82 Mo. 213 | Mo. | 1884
The appellants exhibited in the circuit coui’t of Livingston county certain charges against the respondent under sections 488 and 489 of the statutes relating to the suspension and disbarment of attorneys. In the margin of the charges they entered the name of the Stale and county in the form of a statement of venue as ■follows:
State of Missouri, County of Livingston} ss.
In no part of the charges does it appear that they
They insist that the costs should have been taxed against the county of Livingston, for the reason that the public was interested in the proceeding which was of a gwasi-criminal nature. The statute which provides for the exhibition of charges does not indicate in what name or by whose agency they shall be prosecuted; that would seem to be left to the discretion of the court. Independent, of any statute, a court having the power to admit attorneys to the bar, has the power to disbar them. State v. Laughlin, 73 Mo. 446; In re Bowman, 8 Cent. L. J. 250.
It is not necessary that charges should be prosecuted-in the name of the State. Neither the character of the. proceedings, nor the provisions of the statute require this. In re Bowman, 8 Cent. L. J. 250; 7 Mo. App. 567. In this case it does not appear that these charges were exhibited or prosecuted in the name of the State. The clerk, without any order of the court to that effect, but upon his own-responsibility, attached the State’s name to the style of the-proceeding. I will not pretend to say that charges may
The charges in this case were set on foot and prosecuted by the appellants upon their own responsibility, as I have no doubt they had a right to do, by leave of the court, which was indicated in the award of process. Having elected to prosecute in this form, I see no error in the court adjudging costs against them, upon failure to sustain the charges. Accordingly the judgment is affirmed.