9 La. Ann. 400 | La. | 1854
One of the questions presented by the appellant is, whether the State Treasurer, represented by a member of the bar, has power to act for the State in this proceeding, which commenced in a rule by the State Treasurer upon the curator to file an account, and has resulted in a judgment on opposition to the account condemning the curator to pay twenty per cent, interest upon the ascertained balance in his hands.
As a general rule, the State appears in judicial proceedings in its own name and by its Attorney General or District Attorney, a public officer appointed or elected to prosecute or maintain the interest of the State in such proceedings. The power of the State Treasurer in the present case, which, if it exist, is an
The power of appearing for another in judicial proceedings, is a very grave power, and one which the law carefully scrutinizes in the case of individuals; and the importance of such a power is obviously not to be less appreciated in the case of the State. The consequence of a power to appear for another, in a court of justice, is the irrevocably binding force of “ the thing adjudged” upon the party for whom the appearance is made; and where the interests of the State, which are the interest of all its citizens, are involved, courts of justice should not pass upon those interests unless the State is properly before it through the officers recognized as its representatives by the Constitution or law. The amount involved in the present case is not large, but the principle is important, and has been the subject of our careful consideration.
It is therefore decreed that the judgment be reversed and that the cause be remanded, with instructions to to the court below, not to act further upon the account filed by the curator until service of reasonable notice of such filing upon the Attorney General, the costs of appeal to be paid by the appellees.