers "the court" to take cognlzan'
of facts and hear evidence to substa'
tate facts. The constitution of Lo'
" isiana, upon the other hand, express|
, :. restricts the Supreme Court ofMis Sta
y IN criminal matters to questions Of la
Any citizen who desires to be convi
=, ced of this fact need only refer to a
" ticle "a of the State constitution del
= ming the jurisdiction of the Snpren
Court in civil and criminal cases. III
d constitution of Massachusetts, we a
:. sumo from Parker's decision, is ditfe
" e ent from ours. The Chief Justice
- that State, one of the most eminent
! American jurists, laid down, so far
- he was Quoted by attorney Genel
i; IT. Ogden, sound law for Louisiana
~ we'll as for Massachusetts. His a
~ "a thority with US goes no further TIL
~, ~ the general principal he laid dow
No applicable alike to all peoples and
10 States, and we are astouished and ;
"; founded that the Supreme Court
~ Louisiana, in it's eagerness to le!ea
a great an infamous criminal, i
" quoted that part of his law applical
~ only under the constitution of Mass
IT. chusetts.