17 P. 264 | Idaho | 1888
This action was commenced in the district court in and for Bear Lake county. The complaint alleges “that, at a special election duly held in and for said county of Bear Lake, on the twentieth day of November, 1886, for the election of a county surveyor, in and for said county, said defendants were the judges of election for Paris election precinct in said county,.and being duly appointed and qualified as such judges, and acting as such, the defendants had the polls open for said election at the first ward schoolhouse, in said Paris precinct, between the hours of 8 o’clock in the forenoon and 7 o’clock in the evening of said day. That this plaintiff then was a male inhabitant of said county and territory, over the age of twenty-one years, and a native-born citizen of the United States, and then resided, and, for the space of more than four months and for more than twenty years immediately preceding the day of said election, had resided continuously in said territory, and in said county of Bear Lake, and in said Paris precinct. That, as said defendant then and there well knew, 'this plaintiff was not, at the time of said election, under guardianship, non compos mentis, or insane, and was not and had not been convicted of treason, felony or bribery in this territory, or in any other state- or territory in the Union, or else
The act of March 22, 1882, disfranchises bigamists polygamists, and those who are guilty of unlawful cohabitation, and disqualifies them from holding office. Section 2 of our statute contains substantially the same provision, as to this class of persons, and then further disqualifies all who counsel, advise, aid and abet in the commission of these offenses. Section 16 of
Perhaps the constitutional provision of the state of New York on this subject is as sound a commentary as can be given of religious freedom. “The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in tMs state to all mankind, and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of Ms opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state.”
This case shows clearly that the test is not whether the persons excluded could be prosecuted for any crime, but whether the facts bring the parties within the scope of the act. The decision rests, however, upon the ground that Congress may
It will be conceded that if the statute is valid, as the plaintiff did not offer to negative all the disqualifications imposed, his vote was not wrongfully rejected. Test oaths are not new in this country. They have been prescribed at different times in our history, and were justified by some real or supposed public danger or public necessity. But our attention has not been called to any similar to the one before us. The nearest
Judgment affirmed.