Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-09-11

The written opinion or the supreme
court in the famous Plankinton bank
case was lded down Wednesday. 1t
is supplementary to the decision of the
court made in June, when the court
decided that it had the right to inter
fere with ii progress of the case IN
the Milwaukee circuit court and direct
the examination of the assignee, Will
liam Plankinton, and the disposal OF
the report of the assignee and other
matters. When it was made the de-
cisiOn attracted unusual attention be-
cause it was the first time that the
supreme court had used the superin-
tending jurisdiction given it by the
constitution over the inferior courts
mile post in the legal history of the
state.
Broadly speaking, the opinion, like
the decision Of the court, lays down
the principle that the supreme court
has the authority, and will exercise it,
when circumstances warrant, to step
in and interfere with the acts of the
lower courts in the trial of cases, even
before the case in the lower court is
not yet decided Heretofore with fe.F
exceptions the supreme court has not
dealt with suits of any kind pending
in the lower courts till they had passed
through the lower courts and been
taken on appeal or some other
proceeding of the same
kind to- the supreme court. The deci-
sion is of the greatest Importance, be-
cause it will probably play an import
ant part in the administration of the
law in Wisconsin courts in the future,
and will preserve the interests of liti-
giants threatened with destruction by
the delays of the law. In the Plankin-
ton bank case, the ordinary methods
of appeal were of no use, for before
the supreme court could reach the case
in the ordinary course, the statute Of
limitations would have run on many Of
the claims, and the creditors rights
would have expired The circuit court
of Milwaukee county in which the as
signment of the bank was pending set
tIement had denied the creditors the
right to examine the assignee under
oath as to his administration of the
property of the bank, and they ap-
pealed to the supreme court to exert
it's power and order Plankinton .ex-
amined The attorneys for the as
signee fought hard against what they
asserted was an innovation, and urged
every technical objection to the suit
being brought UP in the supreme court
till it had been fully settled in the cir
cult court In the opinion the court,
says that it must be taken as settled
that the constitutional grant to the SUI
preme court of ga general superintend-
ing control over all inferior courts
gives the supreme court full power
to control the acts of the lower courts,
Several passages of the opinion
severely criticise the acts of Judge
Johnson of Milwaukee circuit court,
and the assignee. The fundamental
rights of the creditors, the court says,
were ignored. The circuit Judge and
assignee appeared to manage the prop
erty of the bank, the opinion asserts, as
if it we're the private property OF the
assignee concerning which the cred1-
tors had no rights. The supreme court
declares that the justices do not see
how the circuit judge could have more
thoroughly trampled on the rights OF
the creditors than he did. The decision
was written by Justice Winslow and is
some 10000 words in length.