The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-11-23
THE STATS eANvAsslNc soAaDs
Not . Court, but Exercising the Func-
tions Of a Court, Explained

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Section of article Of the constitu-
ton of the state of Florida says
The judicial power of the state shall be vest
ed in supreme court circuit courts, criminal
courts, county courts, county judges and justices
of the peace
Section 81 of same article, says:
8 No courts other than those herein specified
shall be established in this state.
Some eminent lawyers therefore
hold that if a canvassing board acts
other than counting and tabulating
machine it becomes a court and as
such is inhibited by the section of the
constitution above cited.
But body can perform the ftinc-
tions of a court and not be court in
the meaning of the constitution.
When it says courts other than
those herein specified the constitu-
ton means courts of meuna and tuunp
courts for the trial of causes courts
having a settled and prescribed juris-
diction and perpetual and permanent
existence courts having judges and
other regular salaried officers.
I This will be shown by what follows:
The legislature very often appoints
certain of its members as special
boards, bodies or committees, for the
purpose of making special examina-
tions, investigations-and reports, and
said bodies are clothed with the pow
er to compel the production of books
and papers and the attendance of wit
nesses, yet, exercising these judicial
functions, these bodies are not courts
in the meaning of the constitution.
Courts-martial are established under
our statutes and are clothed with the
power to compel the attendance of
witnesses, preserve order in the court
room and punish contempts; nay,
more than this, they are clothed with
the power to impose fines and forfeit
ures, and yet, exercising these plain
and distinctively judicial functions,
are not courts in the meaning of the
constitution.
The constitution expressly provides
that the Legislature shall pass laws
that shall preserve the purity of the
ballot, and in obedience to this conssi-
tutional requirement the legislature
has prescribed how the purity of the
ballots shall be preserved and the true
returns canvassed, determined and de-
clared.
In pursuance of this express provis-
ion of the constitution the legislature
clothes the state canvassing board with
quasi-judicial functions. 1t gives the
board the power to determine whether
the returns are irregular, false or fraud
ulent, and to determine who have
been elected under them.
1t is a grave responsibility.
" If the returns says the statute,
"shall be shown (how and by whom p
cor shall appear to be irregular, false
and fraudulent the state canvassing
board is not to count them.n
To faithfully and truly determine
this the canvassers are of necessity
compelled to do something more than
examine the face of the returns.
We no more expect to find irregu-
larities, frauds and a bold, bald state
ment written on the face of the re-
turns that the returns are false and
fraudulent than we can reasonably
expect thief to brand ON his fore
head with hot iron: g am thiefr'
Clearly, ths n, the canvassing board
must do something more than exam
inc the face of the returns, and in do
ing so, while exercising judicial pow
ers, are no more court in the mean
ing of that inhibiting clause of the
constitution than courts,martial are
courts.
See!
Abe Lincoln must have had in his
minds eye the subtle profession of the
law when he said: g You can fool all
the people half the time and half the
people all the time but you can't fool
all the people all the time!n
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