Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1908-02-03
MADR|L MUST VACATE OFFICE
Of COUNTY COMMISSIONER
Judge McFie Renders Opinion in Quo
WarrantoC Case Declaring Defendant
to Be Ineligible

SHOWN or attempted to be shown on
behalf of the defendant.
The question then is, can person
who has been convicted of the crime
of larceny Of stock, and sentenced by
the court for the offense, be elected
to and hold the Office of county com
missioner in this Territory, prior to
the setting aside Of the sentence, or
pardon and restoration to citizenship,
as the law now stands If such is
the state of the law, it would be un.
fortunate for the fair name of the
Territory, and | do not approach a
decision of this case, with a desire
to find the law that way. Much as
feel, that the defendant Madril has
redeemed himself by living an honest
life for many years.
The election law of 1851, defined
the qualifications of voters to be as
follows:
Sec. 10. Every white, male citizen
Of the United States, over twenty-one
years of age, who shall have resided
in this Territory one year, and in the
county in which he offers to vote,
for three months shall be entitled to
vote and be elected to Office in any
election provided for IN this act. un.
less in the cases hereinafter speci.
fed"
Section q OF the same act relates
to disqualiflcations and is as follows:
Sec. 81. No person prevented by
the Organic Law of the Territory, no
officer or soldier in the United States
army, and no person included in the
term camp followers OF the United
States army shall be entitled to vote
or hold Office in this Territory
Following both of these sections is
section SO, which has been set out in
full above, which disfranchises those
wh,- have been sentenced for certain
crimes.
No Material Changes in Original
Statute.
All of these sections appear in the
revision of the laws in 1865 and the
Compiled Laws of 1884 and 1897, eX.
cept, that the term of residence in
the Territory was reduced from a
year to six months and residence in
precinct for 30 days was added. There
was another change in the phrase.
ology of Section 10 in the registra.
ton act of 1868, the words, "unless
in the cases hereinafter specified
are omitted. When this matter was
called to the attention of the court,
[ was inclined to the view, that by
this omission, the legislature had at
least by implication repealed Section
1872 as to ineligibility on account of
the commission of crime, but care
full examination of other sections Of
the statutes convinced the court, that
the Legislature did not so intend
and so ruled at later hearing of the
case. | am still of the opinion, that
the legislature did not intend to re-
peal Section 1872, nor Is that section
repealed by implication, but on the
contrary, the whole tenor of the leg.
islation on this subject forbids such
construction. In my opinion, these
words were omitted because they
were unnecessary, as the disqualified.
tions and acknowledgements provided
for in other entirely distinct sections,
would be effective whether or not
they were referred to by this section.
If this be correct, there is no neces.
sity for construction, but if there be
any doubt about 1t, one of the cardi-
nal rules of construction, in fact the
controlling rule is, that when the leg
islative intent is ascertained, there is
an end of construction.
1t is scarcely reasonable to believe,
that the legislature in 1868 intended
to say, that while convicts had been
declared ineligible to hold Office and
from voting since the Act
of 1851 was passed, that the time
had now come, when convicts should
be considered legal voters and de-
clared eligible to hold Office. That
there is no direct repeal of the dis
qualifying sections is admitted, and
this, to some extent, negatives the
idea of an intention to thus change
the existing laws, but further than
this we find. that sections 81 and 62
Of the election law Of 1851 are re.
tanned without any change whatever
In the revision of 1866 and the COM
pilations of 1884 and 1897. No direct
appeal of either Of them has ever
been attempted, and thus, the exist
ence of the disqualifying and dis
sections have been re-
peatedly recognized by the legisla-
ture. An examination Of the registra-
ton act of 1853 disproves any inten-
ton of the legislature to ignore the
existence of the dlsqualifying and dis.
sections Of the election
lauu For thn ovictn nnco ~ diaruo 1if1no