The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-03-24
NOT DECIDED
Resignation of Judd
Still in Doubt.
Supreme Court Refuses TO Declare
Chief Justices Seat Vacant
or Otherwise.


.-s.gu' yesterday as o. whether chic
| Justice Judls place on the SIprem
| bench is vacant The decision" doe
NOT settle the veXei question. Tn
| Court says: Under Che Circumstance
we do not fee. Justified il holding th
Office vacant. On the other hand. va
hardly fee, justified ia forcing th
! plaintiff 90 hearing .Agc0-d.uely. ",
=EaH- the continuance prayed unit
such time as 10 may be more clearly
! apparent tha- the office is not vacant.
| j. j. not a satisfactory decision {,
| members Of the bar. as ID leaves IN.
matter almost where t. was before thl
arguments Of The week. Those law
ye-s who have clients with cases be
/ fore the Supreme Court viii take tim,
| 90 consider whether they will try then
now. For the Government, Attorney
| General Cooper stated his readiness d
proceed. The opinion OF the Court 4
| about 1900 words i'm length. After re-
viewing at some length the evidenCt
and arguments introduced By counsel
| the opinion says:
Mr.. Judd (Jr.) testified I'm substance
that he delivered the letter OF resigna.
ton to President Dole: that they talk.
ed over the question when il should
| take effect, and that the President said
he declined 20 accept Il and that both
understood IL was 20 go into effect only
on the appointment OF a successor:
that he did not recOllect whether the
| President asked him 70 communicate
that 10 his father; that he did so com
| municate TO his father by letter. OF
which he has not a copy; that he had
received no reply; but thought he had
received a letter from his mother ac-
knowledging the receipt OF that partic-
ular letter; that he had written TO his
father about all his acts as his attorney
in fact and that on account Of his
fathers lll-health II was his mothers
custom 10 read to him all letters that
came TO him or 10 her; that his father
did not Instruct him 10 continue 10
draw his salary, or request him 20
make any statement TO President Dole
Iu connection with the delivery OF the
letter OF resignation. The Court then
heard further argument and took the
matter under consideration. The At
torney General stated that he did not
object TO a continuance. but at the
same time was willing to proceed with
the hearing OF the case. Many author
tiles were cited to show that, although
az common law a resignation did not
take effect until accepted. In other
words that an oficehOlder could not va
cate his Office without the consent OF
the appointing power. yet the modern
rule is otherwise, and the appointing
power cannot ordinarily compel an Of
dccr % continue in Office against his
VIII. We do not see that such author
tiles have much bearing upon the pres
ent case.
Counsel appear 10 Gttach a peculiar
magic 90 written resignation. They
even 90 so far as to contend strenuous
'y that n an odiceholder should hand
-O the proper person a written resigna-
ton. absolute in form, accompanied
by an oral statement that Il was not to |
take effect until accepted or until a !
successor was appointed. the Office
would ipso factO become vacant wheth- |
sr the resignation was accepted or not. |
and that evidence OF the oral state /
nent would be inadmissible, under the /
'ule that parole contempOraneOus evil i
ience is inadmissible 10 contradict or /
vary the terms OF a valid written in
.trument. 10 is obvious that rule has
10 application 20 such a case. What
he effect Of the testimony introduced i
n this case Is or how much OF Il should /
be considered in the absence OF other
Connected evidence is another cues
ion. But the broad proposition relied
n by counsel that oral evidence is in
dmissible TO show the intention and
understanding OF the parties as 20
'hen written resignation should take
feet Is untenable. In our opinion the
question whether an Office has become I
acant through resignation Is a ques-
ION primarily Of the parties more i'm
lediately interested. namely, the Of :
ceholder and the appointing officer or
ody, considered with reference 10 the
interests Of the public, which Is in a
lore general way also deeply interest
d.
The present IS a collateral proceed
1g 90 far as the Office Of Chief Justice
hough primarily interested, is not a
arty. We have not before US all the
acts. The issue has not been con-
ested. The question Is one OF interest
the public and to litigants in other
ases as well as TO the parties in the
resent case.
Under the circumstances we at least
1ould not feel justified in this proceed
az in holding the Office vacant. On
be other hand, We hardly feel justi-
ed in forcing the plaintiff TO a hear
~, and accordingly grant a cOntinu-
nee until such time as It may be made
appear more clearly that the Office
Z Chief Justice Is not vacant.
Whether this preliminary matter
1ould be decided by the remaining
NO Justices alone or by them and a
ircuit Judge or member OF the bar
tting in the place OF the absent or
on-existing member OF the Court, we
o not decide. That question was al
lded 20 by counsel, but was not press
d. A Circuit Court Judge sat with
be Justices, and We are all OF the opin-
N above expressed.
n Honest Medicine for La Grippe.