The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-04-13
TERRITORIAL COURTS NEXT TO
WASHINGTON.
No Appeal from Courts Here to the
United States Circuit Court Of
Appeals.

SAN FRANCISCO, April "A deci-
sion handed down yesterday by Circuit
Judges Gilbert Ross and Morrow, sit
ting as a Circuit Court of Appeals, au-
thOrizes the Hawaiian courts to clear
their calendars of cases pending when
the territory was annexed to the Unit
ed States with a reference to no other
appellate court other than the Supreme
Court of the United States.
The case which led to this ruling was
an action against the Wilder Steam
ship Company, a Hawaiian corporation
by George U. Hind and others for vi
olation of contract. The island court
decided against the steamship company
and motion was made before the
United States Circuit Court of Appeals
for the allowance of an appeal. Judge
Gilbert delivered the opinion, and, stat
ing that the question presented was
whether the Circuit Court of Appeals
had jurisdiction to entertain an appeal
from the Supreme Court of the Terri
tory of Hawaii in admiralty cases, re-
ferred to the bearing of the annexation
act on such matters. AS the case was on
trial in the different Hawaiian courts
from February g. 1900, to November
9Th of the same year, it comes, accord
ing to this decision, within the langua-
ge of the annexation act, which is as
follows:
"All rights of action in suits at law
and in equity, prosecutions and judg-
( ments existing prior to the taking eff
feet of this act, shall continue as if
this act had not been passed. All such
proceedings, all actions at law, suits
in equity and other proceedings then
pending in the courts of the Republic
of Hawaii shall be carried on to final
| judgment and execution in the cor
responding courts of the Territory of
Hawaii"
Attention is also called to the ere
alton of a Hawaiian District Court
which has the same jurisdiction in Ha-
waiian cases as is exercised in the Unit
ed States by District and Circuit
Courts mo appeal" the decision goes
on to say, will lie to the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals in such cases;
the appeal must be made from the ter
/ ritorial court to the United States Su-
preme Court, and only in such cases as
are appealable to that court from the
Supreme Court of a State"
The text of the above decision was re-
ceived here by Kinney, Ballou and Nc
! Clanahan, attorneys for the Wilder
Steamship Company. Under the terms
of the decision the Supreme court of the
/ Territory of Hawaii is placed on the
same footing as an American state Su-
preme Court. Appeals may be taken
from the Supreme Court of Hawaii to
the United States Supreme court in the
same class of cases as may be appealed
in the same way from state Supreme
Courts. In other cases there is no ap-
peal from the Territorial court. The
Circuit Court of Appeals declines 1uris-
diction in the case decided.
The matter is now being taken to the
United States Sdpreme Court. Man
damus proceedings have been begun at
Washington to compel the San Fran
cisco Circuit Court of Appeals to hear
the appeal from Hawaii. The decision
in this proceeding will finally settle the
question of how appeals should be
made from Hawaii and will also deci-
de the Wilder Steamship Company S
chance of appeal from the decision
| awarding damages for the sinking of
the barkentine William Carson.