Case Name: Little v. Herndon
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1869-12
Citations: 10 Wall. 26
Docket Number: 
Parties: Little v. Herndon.
Judges: 
Reporter: United States Reports
Volume: 77
Pages: 26–33

Head Matter:
Little v. Herndon.
1. A defendant, claiming under an Illinois tax-deed, who would avail himself of the statute of Illinois, of February 21st, 1861, setting forth what facts may be shown to establish the invalidity of such a deed, and pre- * eluding, except upon certain conditions, a.question of it for any other cause, must show ncft only a tax-deed in proper form, but show-also a judgment under Which the tax sale was made.
2. On an objection to the admission of a deed because of an alleged erasure and interlineation-apparent"on its face, the court may properly admit the deed, leaving it to the.jury to determine whether there'was any alteration.
3. A deed for lands in Illinois, executed in Virginia and acknowledged in conformity with its laws at the time of execution, may be lawfully re-, corded in Illinois, and read in evidence without further proof of execution.
JJrror to the Circuit Court-for the Northern District of Illinois, the ease being thus-: ,
. A statute of-Illinois, on the subject of sales of land for taxes, passed 21st February, 1861, makes this enactment:
“ All deeds hereafter made by the proper officer m pursuance of sales of real estate for the non-payment of taxes shall be held to 'be null and void,-if it be shown that said taxes had been paid before the sale, or that said real estate was pot subject to taxation, or that it had been redeemed from said sale, or if notice required by the constitution .was not' given, or that the description of said land was not sufficiently definite; and the validity, of all-such deeds hereafter made by the proper officers, for real' estate sold for the non-payment of taxes, shall'not be questioned in any suit or controversy in this State for any other cause, un.less the party, wishing to contest the same shall tender to the claimant under said tax-deed, or deposit in the court in which such suit is pending, for his use, the amount of the redemption-money now provided for by law, with ten per cent, per annum interest thereon from-the date of said deed to the time of said tender or. deposit; and after said tender or deposit is made, the validity of said deed may be questioned in the same manner and to the same, extent as now provided by law.”
At the time of the passage of this act, by the decisions of the courts of Illinois, full and explicit, a tax-deed, executed by the proper officer, had no validity unless founded upon a judgment against the parcel of land in default for non-payment of the tax, an order for the sale, and precept thereon, and it was necessary that these preliminary steps should be first shown in order to give any effect to a title under the deed.
In this state of the law, one Herndon brought ejectment against Little, ’in the court below, to recover possession of a lot of land in Illinois, describing it. He gave in evidence two patents, including tbe premises, from the government to one Hood, each dated November 1st, 1839; and a deed from Hood to himself, dated February 4th, 1842,' and recorded in the recording office where the land was, and rested-
Theklefendant, in his defence, offered in evidence a deed from the sheriff of the county where the land ivas, to a certain Peck, including the premises, dated July 1st, 1864, purporting to be a deed given in pursuance of a sale for the non-payment of taxes for the year 1861, but he did not show a judgment under which the tax-deed was made. He offered, also,.a quit-claim deed from Peek and wife to one Bourland, dated July 1st, 1864, and from Bourland and wife to one Underhill, dated April 29th,-1865, and then 'offered in evidence five tax certificates, for taxes paid on the premises for the several years therein mentioned, stating that the object of offering the same in evidence was to recover the amount of the taxes and costs paid upon the laud, in case the deed from the sheriff should be questioned as title by the plaintiff, under the terms of the act of February 21st, 1861, and to-defeat'his' using his patents as a title, if he refused to pay the taxes according to the statute.. But the court was of opinion that the defendant had not brought himself within the statute, for the reason, among others, that he must first show there was a judgment, as the foundation of the tax sale and deed. And so ruled. Judgment having been accordingly rendered for the plaintiff, the other side now brought the case here.
. The principal question argued here veas, whether upon a true construction of the act of February 21st, 1861, the plaintiff was bound to pay the taxes which had been paid by the defendant, and' by those under whom he claimed, aa a condition of beiug permitted to attack the deed under the'tax sale; the defendant'taking the position that upon a true construction of the act, the sheriff’s deed of the sale properly executed, -with its recitals, was sufficient evidence, in 'the first instance, to impose this condition- upon the plaintiff:
Some minor objections, it should 'be added, .were taken below by the defendant to. the admission of evidence, as, 1st. To the admission of one of the patents; -the ground of the objection being* an alleged erasure and interlineation, apparent, as he asserted, on the face of the same, by the erasure of the word six, and the interlineation of the word seven therefor in description of the premises. ,The court overruled the objection, and left it to the jury to determine whether there was any alteration. 2d. To the admission of the deed from Hood to Herndon. The ground of this objection being'the acknowledgment. .But the acknowledgment was in conformity with the requirements of the law of Virginia. And by statute of Illinois, a deed ackno wledged in conformity with the laws of the State in which the deed is executed, may be admitted to record in the county where the land is situated; and after being so recorded, may be used in evidence without further proof of the execution thereof. The'court below overruled the objection, and allowed the deed to be read.
