1 Indian Terr. 405 | Ct. App. Ind. Terr. | 1896
Lead Opinion
This case turns upon the construction to be given to section 7 of the act of congress approved March 1, 1895, entitled “An act to provide for additional United States judges for the Indian Territory and for other purposes.” The portion of 'the section applicable to this case is as follows: ‘ ‘ All civil suits should be brought in the
Jurisdiction cannot be conferred upon a court by consent of parties, or by order of court. It must be conferred by law, and the geographical limits within which jurisdiction may be exercised are always definite and capable of exact ascertainment. The geographical lines of a court’s jurisdiction are not the subject of measurement, to be ascertained by the court in each case, as a question of fact. The United States court in the Indian Territory is divided into three districts. The lines of these districts are fixed by law, and are susceptible of exact ascertainment in all cases, and the court in each district has jurisdiction to hear and determine all cases cognizable in the district, at any one of the places for holding court. There are no subdivisions in the
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring.) A part of section 7 of the set of 1895 is ambiguous, in this: that it raises the question whether the clause, ‘ ‘and if a resident in the court nearest to ds residence, ” qualifies both clauses preceding it, or only he second. If both, then a single defendant should be sued