92 Ga. 809 | Ga. | 1894
The bill of exceptions was not certified within thirty-days from the date of the decision complained of, which was the overruling of a motion for a new'- trial. In a separate certificate, however, the judge states facts explaining the delay, which would probably be sufficient to make the certificate in time. It also appeared that the application for the writ of mandamus was not presented to this court on or before the third day of the term after the refusal of the judge to sign the certificate as presented, and the point was made that, under the 29th rule of court, the application came too late. Passing by the questions thus made as being really immaterial to a decision of the application for a mandamus upon its merits, we will undertake to show that, under the facts of the present case, a mandamus absolute should be denied. It appears from the petition for a mandamus nisi, that when the bill of exceptions was first presented to the judge, he was unwilling to certify it because, in some respects, it was inaccurate. There being no blank space, either upon the margin or elsewhere, upon which the necessary corrections could be made, he returned the bill of exceptions to counsel for the plaintiff in error, stating his objections, and also setting forth what should be inserted to make it conform to the truth, giving counsel the option either to rewrite
To he sufficient as a writ of error, the certificate to a hill of exceptions must conform, in substance, to that prescribed by the act of November 11th, 1889; and as under the terms of that act the certificate is to be the same as well where the judge has corrected the bill of exceptions as where no correction is necessary, there ought to be conformity in the letter also. Indeed, we have been at a loss to understand why, under the plain and unequivocal requirements of the Supreme Court practice act, there should ever have been any disposition either on the part of judges or of counsel to make any variation whatever from the form of certificate which that act declares shall be used in all cases. ¥e have had constant occasion to be surprised that there should be any doubt or difficulty in a matter which the statute makes so perfectly simple and plain. Notwithstanding the absolute clearness of the law, howevei*, many able judges and learned lawyers have seen proper, for one reason or another, to change and modify the statutory certificate. In some instances, the deviation has been fatal, and we have been compelled to hold that the certificate, as changed, was not a legal writ of error.
“ I do certify that the foregoing bill of exceptions is true, with the qualification that the ansioer of justice and agreement of counsel speaks for themselves, and specifies all of the evidence, and specifies all of the record material to a clear understanding of the errors complained of, except the petition for certiorari, and the loritten agreement of said parties in full; and the clerk of the court of-county is hereby ordered to make out a complete copy of such parts of the records in said case as are in this bill of exceptions specified, including petition for certiorari and said agreements, and certify the same as such, and cause the same to be transmitted to the October term of the Supreme Court, that the errors that are alleged to have been committed may be considered and corrected.”
Again, in Pendley et al. v. The State, 87 Ga. 186, which was brought up after the passage of the act of 1889, the certificate was in the old form prescribed by section 4252 of the code, and therefore, as pointed out by Chief Justice Bleckley, was fatally defective because of its failure, in two material particulars, to comply with the certificate prescribed by that act. It will be noted, howevei’, that on pages 187-8, the Chief Justice said, “If the certificate does not substantially comply with the requirements of the statute, there is no writ of error at
In Rogers et al. v. Roberts, judge, 88 Ga. 150, it was ruled that: “After a judge has corrected, signed and certified a bill of exceptions, having interlined in the certificate a reference to the corrections made by him, and the plaintiff in error has served and filed the bill of exceptions thus certified, and caused it, together with the record, to be transmitted to this court, thereby recognizing and adopting such bill of exceptions as sufficient, it is too late to apply to this court for a mandamus to compel the judge to omit the corrections he had made in the bill of exceptions as originally presented to him, and sign another certificate free from such interlineation.” In that case, however, no question was made or passed upon as to the effect of the interlineation in the certificate, and this court did not decide whether or not, because of the interlineation, a fatal or substantial variation was made from the certificate required by law.
In Gresham v. Turner, Ib. 160, it will be seen from the brief statement following the head-notes that the judge’s certificate did not state unequivocally “ that the bill of exceptions is true, and specifies all of the evidence,- and specifies all of the record material to a clear understanding of the errors complained of.” On the contrary, the statement contained in the words just quoted was expressly qualified by exceptions which the judge inserted in the certificate. It was also true in that case that, in the certificate, the judge ordered the clerk to send up parts of the record not specified in the bill of exceptions. An inspection of this certificate shows clearly that it was fatally defective. In the second head-note, after setting forth what the act of 1889 directs as to the duty
When the application in the present case was presented on December 2d, 1898, we granted a mandamus nisi without giving the matter thorough consideration. Upon the healing for a mandamus absolute, we have
As will have been seen, the mandamus nisi was granted before the passage of the act of December 18th, 1893, “to regulate the practice before the Supreme Court,” etc. (Acts 1893, p. 52.) Our attention was not called to this act before this opinion was written, and it was therefore prepared without reference to said act.
Writ of mandamus absolute denied.