The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-06-15
Tho Circuit Judges.


Tho Circuit Judges.
The Rcgdiusters quote a. authority Tor
their bin of last winter, intended to lcgis-
latc all the circuit judges out Of ofice, the
closing clause Of report made by Major
wv. DANIEL, chairman Of Senate COM
mittec, In response to resolution OF In.
Quiry as regards the terms Of office Of cir
cult judges, February 4, 1873. Major
DANIEL said:
"The General Assembly has fsll and ex-
plicit power to arrange and to increase or
diminish the circuits, which implies the
mower 10 create and to abolish the clrcuits.
The Office Of Judge Of circuit must &c.
pend upon the existence OF the circuit
Itself. To abolish the circuit is, ca "
terrsini. to abolish the judicial office which
attaches to It. Therefore we think 1t clear
that Judge elected for circuit ceases 10
be Judge when his circuit ceases 10 exist,
ceases to be entitled TO any salary, allow
ance. or other pcrquisite OF once. In other
words. the General Assembly has power TO
lerislate the ofice--and thereby to legislate
the ofacer--out Of existence"
Sentences written to establish particu-
lar doctrine are often wrongfully quoted IN
iayor Of doctrines which those sentences
were not intended TO teach. The courts
are constantly compelled to restate PROPOSE
lions OF law and show wherein there exists
a distinction between the case OF yesterday
and the case Of to-day. Chief-Justice
MARSHALL refused, for this reason, 10 say
in SO many words where the power OF the
Federal Government to prohibit State
taxation OF imported articles ceased.
He would not draw the line. Forty
years afterwards the Supreme Court OF the
United States refused in another somewhat
similar case TO draw the line distinctly.
II, therefore, Major DANIEL, or Mr.. Coo
HILL. or any other Democratic lawyer,
stated any propositions OF constitutional
law carelessly ten years ago, and thus rem
dersGi their language liable to misconstruc-
ton, they have an undoubted right to re-
cast their sentences and bring out more
clearly and definitely the meaning which
they meant to convey.
But there is no necessity for claiming
this privilege or right so far as the language
quoted above is concerned. Whilst the
bill to legislate all the circuit judges out OF
Office was pending in the Legislature we
repeatedly conceded all that Major DANIEL
asserts-namely, that the General Assembly
has full power to reduce the number OF
circuits and legislate so many Of the judges
out of Office. To abolish the circuit is to
abolish the office. To abolish six circuits
is to legislate six judges out OF office in a
constitutional manner. Every such Judge
"ceases to be judge when his circuit
ceases to exist" and also "ceases to be en-
titled to any salary, allowance, or other
perquiste Of Office" "In other words,
the General Assembly has power 10 legls-
late the ofiice-and thereby TO legislate the
oflicer--out Of existence"
There, however, the Constitution inter-
poses. There the line must be drawn.
The General Assembly has no power to
legislate all the judges out OF office under
the pretence Of diminishing the number OF
Judges. 1t can dispense with the services
Of supernumerary judges. 1t can decide
which of two judges thrown into one cir
cult shall continue to be Judge. But it
cannot in this indirect way do what the
Constitution itself in terms forbids that
body from doing directly. The power is
denied to the General Assembly by the
Constitution even to diminish the pay OF
the circuit judges during their term OF
office. How absurd, then, is the pretence
that the General Assembly can by merely
rearranging the circuits legislate them both
out Of office and out Of their pay.
We quote what we said last spring OH
this subject:
"Every Judge residing in one OF the new
circuits will be entitled TO continue to act
as Judge, unless there are two thrown into
one circuit, and even in this case one or
the other Of the judges must be removed
by the Legislature, after notice. as provided
i'm the Constitution, or else both Will be en-
titled to continue 10 receive their salaries,
and after one Judge is removed for cause
that is, because there is another Judge in
his circuit-the remaining Judge Will be
entitled to hold the office OF Judge for that
u1ltis MS Npii>tituliOuslitt eAphN''
"There is the whole case. There is pos
sible no other construction Of the Consti-
tuition which will give force to the several
provisions of that instrument relating to
the Judges OF the State. There is not a
single difficulty IN the way Of this construc-
ton. 1t removes all Of them. 1t carries
out the spirit Of the entire instrument. The
construction on which the Readiusters are
acting makes the Constitution Of no effect
mere dead letter. II that construction be
even so much as allowable, ii gives the Lc-
gislature the power to arrange the circuits
as often as that body shall find in the way
OF its revolutionary schemes Judge who
has independence enough to stand up for
the rights OF the people. The moment a
single Judge offended their maiesties, that
moment would the revolutionists 'rear-
range the circuits so as to leave him out
In the cold"
Each new Legislature would "resr.
range" the circuits and elect new set OF
judges.
Judge UNDERwOOD's claim to a seat In
tho limited Sfafos Sonafa aoJ Mr. Crw.pp,s