Mr. B. C. Clark, for the plaintiff in error.
Mr. Conway Robinson, contra.
Spelman v. Curtenius, 12 Illinois, 409; Marsh v. Chestnut, 14 Id. 224; Charles v. Waugh, 35 Id. 317.
Session Laws, 1847, p. 47, § 3; Secrist v. Green, 3 Wallace, 750.

Opinion:
Mr. Justice NELSON
delivered the opinion of the court.
The principal question is, whether there is anything in the act of February 21st, 1861, indicating an intention, on the part of the legislature, to change the course of decision which the courts of Illinois had made, on the subject of a tax deed, made without evidence of a preceding judgment, and to give validity and effect to the naked deed of the officer ?
The argument in favor of the construction of the statute which the plaintiff in error would establish is placed upon the introductory words of the act: "All deeds hereafter made by the proper officer in pursuance of sales of real estate for the non-payment of taxes shall be held," &c. It is contended that the words should be construed as meaning simply the deed of the " proper officer," and nothing more, and that they impliedly, at least, exclude the necessity of giving any evidence of the judgment, order of sale, or precept. But we are inclined to think that this idea fails to give full effect to the language-used. The de'ed must not only be made by the proper officer, but must be made "in pursuance of sales of real estate for the non-payment of'taxes." How are those sales made according to the law of Illinois? As we have seen, after a judgment rendered-by the court against the parcel of land for default in payment of the taxes, on order of sale, and-precept to-the officer. Unless these steps have first been .takep, the sale cannot be said to be in pursuance of sales of real estate 'for the non-payment of taxes, ae provided in the act. It is, perhaps, not inappropriate to look ' at the consequences that-might attend any different interpretation. • If the naked deed of the'officer is sufficient to impose the condition upon the owner to pay all taxes and costs, and ten per cent, interest, before he' can be permitted to attack the deed for any irregularity, except as specified in the act itself, then a deed without a judgment, or order of sale' (as these are not within the exception), would be just as available for the purpose as if founded on a judgment and • order of sale. It is not necessary to stop to point out the abuses to which such an interpretation would naturally lead.
In the case of Spelman v. Curtenius the court observed "that a regular tax deed, founded upon a valid judgment and precept, is made by the statute primd facie evidence of every fact necessary to authorize a recovery, upon it; but, as it is only primd facie evidence, it follows that there must be some way of contesting the case made by deed, else it would be conclusive of those facts of which the statute expressly declares it shall be primd facie evidence merely." The opinion then points out many.grounds and objections 'that would overthrow this primd facie evidence and defeat the title. And, we- think, it is this primd fade title, thus explained, which is fairly embraced in the introductory language of the act of 1861.
In the ordinary case of a title to land, set up by virtue of a sale under a judgment and execution, the party is bound to give evidence of the judgment and execution to support this title. Without these, the sheriff's or marshal's deed would be a nullity. And it would be singular, in these tax sales, so stringently scrutinized by the courts, and every prerequisite prescribed by the legislature before a sale rigidly enforced, if the act in question was intended to dispense with the necessity of producing the judgment and_ precept as- the foundation of the sale and of the validity of the deed. For these reasons we are inclined to think that the construction of the statute by the court below was right, and should be affirmed.
We regret that this statute has not come under the review of the courts of the State, as we should have been relieved from this examination of it. But, after a diligent search into the reports of their decisions, we have not been able to find any case involving its construction except one, which holds that the act is not retrospective.
A minor objection below was to the admission of one of the' patents, on the ground of an erasure: The court left the question to the júry, which was quite as favorable a ruling as the defendant could ask. In the absence of any proof on the subject the presumption is that the correction was made before the execution of the deed. In a recent case in the Queen's Bench, Lord Campbell, Chief Justice, in delivering the opinion of the .court, after- referring to the note in Hargreve & Butler's Coke Littleton, 225 6, where this rule was asserted, observed: "This doctrine seems to us to rest on principle. A deed cannot be altered after it is •executed without a fraud or wrong;- and the presumption is against fraud or wrong." The cases are not uniform In this country, but the most stringent leave the question to the jury.
Another objection was to the admission of the deed in evidence from Hood- to Herndon, which was executed and acknowledged in the State of 'Virginia. But it appears that the acknowledgment was taken in conformity with the laws of Virginia at the time the deed was executed, which, according to the laws of Illinois, was sufficient to admit it to be there recorded, and to be given in evidence.
JüDSMENT AEEIRMED,
12 Illinois, 411.
Conway v. Cable, 37 Illinois, 90.
Doe v. Catomore, 16 Adolphus & Ellis, New Series, 745.
Lewis v. Payn, 8 Cowen, 76; Jackson v. Jacoby, 9 Id. 126; Hatch v. Hatch, 9.Massachusetts, 312.
Secrist v. Green, 3 Wallace, 744; Carpenter v. Dexter, 8 Id. 513.