People v. Ah Chung

Heydenfeldt, J., concurred.

The only question involved in this case is, whether the Court of Sessions can be bolden by the County Judge and one Associate, or on the other hand, is the presence of all three of the Judges necessary.

The eighth section of the sixth Article of the Constitution of the State provides, that “ The County Judge, with two Justices of the Peace, to be designated according to law, shall hold Courts of Sessions, with such criminal jurisdiction as the Legislature shall prescribe, &c.” In arriving at a proper construction of this section, it will be necessary to refer to the second section of the same article of the Constitution, which provides, that “ The Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum.” By every sound rule of construction, the provision in this section, “ that two Justices of the Supreme Court shall constitute a quorum,” and its omission in the eighth, negatives the presumption that less than all three of the Judges of the Court of Sessions can properly constitute the Court.

According to the plain language of the section, the Court must be composed of three persons—the…