The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1878-01-19

other State, with evidence of good
character and who shall have been ex-
amined in open court touching theil
fitness to practice law in the courts OF
this State, and who shall have been
found qualified, or who, having a
license from a Superior Court of any
other State, shall have been exam
ined by one of the judges of the Su-
preme Count, or by two District
Judges, and have been found quail
fed. B. To those who, upon exami-
nation before the Supreme Court ac-
cording to its regulations, shall have
been found qualified.
| 1t is not pretended or alleged that
the respondent had or has license
from any other State, or diploma
from any law school of any other
| State, or that he was ever examined
by the Supreme Court and found
qualified, and therefore he is not in
either the second or third classes. 1t
is not pretended OF alleged that he is
a graduate of the Law Department of
the University of this State, which
would entitle him to license from
| this court without examination by its
| members. 1t is admitted that he
never was licensed by this court at
all that he never received any
diploma from the Faculty of the Law
| School, aud it is proved that the de-
gree of Bachelor OF Law was not con-
| ferred upon him, unless the resolution
of the Board of Administrators that
that degree he conferred upon him,
and the direction to the president to
confer it upon him, be held to be
equivalent to the actual comforting of
the degree.
We do not think mere transcript
of a resolution OF the Board of Adj
ninistrators stands in the place of
diploma and a degree, and when see.
1877 enacts that those upon whom the
degree of Bachelor of Law has been
conferred by the Administrators of
the University shall be authorized to
practice law, it must be construed
with sec. III which prescribes that a
license from the Supreme Court of
this State must be obtained in order
to enable any one to practice law,
and with sec. 1l2 which authorizes
graduates of the Law Department OF
the University to be admitted to
practice without examination by the
Court because they are graduates.
Aud that this construction of sec. 127
| (which is identical with sec. 1852 is
correct, is conclusively shown by its
concluding clause, for Immediately af-
ter the provision that the Degree of
Bachelor of Law when conferred shall
authorize the person receiving it to
practice law, it is enacted that all di-
plomas granted by the board shall be
signed by the president, aud the pro-
fessors of the department. in which
the student may have graduated, and
elsewhere is enacted that the exami-
nation of candidates for their degrees
in the Medical and Law Departments,
shall be under the exclusive control
of the faculty of those departments
respectively. Sec. 1868.
The respondent was not graduate
of the Law Department of the Uni
versity. The resolution of the Adj
ministrators, which is the sole basis
of the respondents right to practice
law, shows that he was rejected when
he applied to bagraduated. Where
as the President of the University be-
ing present and having stated that it
would be impossible for him to declare
which of the rejected students received,
etc. Having been rejected, and being
without Il diploma, without degree,
without license from this Court, the
respondent nevertheless insists that
lie has practiced law, as the eoHstitu-
ton requires he shall do for given
time, and is therefore eligible to the
Office of District Judge. We can not
hold that the unauthorized practice of
a profession entities one to its highest
rewards and honors, when its lawful
practice is condition or prerequisite
of eligibility to them.
Some of the members of the con-
| vention protested against the adop
| ton of the judiciary system as is now
| contained in the constitution. The
short time required for practice as a
a condition of eligibility to the Dis
trict Jndgesbip was one of the grounds
of protest. The safeguards for the
protection of the legal profession and
the Judiciary afforded by the present
constitution are slender enough. The
portals by which admission to the le-
gal ediffce is obtained are witlened by
the constitution of 1868 beyond for
mer precedent, and we can not en-
large them further without the ex-
press mandate of law. The law has
not thns commanded. We have di-
vested the case of all extraneous mat
ter, Of those features which are not
essential to be noticed. For instance,
Flagg, the former District Judge, was
made one of the REALTORS.
On exception his right to join the
District Attorney in the action was
refused properly, and it remained
good upcn the relation of the latter
officer alone SO new trial was
prayed on the sworn allegations of
the discovery of new and important
evidence, and this was improperly re-
fused. but the counsel for relator in