New-York tribune., 1903-04-25
SEEKS PLACE ON SUPREME BENCH.
C. 4. Hart Questions Titles to Office OF four
Justices

Albany April 24.-Attorney General C0iiiee
served decision to-day on an appncauoh oS 80
ridge A Hart of Brooklyn. to nave quo VIZ
nroceedings begun in the Supreme Court W ue
.r-,,a whether he was legally elected Justlce OF
the Sunrerne Court for the Second Judcial bStlc'
Mr. Hart who is leading Prohlol'iois' anu
member of the Prohibition committee winch ho
,nated Mr Cunneen as that partys candidate for
.t+r.a- General appeared for himself He was
onnosed bv Ex-Governor Black and Henry W. 5000
ricb who appeared for Supreme Court Jusuces
Garretson Hirschberg. Maddox and Gooorich. Oh
the Second Judicial District whose utles 10 oioe
are questioned in the application
Hart's petition tells of the death OF JuS'i0e OO
r Pratt of the Second Judicial District on August
1896 and the election of Justices 1aiie'soi,
Hirschberg Maddox and Goodrich on November
following one of them being chosen TO succeeu '
tice Pratt, and says that successor "
ror++ mas not legally chosen because the election
was not held not less than three months aItel
his death as is demanded by the CONSTITUTION III
the following year. Hart he had hlmseii nom
rated by the Prohfbtionists TO I'LL the vacancy, lie
ooo,aa or,1y evs or six votes but else re-
ceived any and he at said that he was legally
elected to succeed Justice Pratt
At the election in 1897. when Hart says that he
was elected. Justices jerks and Martin were regu-
Iary elected to recognized vacancies on the oench
Frederick A. Ward and Joseph A. Burr were can
didates but received fewer votes than the success
full ones many more however than did Hart II
the contention of Hart that the previous elecuon OF
Justice
# would naturally appear that Mr.. Ward VINO ran
third in 1897 was the successful candidate. On TINS
point Hart's argument is that the people were voting
for Ward and Burr for the two justiceships which
they knew to vacant. and that it was not In the
minds Of the voters to elect either to the va
cancy for which Hart was running. while the votes
for him were for the specific purpose OF erect
ing him to succeed Justice Pratt
After the alleged election Hart applied for writ
of mandamus 10 compel the State Board of Can
III, lIy lpcra He Ua de-
feated in ali courts the Court of Appeals deciding.
without passing on the merits of the case that he
had invoked the wrong legal remedy. and that If he
had any rights he could obtain them only through
quo warranto proceedings.
The following five points were advanced by ex
Governor BLACK and Henry W. Goodrich in opposi-
ton to the application.
First-That the petition of Hart is too broad and
too Indefinite In that Ii does net specify but
rather four justices of the Supreme Court whose
title to office desires to test.
Second-That the petition should be denied be-
cause Hart has been guilty of unreasonable delay in
making the application, several years having
elapsed since the decision Of the Court OF Appeals,
which specified that MS remedy was in quo war
rauto proceedings.
Third-That the election in question happened
less than three months after the death of Justice
Pratt and that IL therefore properly held
Fourth-That the applicant not duly elected
Justice of the Supreme Court in 1897 and that the
application therefore should not be granted
Fifth-That public interests do not warrant the
commencement of an action Of this character