Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1908-02-03

will be entered, according to a writ
ten opinion rendered today by Judge
John r. McFie in the quo warrant(
proceedings which were instituted
some time ago seeking to cause thu
removal of Commissioner Madril. The
defendant Is declared ineligible t
hold Office to which he was elected
on the ground tnat he was not {
qualified elector by reason of having
been convicted Of a felony and haC
not since been restored to citizen
ship.
The court in his decision goes in
to the case fully and no further in
troductory remarks are deemed nee
essary. Owing to the importance OF
the decision it is published in full
herewith as follows:
Opinion BY Judge McFie.
In the District Court of the First .Ju
dicial District.
Territory of New Mexico,
Santa Fe County.
Territory of New Mexico,
VS.. No. 1852
Jose Leon Madri.
This is an action in the nature OF
quo warrantO in which it is sought
by the Territory on the relation OF
its attorney general to have the of.
flee Of county commissioner for the
district, declared vacant by reason OF
the ineligibility Of Jose Leon Madril,
who is now assuming to occupy and
discharge the duties pertaining there.
to as alleged by the petition filed in
this court. Rule to show cause was
issued and return made thereto. Leave
was given the attorney general to
file the information and issue was
joined upon the merits by answer
and replication. A trial was had and
the cause was submitted to the court
upon the pleadings, testimony, oral
arguments and briefs of counsel.
Boards of county commissioners
were first provided for in Chapter l
of the Act of March first laws of 1876
and Section 7 of that act, (Section
65S Compiled Laws, 1897 provides
for the number, election of, and eligi-
bility of the members of such boards
as follows:
Sec. G5S. The board of county
commissioners shall consist of three
qualified electors, any two of whom
shall be competent to transact bust
ness, who shall be elected according
to law"
1t appears from this section, that
to be eligible to election to the office
OF county commissioner, person
must be a qualified elector. A per-
son, therefore, who is not citizen
of the United States, is disqualified
from holding such Office not being a
qualified elector. This section has
never been repealed or modified and
remains in full force and effect
The proof shows, that at the gen
eral election for county officers in
Santa Fe county, held on the 9Th day
of November, 1906, the defendant,
Jose Leon Madril was elected and
afterward gave bond, took the oath
required by law, on January LIST, 1907
he entered upon the discharge of the
duties of the Office and has been act
ing as such since that time.
1t is alleged in the information,
that at the time of his election, and
at the time this proceeding was in
stituted, Madril was disqualified from
holding the Office, discharglng the
duties or exercising the functions and
thereof, upon the ground
that under the laws of the Territory,
he was ineligible to hold the Office
not being a qualified elector.
Quotes Sections of Election Law.
The relator calls the courts atten.
tion to Section 1872 Compiled Laws,
1897, as the law under which the de-
fendant is ineligible to hold the office
of county commissioner:
Sec. 1872. All persons sentenced
for perjury, forgery, incendiarism,
coming false money, rape, larceny or
shall have been twice sentenced for.
petty larceny, shall forever lose all
right to vote, and shall be Ineligible
to any Office specified by this act
The evidence given at the trial es.
tablished the fact, that the defendant
was at the February term OF the
district court for Santa Fe county,
1879, convicted of the charge of steal
ing cattle and was sentenced to serve
a term of ten months in the county
jail, there being no other territorial
prison at that time. AT the trial 1t
was contended, that the defendant
did not serve his sentence but that
Is immaterial as the law only provides
for sentence, to set the statute In
operation. The sentence was imposed
was never set aside and no pardon