The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-11
EXAMINER REPORTS ON OFFICES
 OF CITY COURT CLERK AND SHERIFF

ary of the judge of the Cfts court I of Montgomery and provide the means
 for its payment. lActs 1s74-5. D. blD,
 provides for a salary of $3,000 to be
 paid him from the county treasury. Section 2, of the same act. provides
 for the collection of judges fee or
 $5 in each civil case defended, and s | in each civil case not defended. Sec-
 tion 3, of this act provides for the co'- lection of $5 in each felony case de-
 tended. and $3 in each misdemeanor
 case defended. making no provision for taxing and collecting such fee in any criminal case where the defendant
 makes no defense.
 1 In this act the fees were not pay
 able to the judge, but were required to
 be paid to the county treasurer. The provision fer taxing, fees in civil cases provided for in Section 2. noted above.
 was repealed by the Legislature, at it's
 session 1S92-3. (See Acts 1Ss2S p.
 25S). This left in force only Section 3.
 of the same act, providing for the coll lection of $5 in contested felony cases.
 and $3 in contested Hmisdemeaner cas-
 es. Later an act was passed by the
 Legislature, fixing and regulating fees | to be paid as costs in penitentiary
 cases. and as there was no judges fee
 provided for, none has since been taxed lin penitentiary cases.
 ] This left in force, Section of the act | of 1S74-S referred to above. applicable to contested felony cases only where the defendant was sentenced to hard
 labor for the county. While the pros Ivision Is applicable only to contested
 leases. tried and convicted in the City Court as shown, for the entire period examined by me, there has been taxed and collected a judges fee of $a lin all contested misdemeanor con- Ivictions, and S3 In misdemeanor convie@ tions, in which no contest was made, .s In eases of confession of judgment
 not paid to the clerk, executions were
 issued and turned over to the Sherih
 who became responsible forfthe collec- l tion of the fines and fees due the county.
 1 In cases sentenced to hard labor for l the county, the hard labor agent be-
 came responsible for the collection and
 payment of the hire into the county Clerk Collects Fees.
 In the matter of solicitors fees. thu | Clerk of the City Court has paid into the county treasury only such fees as were collected by him where defend ants who paid costs directly to him where judgments confessed were paid to him, and in penitentiary cases.
 Tn cases where judgment was con l fessed and execution issued, and the collection was made by the Sheriff. the solicitors fee has been paid to the county treasurer by him, and where the convicted defendant was sentenced | to hard labor to pay the costs, the so- licitor's fees has been paid into the county treasury by the hard labor agent Under the general law, this l would be the proper course. For
 Montgomery County, however Section ] 3 of "an act to require the salary of ] the solicitor to be paid by said county 1 and to dispose of the fees earned by said solicitor and his deputy" (Acts of 1S92-3, p. 43D, provides That all fees earned by the solicitor or his dep- uty, in the Circuit, City or County I Courts of said county. or in any court which may hereafter be established shall be paid into the treasury of the county, by the Clerk of the City Court of Montgomery, whose duty 1t shall be to collect said fees fromth auditor in eases of conviction and sentence to the penitentiary, from the sheriff where I Judgment is confessed, (and execution | is issued), from the hard labor con- tractor where the sentence is to har'i | labor for the county, and from the clerks of all other courts of said coun- tv where said fees are paid to such clerks. and for his service in the col- | lection of such fees, and their payment into the county treasury, said clerk shall receive a commission of per centum of the amount so paid by him. It seems clear that the purpose of
 this provision is to impose the duty