The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-01-15
DECISIONS AROUSE
 GREAT INTEREST Defines the Authority of Dc
 Facto Officers WILL BE FAR REACHING Judgments of lnvalidated Courts Are Good If Rendered Under Such Cir. cumstances as Surrounded
 Those of Old Courts.
WILL BE FAR REACHING
BY HERVEY w. LAIRD.

Montgomery. January l4.-(Special)- The effect of the decisions of the past week, handed down by the supreme court of Alabama, bearing on the defunct cir cult courts are of more than ordinary in- terest, carrying as they do some i'm portant questions of law and judicial usage which have been discussed and conned by the greatest legal minds of the nation.
 This Is especially so as concerns the extent of the authority of defacto of ficers Though the rulings just handed extent of the authority of de facto of- only in so far as they were performed on term days of courts set by some good law there are decisions in the books up- holding all the work of courts declared later on to have been illegally constituted. It appears from a study of the opinions written in recent cases along this line by the supreme court that about the fol- lowing conditions may be said to exist so far as the invalidated courts of the Lusk bill, and other acts are concerned.
 Discussion of Decisions.
 Notwithstanding the invalidty of the statutes attempting to create these courts and provide for them judges, the official acts of the judges appointed or elected
 
 just as good and binding on the public and third persons as is such judges had been acting under good laws. This is upon the idea that such judges were hold ing under color of right, claiming to be the rightful judges of the courts over which they presided and recognized by the public as rightfu1 judges The exis- tence of these circumstances constituted what is known in law as de facto officers officers in fact, as distinguished from de jure officers, officers of right.
 The official acts of a defacto officer while he is performing the duties of a validly existing office are as good as the official acts of de jure officer The public is not bound to stop and inquire into and investigate the title of an officer to the office he holds if he holds it under such circumstances as to constitute him court were based in the recently handed
 Judgments Good.
 It, therefore, follows that judgments of courts presided over by one of the judges who was assuming to hold under one of the recent void laws, are good if rendered under such circumstances as would have constituted good judgments if the courts had been presided over by judges holding of right, that Is to say, under constitu- tional statutes. To give a court the power to render a valid judgment, whether the
  the court not only must have Jurisdiction of the parties and of the subject matter but must set at the time and place ap- pointed by law. It Is just as essential to the validity of it's judgments that the court sit at the time prescribed by law, as it is that it shall have jurisdiction of the parties, and the subject matter.
 The foregoing indicates the reasonings upon which the conclusios of the supreme ha a1 in down decisions above mentioned. In the mandamus case against Judge D. W. Sreake of the Eighth judicial circuit brough by Attorney General Wilson the facts were that an indictment had heen returned by the grand jury of Madison county at court organized and held by Judge Paul Speake, who presided over the circuit court of Manson county, while claiming to be judge of the Sixteenth ju- dieial circuit After the Sixteenth circuit act had been declared void, Hon. D. w. Speake, judge of the Eighth judicial cir cult, held a term of the circuit court at Madison county. He granted a motion striking from the docket an indictment returned at the term which had been held by Judge Paul Speake, as judge of the Sixteenth jumcial circuit, his idea being that the indictment was void.
 Mandamus Case.
 Following this action the Attorney Gen eral applied to the supreme court for mandamus to compel him to restore this indictment to the docket. The motion was granted on the inference that Judge Paul Speake was a de facto judge, and that he held the term of the circuit court of Madison county, at which the mdlct- ment was found, at the time prescribed by law as it stood before the attempted enactment of the sixteenth circuit act. The court was held, in other words, at time and place prescribed by law. 1t had Jurisdiction of the subject matter and the parties and the judgments and proceedings were good, notwithstanding the judge who presided was only judge in fact and not by right Many other in- dictments found by this court at times and places agreeing with the law occupy the same status. This was simply test case It is adversely a fact that all in- dicements returned at times specified in the Sixteenth circuit act only, and not agreeing with the old code law governing the holding of the courts in the counties affected, are void. This condition invalid ated all the bills found against alleged lynchers in Madison county.
 Interesting Case.
 The point in the case of Henry Walker of Walker county which was reversed. was interesting bearing on the prln- ciple discussed In this case, Walker charged with murder and sentenced to hang, appealed from the decision of the circuit court of Walker county on the plei that tire circuit court of Walker county was presided over by the judge of the Fourteenth circuit, declared in- valid, and at term not prescribed by law. the time at which 1t was held having been appointed by a staute declared to be unconstitutional, because the subject matter was not clearly expressed in the title. The tile of the law as to fix the time of holding circuit courts in the fourteenth circuit, when there was in fact no Fourteenth circuit, the supposed law creating 1t being void.
 Thu the habeas corpus cases of Bob White and Walter Simms, from the pro- bate court of Walker county. the con tention was that the indictments were void because they were returned by the circuit court of Walker county, presided over by the supposed judge of the Four teenth circuit The coure refused to dis charge tine petitioners, holding that the Pal fn cbo Vt indipt-