The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1901-1901, 1901-05-31
MUST PAY FEE IN ALL CASES.
Law Requires Payment Of Fee For
Docketinq Judgment From
Justice Courts.

| mentS from JuSL1ce courts mas Deeu
sustained, and the opinion of Attor-
ney General Donovan, in the point at
issue, is given herewith, the account
having been printed in the Helena In
dependent.
Clerks of district court can legally
charge and collect fee for docket
| ing an abstract of judgment from a
justice court, the same as in the case
of transcript fro mthe district court
of transcript from the district court
the opinion of the attorney general in
response to an inquiry upon the ques-
ton. Some doubt has existed in the
minds of people who have had to do
with the filing of transcripts from
time to time, but prior to Tuesday
the matter has never been brought to
the attention of the states legal ad-
wiser.
The question was raised by Assist
ant State Examiner F. H. Ray, who.
it seems, had correspondence fur
nished him by the clerk of the Flat
head county court and Sidney M. Lo-
gan, of kalispell, in which the two
latter entertained different views as
to the law requiring the payment of
$3.50 for filing and docketing alb
! stracts of judgments from justice
courts in the district court. The court
clerk contended that it was necessary
| to pay the fee, while Mr.. Logan held
to the contrary.
| Attorney General Donovan takes
the same view of the law regarding
the collection of a fee as the court
clerk holding there is no distinction
| between the terms of abstract ana
transcript. From the time of docket
ing judgment. he says, from JUS
| tice court in the clerks Office, execu-
ton may be issued by the clerk, the
same as Il judgment were originally
obtained in the district court, and
there is no adequate reasons why
fee hould not be charged by the clerk
for such a transfer.
From the correspondence forwarded
to Mr.. Ray, it appears that objection
was made to paying the fee largely
on the ground that the law did not rea.
quire such payment in the case of
judgments from justice courts. The
attorney general says it could not
have been the intent of the legisla-
l I'm, IN re i,,ln &c
transferred from justice courts, while
requiring that fee should be charg-
ed for filing and docketing all other
judgments, no matter where they
originated. In his opinion prepared
yesterday the attorney general says:
Strictly speaking, transcript of
Judgment is copy of the judgment.
The term abstract as applied to rec
ords. ordinarily means a mere brief,
and not copy of that from which it
was taken. Yet in the case of Willhite
VS.. Barr, 81, No. 2S4, the court held
that the word abstract occurring in
certain certificate under consideration
was used in the sense of the word
copy
I'm most of the states provisions
are made for transferring the judg-
ment of justice of the peace to the
higher court of the county, in order
that the judgment may become
judgment of the higher court and a
lien upon the real estate of the judg-
ment debtor, and this may be accom-
plished by an abstract of transcript of
judgment.
THE above is quoted for the pur-
pose of showing that the terms alb
stract' and transcript as used in this
connection are, for all practical pur-
poses, synonymous, no distinction be-
ing made between them SO far as their
application to judgments from justice
courts is concerned.
From the time o. docketing a
judgment from justice court in the
clerks Office, execution may be issued
, thereon by the clerk, the same as ii
the judgment were originally obtain
ed in the district court, and there is
no good reason why fee should not
be charged by the clerk for each trans.
fer.
THE essential part of the phrases
abstract of judgment and transcript
of judgment is the word Judgment
t and the fee is required for the act OF
the clerk in filing and docketing such
judgement which gives it force and
efficacy which it did not have in the
justice court
Under section 1896, political code
a fee is required for the entry by the
clerk of the district court of every
judgment. whether originating in such
court, or transferred from another
court, unless an exception is made in
the present case. It certainly could
not have been the intent of the legis
| laturo RI make an ovcortior ~ ;,,6u