Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 18.pdf/273

 THE GREEN BAG CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. (Veteran's Prefer ence.) la. — The Iowa statute providing for prefer ence of honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the Civil War, residents of the state, in appoint ment, employment, and promotion in public service over others of equal qualification is upheld in Shaw v. City Council of Marshalltown, 104 Northwestern Reporter, 1121. The statute was attacked as violative of the fourteenth amendment of the Federal Constitution. This contention receives but brief treatment at the hands of the court, it being merely said that the amendment did not add to the privileges and immunities of a citizen, but simply furnished an additional guaranty for the protection of such as he already had, and even then protects only privileges and immunities which are those of citizens of the United States, as distinguished from the citizens of a state. The argument that the law was in contravention of Iowa Const., art. i, § 6, declaring that the General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen or class of citizens privileges or immunities not equally belonging to all, is given more attention. The gist of the decision on this point seems to be that the right to hold office is not one of the fundamental privileges or immun ities to which the Constitution referred. It is also held that the statute is not class legislation within the accepted meaning of the term, inasmuch as it imposes no special obligations or burdens on those who are excluded from its benefits, and as privileges may be granted to particular individ uals without reserve when by so doing the rights of others are not interfered with. CONTEMPT. (Assault on Judge.) N. C. —"Ex Parte McCown, 51 Southeastern Reporter, 957, contains a very satisfactory and compendious discussion of the nature and elements of contempts, chiefly those arising from misconduct directed toward the presiding officer of the court. The case arose on a petition for habeas corpus and contains a preliminary decision to the effect that in such a proceeding to determine the legality of petitioner's confinement for contempt the only question presented for consideration is the juris diction or power of the judge to proceed as he did, inasmuch as the writ of habeas corpus cannot be made to perform the office of a writ of error or of an appeal. The petitioner in this case was pun ished for contempt, because after the court had been adjourned by the judge to meet again at his call, and after he had retired to his living apart ments, petitioner went there and complained to the judge in an angry manner for not having imposed a more severe sentence in a certain case, and finally committed an assault upon the judge.

This it is held constituted a contempt within the definition thereof as contained in North Carolina Code. Most of the leading cases touching upon the subject are reviewed, that of Commonwealth v. Dandridge, 2 Va. Cas. 408, being especially men tioned. The argument in that case that as the judge is necessarily placed in a situation in which he comes in conflict with the jealousies and resent ment of those upon whose interests he has to act, it is even more necessary to protect his person than to protect that of a suitor, lawyer, a witness, or a juror, is quoted with express approval. CRIMINAL LAW. (Evidence.) Mass. — Two points of considerable value are determined in Commonwealth v. Tucker, 76 Northeastern Reporter, 127. It was a prosecution for murder, and it was shown that certain officers armed with a search warrant went to the door of the house where defendant resided and stated to his mother that they had a warrant to search for an article named therein, and offered to let her examine the warrant, which she declined to do, and invited the officers to make the search they desired, during which broken pieces of a knife were found in the defendant's coat pocket. These pieces of knife are held to be admissible in evidence, the search having been made under the invitation and not under the warrant, so that the finding and taking of the articles did not constitiitc an abuse of legal process. The fact that the finding and taking of the articles did constitute an individual trespass on the part of the officers as against the defendant does not have the effect of rendering the articles inadmissible against him. Some question also arose as to whether writing found near the body of deceased was that of defendant. It was shown to have been the duty of accused as salesman to make out a memorandum of each sale, signed with his name or initials, and transmit the same to the shipping clerk. Slips of this nature to which defendant's surname was attached, and which were handed by him to the shipping clerk, were held to be sufficiently shown to contain his hand writing to make them admissible as standards of comparison of handwriting, though there was no direct evidence that any one had seen him write the slips. JUDGMENT. (Merger.) N. C. — Eller v. Caro lina and Western Railway Company, 52 South eastern Reporter, 305, is interesting as a case necessitating a reversion to the foundation principles of the law of torts. A valise containing a wedding trousseau was injured by the railway company in transit. The bride to be, who was the owner of the valise, sued