12 Minn. 216 | Minn. | 1867
By the Court.
By Sections 127 <& 130, Cha/pt. 59, page 516, Pub. Stat., a Justice of the Peace was required in answer to a certiorci/ri, to make return of “all the testimony and proceedings in the case. ” Under the familiar rule by which a public officer is presumed to have done his duty, the presiimption would be (nothing appearing to the contrary) that a return in any given case was made in compliance with the law, and therefore contained “ all the testimony.” We think the learned'Judge below, erred in assuming that in the absence of a certificate from the Justice, stating that his return did contain all the testimony, the presumption would be that evidence other than what appears on the return and sufficient to sustain the verdict, was presented before the Justice. Prosser vs. Secor, 5 Barb. (S. C.) 610, relied upon by the Court below to sustain the view taken, as to the mattér of presumption, related to a statute materially differing from our own. But a statute subsequently passed in New York, and quite similar so far as this point is concerned, to sections 127 and 130 above referred to, has received the construction which we put upon these sections. Calligan vs. Mix, 12
As to the taxation of the defendant’s costs against him by the Justice, that was clearly erroneous as held below.
The testimony of TL W. Wright introduced to prove that the defendant (appellant) had passed a $20 bill of bad money and been “taken up for it” was also incompetent. It had no. tendency to show that the bill in question in this action was bad or worthless. Testimony of this nature is sometimes admitted to show guilty hnowledge oh the part of a party charged with uttering counterfeit money, but not for the purpose of showing that the money uttered was counterfeit. 3 Gr. Ev., Sec. 111, Com. vs. Stone, 4 Met. 47. It sufficiently appears that the figures 30.65 given as the amount of the costs by the Justice were intended for $30.65. , The items composing this sum are entered on the docket and nobody could be misled. The omission on the part of the Justice to make a statement of the plaintiff’s demand, &c., on his docket as required by Sub-div. 4, Sec. 7, Chapt. 59, page 499, Pub. Stat., could not affect the validity of the judgment, especially when the pleadings were in writing and filed as in this case. See Hall vs. Tuttle, 6 Hill, 42; Humphrey vs. Persons, 23 Barb. (S. C.) 318; Robbins vs. Gorham, 25 N. Y. 595. But for reasons before given the judgment of the District Court must be reversed and the action remanded.