The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-03-23
STATUS OF THE TERRITORIAL
COURTS.
United States Supreme Court Asked to
Provide for Appeals to Circuit Court
From Hawaiian Supreme Court.

The question of whether appeal may
be taken from the Supreme Court of the
Territory of Hawaii to the Circuit court
of appeals at San Francisco has been
submitted to the Supreme Court at
Washington and to the Circuit court al
San Francisco BY Kinney, Ballou and
McClanahan, attorneys for the Wilder
Steamship Company in the case of the
damage suit brought by the owners of
the wrecked barkentine William Car
son. Attorney McClanahan, who re-
turned this morning from Sa~ Fran
cisco on the Mariposa went there for
the purpose of looking after the cases.
Application has been made at Washing
ton to have the Territorial courts of
Hawaii brought under the court of ap-
peal of the Ninth Circuit, which sits at
San Francisco. The points raised in
volve important and interesting ques-
tions concerning the courts of Hawaii.
Section SO of the organic act was
designed to give the Supreme Court of
Hawaii the same powers as state Su-
preme Court It's provision was in
tended to give the territorial court pow
ers of final decision except in cases
of appeals to the United States Su-
preme cocurt. This gives Hawaiis
courts higher standing than other ter
ritorial courts, from which appeals go
to the United States circuit courts of
appeal, before to Washington. The Su-
preme court of Hawaii decided that no
appeal was allowable to the circuit
court in the Carson case, but the attor-
neys took the matter to the circuit
court with a petition to that court to
hear the case. The matter was argued
and submitted in San Francisco by
Paul Neumann and e. B. McClanahan
on February 21, but no decision has
| been given yet 1t is thought that the
circuit court is waiting for a decision
| from Washington on the petition to
have Hawaii's courts brought under
the Ninth Circuit court of appeals.
| Such an order would settle the question
in favor of the appellants and reverse
the decision of the Supreme Court of
Hawaii on the appeal question.
The attorneys for the Wilder Steam
| ship company base their contentious on
section Is of the Ewarts Act, creating
the circuit court of appeals and upon
the wording of section Sc Of, the terri
torial act of Hawaii. The Ewart law
| says that there shall be appeals from
the territorial Supreme courts to the
| circuit courts of appeal, and that for
J this purpose the United States Supreme
| court shall assign the several territorial
courts to their respective circuits. This
is what the Supreme court has now
been asked to do in the case Of Hawaii
The fact that the case at issue is ar
admiralty matter is another point made
by the attorneys for the steamship com.
pany. State courts do not hear admir-.
atty matters and there is nothing in the
organic act about whether the terrific.
rial courts shall do so.
Chief Justice Frear, who concurred
in the decision that there Is no appea
from the Supreme court of Hawaii ex.
cept to the highest court in the land
was one of the commission that framed
the organic act. There seems to be
chance that the Supreme court of tn,
United States and the circuit court o.
appeals of the Ninth Circuit will dis
agree with the trainers of the act a.
to it's effect.
Three cases are already effected by
the appeals taken. They are the suit o
the owners of the lost barkentine IL
which damages of $55,000 were awarded
and two other suits amounting to $3.50
for freight and personal effects of Cap
tain Piltz, lost at the time of the
wreck. The expected decision will set
tie the matter of appeals for all future
casese that come before the Supreme
court of the Territory of Hawaii