83 Me. 489 | Me. | 1891
This is an application by an alien seeking to become a citizen of the United States. As evidence of the previous declaration of his intention to be naturalized, required by the Act of Congress, the applicant produced a copy of a dec
The federal constitution confers upon Congress the power "to establish an uniform rule of naturalization.” In the exercise of this authority Congress enacted the statute of April 14, 1802, prescribing the conditions of naturalization. By that act the preliminary declaration might be made on oath or affirmation "before the Supreme, Superior, District or Circuit court of some one of the States.” Then follows this provision in the third section of the act: " And whereas doubts have arisen whether certain Courts of Record in some of the States are included within the description of District or Circuit Courts : Beit further enacted that any Court of Record in any individual State having common law jurisdiction and a seal and clerk or prothonotary, shall be considered a District Court within the meaning of this act.” In section 2165 of the last revision of the United States statutes the courts thus authorized to naturalize aliens are specified and described as follows: " A Circuit or District Court of the United States, or a District or Supreme Court of the Territories, or a Court of Record of any of the States having common law jurisdiction and a seal and clerk.”
I. Was the Municipal Court of the City of Biddeford, January 24, 1888, a "Court of Record having common law jurisdiction” within the meaning of the Act of Congress of April 14, 1802 ?
Section one of chapter 151 of the Public Laws of 1855, and acts amendatory thereof, establishing the Municipal Court of Biddeford as constituted January 24, 1888, provide that it" shall be a Court of Record with a seal; and said court shall consist of one judge to be appointed, qualified and hold his office
Section four provides that "it shall be the duty of the judge of said court to make and keep the records of said court, or cause the same to be made and kept, and to perform all other duties required of similar tribunals; and copies of the records of said court, duly certified by the judge, shall be legal evidence in all courts.”
Section five is as follows : "The judge shall appoint a recorder who shall be a justice of the peace and of the quorum, duly qualified, who shall be sworn by said judge and who shall keep the records of said court when requested so to do by said judge, and in case of absence from the court-room or sickness of the judge, or whenever requested by him so to do, or when the office of judge shall be vacant, the Recorder shall have and exercise all the powers of the judge and perform all the duties required in this act of the judge, and generally shall be fully empowered to sign and to issue all processes and papers and do all acts as fully and with the same effect as the judge could do were he acting in the premises; and the signature of the Recorder, as such, shall be sufficient evidence of his right to act instead of the judge without any recital of the act hereinbefore named authorizing him to act. When the office of judge is vacant the Recorder shall be entitled to the fees; in all other cases he shall be paid by the judge.” Chapter 247 of the Special Laws of 1887, provides that the judge shall receive an annual salary of fourteen hundred dollars which shall be in full for all his services and the services of the recorder.
Two centuries ago, in the case of Groenvelt v. Burwell, 1 Salk. 200, Chief Justice Holt said: "Whenever a power is given to examine, hear and punish, it is a judicial power, and they in whom it is reposed act as judges; and wherever there is jurisdiction erected with power to fine and imprison, that is a court of record, and what is there done is matter of record.” Blackstone adopts this statement, adding that the proceedings of a court of record are enrolled for a perpetual memorial; and then distinguishes a "court not of record ” as one that can "hold no plea of matters cognizable by the common law unless under the value of forty shillings, nor of any forcible injury whatever.” 3 Bl. Com. 24. Thus in Woodman v. Somerset, 37 Maine, 38, Chief Justice Shepley says : "A court of record is one which has jurisdiction to fine or imprison, or one having jurisdiction of civil cases above forty shillings and proceeding according to the course of the common law.” . It was a distinguishing feature of it that at common law its judgments were reviewable only by writ of error. Accordingly in the matter of Gladhill, petitioner, 8 Met. supra, Chief Justice Shaw says of the police court of Low'ell in 1844 : "We are of opinion that it is a court of record coming within the description in the Act of Congress. It possesses all the characteristics of a court of record. Section six directs the keeping of a fair record. It is not necessary to decide here whether a justice’s court is a court of record. The point is left undecided in Smith v. Morrison, 22 Pick. 430.
But does the Municipal Court of Biddefordjjhave " common law jurisdiction ” to the extent contemplated by the federal statute ? With respect to this inquiry it is proper to remark that we have no national common law in the United States, distinct from that adopted by the several States, each for itself, except so far as the history of the English common law may be involved in the interpretation of the federal constitution. The judicial decisions, the usages and customs of the respective States determine to what extent the common law has been introduced. What is common law in one state may not be so considered in another. Wheaton v. Peters, 8 Pet. 658 ; Smith v. Alabama, 124 U. S.
Courts of " common law jurisdiction ” are such as " exercise their powers according to the course of the common law. It was not meant that they should have all common law jurisdiction over every class of subjects, including all civil and criminal matters. If so, few courts could be found in this country having the requisite common lawjurisdiction.” The People, ex relatione, Brackett v. McGowan, 77 Ill. 644 (20 Am. Rep. 254). So also in the matter of Martin Conner, 39 Cal. 98 (2 Am. Rep. 427), the court says : "The term 'common law jurisdiction’ is capable of no other meaning than jurisdiction to try and decide causes which were cognizable by the courts of law under what is known as the common law of England. The act does not require that courts shall have all the common law jurisdiction which pertains to all classes of actions. It is enough if it has 'common law jurisdiction.’” Again in U. S. v. Power, 14 Blatch. 223, the court says : "The statute of the United States does not require of courts, authorized to entertain applications for naturalization, that they shall have all the jurisdiction possessed by any court of law. If the court may exercise any part of that jurisdiction, it is within the language of the statute and its meaning as well.” To the same effect is Morgan v. Dudley, 18 B. Mon. (68 Am. Dec. 735). See also The People v. Pease, 30 Barb. 588; Ex parte, Burkhart, 16 Tex. 470, and Mills v. McCabe, 44 Ill. 194.
By those sections of the act establishing the Municipal Court of Biddeford above quoted, the responsible duty of making and keeping the records of the court is imposed upon the judge and not. upon the recorder. There is no duty of making and keeping the records imposed upon the recorder by law. He is to keep the records of the court only when requested so to do by the judge. Furthermore, the recorder of this court cannot authenticate by his attestation any copies of records "made and kept” by the judge or kept by himself at the request of the judge. Only such copies of the records as are " duly certified by the judge shall be legal evidence in all courts.” The authority to appoint a recorder was conferred upon the judge, not for the purpose of creating a fixed and permanent clerical office distinct and separate from that of the judge, but primarily to provide for the judge a substitute who should be empowered to act in
The process of naturalization, in the mode it is required to be performed by the federal statutes, is a judicial act. Spratt, v. Spratt, 4 Pet. 393. And "the importance and value of this privilege of citizenship, which is conclusively and finally bestowed by the act of the court having jurisdiction, should prevent us from allowing less than its full weight to any requirement by Congress which tends to restrict this power to those tribunals which may be supposed most competent to exercise it. Certainly, there would seem to be no propriety in intrusting to a court which in the exercise of its common law jurisdiction cannot pass finally on any matter of law or fact affecting property to the amount of one dollar, to make a final decision upon all questions of law or fact involved in an application for this great right, so as to make an absolute and unimpeachable grant of it.” Curtis, J., in ex parte, Craig, above cited.
We are accordingly of opinion that the Municipal Court of the City of Biddeford, January 24, 1888, did not have have a clerk within the intent and meaning of the federal statute, and therefore had no jurisdiction over applications for naturalization and no authority to receive and record the declaration of intention made by William Dean. The application for admission to citizenship was properly dismissed.
Exceptions overruled.