The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-26

l.
Hearing was had on July %.
| Len Small became governor of
the state Of Illinois in January.
1921, beginning term of four
years. and is now governor of the
"On the goth day Of July, 1921.
the grand jury Of Sangamon coun-
| ty returned into this court three
indictments against Len Small
charging him with criminal Of
| lenses.
The statute makes it the duty of
the court, when an Indictment is
returned, to fix bail IL the offense
charged is bailable and makes it
the duty of the clerk OF the court
to Immediately issue process of ca
pias directed TO the sheriff for
service
Appearing as amici curiae to give
the court friendly advice as TO its
duties, and the course it should
! pursue, you advise that the court,
on its own motion, should issue
restraining order enjoining the
! clerk OF this court, from issuing
process of capias for the apprehen-
sion OF the defendant until after
the expiration of his term of office,
and that the court should suspend
prosecution during said term.
No Birth Hal0es.
The king can do no wrong In
support of the advice it is urged
that because of the high official
! position of the accused and the
great disaster that would otherwise
| befall the state and in pursuance
of public policy the defendant is
immune from arrest and that prose
cution should be suspended. To
sustain this contention the monar-
chical maximum The king can do
no wrong is quoted.
THE king can do no wrong is
an ancient doctrine, but in this re-
public it has never reached the ap-
plication that an elected official can
do no wrong. We have been ex-
tremely fortunate in the character
and conducts of elected officials,
but there has never been an init
nation or suspicion that they were
before, during and after the term
of Office. Our governors are not
born kings. They are not sur
ny q bdAO VI III lll1N
gives them immunity from the
temptations and frailties to which
other humans are subject.
ut is said in the constitutional
history of England that in ancient
days the functions of the king and
priest were the true prerogatives OF
birth, and it is said the kings pow
er is, therefore, from God, that OF
parliament from men, gained per
haps by rebellion; but what right
can arise from rebellion?
In Broom's legal maxims it is
said of this maxim:
But this maxim must not be I'M
derstood to mean that the king is
above the laws in the unconfined
sense of those words, and that
everything he does is, of course,
Just and lawful Its true meaning
is, first, that the sovereign indi-
vidually and personally is indie
pendent of and is not answerable
to any other earthly power of jur-
isdiction, and that anything miss
in the condition of public affairs is
not to be imputed to the king, so
as to render him personally an
swerable for it, to his people.
Secondly, the maxim means the
prerogative of the crown extends
not TO do an injury; being created
for the benefit of the people il can
not be exerted to their prejudice;
and it is, therefore, fundamental
general rule that the king cannot
sanction an act forbidden by law;
so that from this point of view he
is under and not above the laws,
and is bound by them equally with
his subjects.
If, then, the sovereign personally
command an unlawful act to be
done, the offence of the instrument
is not therefore Unidentified; for
though the king is not himself under
the coercive power of the law,
which makes the act itself invalid,
if unlawful, and so renders the in
strument of execution thereof OBJ
noxious to punishment" i
Broom's legal maxims, 80.
Grants Are Void.
The same author continues:
Whereas, therefore, it happens
that by transformation or inadver-
tence the crown has been induced
to invade the private rights OF a
subject the law will not suppose
that the king meant either an I'M
wise or an injurious action, but de-
clares that tn eking was deceived
in his grant and therefore such
grant becomes void, etc.
I'm like manner, also, the king
grants are void whenever they tend
to prejudice the course OF public
justice
Again it is said:
What he does by command to his
servants can not be wrong in him,
for if the command be unlawful II
is in law no command, and the ser
want is responsible for the unlaW-
full act as if there was no COM
mand'
"It will thus be seen that the
maxim applies wholly and solely
to the manner in which official acts
of the king are to be considered
and construed when applied.
THE maxim has no application IN
Illinois and no application to the
case at bar. We have in Illinois no
such thing as "the divine rights of
kings" The king" has no coun-
terpart in Illinois. 1t may be his
edicts can not be gainsaid. In llll-
nois the legislature makes the laws
and not the king, but the deliberate
acts or edicts of the legislator in
hoIl for ranUht