Hayne
People ex rel. Morgan v. Hayne
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Fox, J.
This case comes to us on appeal from the superior court of the city and county of San Francisco. It is one of such commanding public importance, involving as it does, the course of procedure in and validity of many of the judgments rendered by this court, that upon motion it has been advanced on the calendar, and is given precedence in the order of determination.
*112 It is a proceeding against the defendants, E. Y. Hayne, H. S. Foote, I. S. Belcher, J. A. Gibson, and P. Yanclief, the commissioners of this court, to inquire “by what authority they claim to exercise any judicial powers within the state of California, and particularly of considering and determining cases on appeal to the supreme court of said state.”
Tiie complaint charges,—1. That the defendants are exercising the office of judges of the supreme court of the state of California, and as such claim the right to and do pass upon cases appealed from the superior courts of the state to the supreme court, and decide the same by virtue of their appointment as supreme court commissioners; 2. That the act of the legislature creating the commission, approved March 12, 1885, and the acts amendatory of and supplementary…
Concurring Opinion
Beatty, J.
I concur in the judgment of affirmance, and in most of the reasoning of Justice Fox’s opinion, but I do not think that a determination now that the act in question is unconstitutional would have the effect of invalidating judgments heretofore rendered in cases referred to the commission, and based upon their opinion or report. Therefore I do not rely at all upon the doctrine of stare decisis as a ground of my conclusions.
And I do not agree that there is nothing in the opinion of Judge Elliott, in the case of State v. Noble, 118 Ind. 350 , 10 Am. St. Rep. 143 , to indicate that he would have held our act unconstitutional. On the contrary, he expresses views from which, in my opinion, such a conclusion must follow, but I do not assent to his views. It seems to me that the point at which he goes wrong is where he declares that the duty of writing its opinions is specifically imposed upon the supreme court by the constitution. If I held to this view, I confess I could see no escape from the conclusion that the duties we assign to our commissioners, and which are performed by them, involve a delegation by us and a usurpation by them of judicial functions.