Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-12-09
FORTS FEE CLAIMS.
Solicitor General Victory Promulgates
an Opinion Adverse to Claims of
An Ex-District Attorney.

Hon. Marcelino Garcia, Auditor of Public
Accounts, Santa Fe. N. M.
Santa Fe, N. NJ, Nov. 20, 1s95.-Dear
Sir:-I am in receipt of your letter
wherein my official opinion is asked as to
the legality of the claim of L. g. Fort,
for appearance and other fees. alleged to
have been earned by him during his
term of Office as district attorney for the
counties of San Miguel and Mora.
Upon examination of the itemized ac-
count submitted I perceive that Mr.. Fort
claims the usual appearance fee of S.
each, in 100 felony cases which were dis
missed by him, without trial. from the
district court dockets, during the period
he was acting as prosecuting officer; and
also for certain extra allowances made to
him by the court in five murder Gases
$50 each in four, and $26 in the other
the whole claim amounting in the aggre-
gate to the sum of $725.
I beg leave to refer you to my opinion
rendered to Hon. R. L. Young, district
attorney for Dona Ana county, at bis re-
quest, in AprilIlast, a copy of which is on
file in your Office, relative to fees of dis
trict attorneys. l then held, and now
see no reason to change my opinion, that
district attorneys were only entitled to
the appearance fee of s. allowed under
the provisions of section 1850 of the
Compiled Laws (1884), where there was
conviction secured after indictment, a
sentence imposed, and no new trial
granted, in felony case only; but on
trial for felony of defendant, and his
acq initial, the court might order the fee
to be paid when, in its opinion, the SER
vices of the district attorney would war
rant it.
AS to the additional compensation al
lowed Mr.. Fort in certain murder cases
prosecuted BY him by the Judge who
oficiated at their trials, section z, OF
chapter Sc, laws Of 1889, aforesaid, ex-
pressly limits the payment Of fees to dis.
trict attorneys to the amounts allowed by
law, and in murder cases according to
their degree, not exceeding $40 for con-
viction of murder in the first degree. Il
is to be presumed that Mr.. Fort has
already collected the proper fees to
which he was entitled in each of those
murder cases, and while his services in
the prosecution OF these particular cases
may have been, and no doubt were, very
valuable to the territory, and fully worth
all the court conceded to him as extra
compensation, yet in view of the fact
that section 7, of chapter IS, laws of 1889,
limits the territory in the payment of
fees to prosecuting officers to those fxed
by law, am therefore of the opinion
that the court had no authority to make
additional allowances over and above
those fees mentioned in section 1880 of
the Compiled Laws.
The felony cases having been dismissed |
BY Mr.. Fort, without trial, conviction
and sentence of the defendants, he is not
entitled to the appearance fee of Is
claimed by him, and the court having no
power to charge the territory with any
other fees than those allowed by law TO
district attorneys, am Of the opinion
that the claim Of Mr.. Fort 10 not valid
one against the territory, and therefore
u should be dissllowsd BY the auditor.
JHo. P. vfCroAY,
Solicitor General Of
New Mexico. '