Arizona republican., 1920-06-12
OPINION IF ATTY. GEM. THAT R. |. STANFOR ELIGIBLE ID SENATE

The following is the text of the opin- ion of Attorney General Jones, which was announced in The Republican yesterday morning. holding Judge R. C. Stanford to be eligible to election to the United States senate. The opinion rests upon the theory of the power of deliberative bodies to pass upon the qualification of their own membership. This opinion was in reply to inquiries received from many quarters: Dear Sir:
 I have before me your request for an opinion upon thes eligibility of judge of the supreme court or the su- perior court of the state of Arizona for election to a. seat in the United States senate at Washington, D. C.
 The same inquiry has been pro- pounded to this department by many people throughout the state, and while the matter has been effectively settled so as to be no longer a question, the inquiries above mentioned indicate that many are uninformed upon that fact.
 Section of article of the state constitution of Illinois adopted in 1870 and enforced since that time reads as follows:
 Neither the governor, lieutenant
 governor shall be eligible
 to any other office during the pe-
 riod for which he shall have been
 elected.
 Under the above provision of the constitution, the Hon. Richard J.. Ogiesby, on the second Monday Of January, 1873, entered upon his duties as governor of that state for a term of four years. having been elected at the preceding November election. The Illinois legislature, 12 days after he took the oath as governor, elected Cow ernor Oglesby for a six years term in the United States senate. He imme- diateIy resigned as governor and on the fourth of March, 1878, entered upon senator. Section of article l. United States constitution reads:
 Each house (of congress) shall
 be the judge of the elections, re-
 turns and qualifications of it's own
 members.
 And under that provision the United States senate (Republican) held that no state constitution could fix the qualifications and eligibility of a United States senator, but that it was controlled wholly by the United States constitution. of which the senate is the sole judge.
 John L. Beveridge, the lieutenant governor, who died few years ago in Los Angeles, succeeded Oglesby in the office of governor and served until 1877.
 Again in 1880 Shelby Nj. Cullom was elected for a second term as governor entering upon said term in 1881, to ex- pfre in 1885. In 1883 he was elected to the United States senate for a six years term and entered upon said du- ties March 4, 1883, under the ruling oi the United States senate (then Re publican), confirming its former judg- ment, that a. state constitution coulC not control in the matter, but mus yield to the United States constitution which fixes the qualifications ana eligibility of United States senator's
 John M. Hamilton, who in later years was a law partner of Judge kibbey 1T the city of Phoenix, Arizona, was lieu tenant governor and succeeded Cu1lon as governor. serving until the expira- tion of the term LID to January, 1885.
 Again. section 8 of article 5, New Jersey constitution. referring to tht one holding the office of governor reads:
 Nor shall he be elected by the
 legislature to any office under the
 government of this state or of the
 United States during the term for
 which he shall have been elected
 governor.
 Notwithstanding the stringent pro vision of the New Jersey constitution the governor If that state, during hi term, several years ago, became a can didate for the United States senate as I remember well the correspondence between us upon that provision o eligibility and that both Of us foun upon our Investigations that the mat ter had been so effectually settled b the United States senate as to be n longer a question.
 Again, the United States suprem court. itself, on Monday last, renderin it's opinion upon the eighteenth amend ment of the United States constitution known as the prohibition amendmen decided that no state constitution pro viding for the referendum of an measure to the vote of the people ( the state would be permitted to inter fere with the provisions of the Unite States constitution and that the pro visions of such state constitution per