The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1913-07-01
THE PRIMARY LAW

Johnson and Jefferson counties, upheld
both, saying that there was no appeal from
the Circuits Courts under the primary law
declaring that in such cases it had no
jurisdiction" Coulter Journal.
''The Court of Appeals has upheld the
primary law, but the effort appears to have
sadly strained its logic Louisville Times.
The Court of Appeals decided
that it had no jurisdiction to
determine questions arising under
the new primary law. The law
itself says that there shall not be
an appeal taken. The following
is the language used:
'The orders of a court or judge
under this section shall be final
and not appealable."
But constitutions are higher
than statute laws. Section 10
of the State constitution reads as
follows tO-Wit:
"The Court of Appeals shall
have appellate jurisdiction only,
which shall be co-extensive with
the state under such restrictions
and regulations not repugnant to
this constitution, as may from
time to time be prescribed by law.
Said court shall have power to
issue such writS as may be
necessary to give it a general
control of inferior jurisdictions"
The legislature could not pass
AN act divesting this court of the
constitutional power of review of
inferior tribunals even if it under
took to do so. After the adop-
ton of the present constitution,
the legislature passed an act
which is section of949 of the
statutes and which reads as
follows to-wit::
Power is vested in the court
of appeals to administer oaths,
punish contempts and make
rules, consistent with law, for the
government of its proceeding S,
and to issue such writs as may be
necessary to give it a general
control of inferior jurisdictions
~
Section $50 reads as follows to-
wit:
mo appeal shall be taken to
the court of appeals from a judg-
ment for the recovery of money
or personal property, if the value
in controversy be less than two
hundred dollars. = =. In
all other civil cases the court
of appeals shall have appellate
jurisdiction over the final orders
and judgments of all courts"
1t will be seen that the court OF
appeals has Jurisdiction to try and
determine the merits of all con
troverSies of a civil nature. This
is the general law on the subject
This is still the law unless the
act regulating primaries is a re
peal of this part of the law. 1t i:
not repeal and no effort was
made to repeal it. But if it ma,
be construed as an indirect wa,
of repeating this general law, it i.
Intellectual for this purpose.
Stating generally, for it is ;
well known provision of the con
stitution, the legislature can no
pass a local or special act il
conflict with the general law; no
where there is a general law OF
the subject or where a genera
law can be made on the subject
Nor can itrepeal a law in part b,
the enactment of a special law
Nor can it amend a law b
referring to it by title only blu
the whole law amended must b
printed. Here there was no
even an attempt to amerld sc,
tons 949- $50 which were genera
laws on the subject of appeal.
Nor was it mentioned in the It'll
to the act that the bill attempte
to amend the law applicable
appeals.
The conclusionswhich we reac
are that so much of the pr
<fo~&s ~, le,... - = 4