Cain v. Carllee

277 S.W. 551, 169 Ark. 887, 1925 Ark. LEXIS 259
Supreme Court of Arkansas·Decided November 23, 1925·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

Wood, J.

W. R. Cain, hereafter called appellant, instituted an action in the Woodruff Circuit Court against E. M. CarlLee, hereafter called appellee, contesting the result of the Democratic primary election held in August, 1924, by which the appellee was declared the nominee for county judge. The pleadings and the pro: ceedings had at the first trial are set forth in the opinion of this court in Cain v. CarlLee, 168 Ark. 64. This is the secón,d appeal in the case. The judgment of the trial court was reversed on the first appeal and the- cause remanded for a new trial because of an error of the court in holding that certain names which had been added to the assessment list of poll taxpayers of Woodruff County, contrary to the requirements of § 3738, C. & M. Digest, were qualified electors. After remand of the cause the appellant filed an amendment to his original complaint in which he set out a list of voters consisting of 145 in the Augusta precinct, 9 in Revell box, Augusta precinct, 79 in Cotton Plant precinct, 64 in McClellan precinct, 43 in White River, 38 in Point, 25 in Coney, making a total of 398 names. Appellant alleged that these names had been added by the collector to the legal assessment list of poll taxpayers contrary to the provisions of § 3738, C. & M. Digest; that not less than 328 of these illegal votes were cast for the appellee. He prayed that these illegal votes be deducted from the legal votes received by the appellee, which would give the contestant a plurality of the legal votes cast; and appellant prayed that he 'be declared the nominee, and that the appellee be ousted from office, and for all proper relief.

The appellee moved to dismiss the cause. He alleged that the appellant had violated §§ 3902, 3904, and 3899 of the law designated in chapter 54 of Criawford & Moses’ Digest as, the “corrupt practice act,” and that under § 3775 appellant could not maintain the contest, and that he should be proceeded against as provided in § 3774 as for violation of the corrupt practice act. The appellant responded to the motion to dismiss and denied the allegations thereof, and among other things alleged that the. allegations of the motion constituted no defense to the election contest instituted by the appellant. The court, after hearing the evidence adduced on the motion, took the same under advisement, to which ruling the appellant and the appellee both excepted.

On the issues thus joined the cause came on for la hearing on the 22d of May, 1925, and during the progress of the trial, on May '27th, the appellee moved to exclude from consideration as evidence in the cause the ballot boxes and ballots of the precincts of Pumpkin Bend, Tip and Ohapple Grove, alleging that certain ballots in these boxes were changed from the wlay they were cast. The appellant moved the court to exclude from-the evidence the ballot box and ballots therein- of Augusta, alleging that the judges and clerks permitted Mrs. John Harrelsón to vote ballot No. 440 for E.M. CarlLee, when Mrs. John Harrelson did not appear at the polls and cast a ballot. The appellant also moved the court to strike from consideration of the testimony the ballot box of. the precinct of Cotton Plant, alleging that the judges and clerks counted therein ballot No. 307 cast by Mrs. Roy B. Parnell, when Mrs. Roy B. Parnell did not in fact .cast a ballot in said'box and did not appear at the precinct of Cotton Plant to vote. The court reserved its decision on these motions of the respective parties until final determination of the cause, to which ruling both parties excepted. "When the cause was taken up for final hearing on the merits after the appellant had introduced three witnesses, the bill of exceptions shows that the following occurred: “The court would like to ask counsel what the necessity is for going over the same grounds we did in the former trial. We went through a great number of ballots. I see no necessity for going over that lagain.; Let the attorneys get together on the votes.” It was thereupon agreed by the attorneys representing both sides that they would secure the assistance of parties they might agree on and make a count of the votes in that ' manner and thereby be enabled to present the facts in a more concise way to the court; land those votes upon which they might fail to agTee they would submit the ■ facts to the court for his finding; and after several days of arduous work and the end not in sight, the court recessed until the 27th. For that reason the testimony of the witnesses Rives, Mitchell and Cain, above named, is not transcribed and because they were called at a later • time.” After several days of recess and after the inves- - ■tigation agreed upon by counsel in open court had been completed, it was announced in open court as follows: “We have by agreement eliminated the names which we desired to investigate, as to how they voted, land our lists have been checked repeatedly against each other, and we have agreed, beginning with' each township, that, out of the recount as made by the committee, the following numbers of ballots were added without the parties having been assessed and certified to the clerk as ’required by law.” Then follows the result ascertained in the various precincts, naming them, and designating the number of ballots after the elimination of the votes found to be illegal under the former ruling of this court. It was reported that of these illegal votes CarlLee had received 209 and Cain 139. After deducting these votes from the total votes of the respective candidates as reported by’ the committee appointed by the Democratic Central Committee to recount the ballots, it was found that CarlLee had 638 votes and Cain 676. The court thereupon proceeded to hear the testimony adduced by the respective parties concerning the integrity of the election in the precincts challenged as a whole and also the individual votes in precincts, where same were questioned, and lat the conclusion thereof announced as follows: “After hearing the evidence and the remarks of counsel and being sufficiently advised in the premises, it .is by the court considered, ordered and adjudged that the complaint of the plaintiff be dismissed, and that the defendant recover his costs herein. ’ ’

The appellant filed a motion for a new trial in due' time setting up in the first, second and third assignments of error that the verdict was contrary to the law and the evidence; in the fourth, fifth and sixth, twelfth and thirteenth assignments that the trial court erred in rendering a decision in the case without making any special findings of fact on the evidence or ruling upon the pleadings and motions in the cause. In the seventh and eighth assignments that the court erred in allowing testimony to be introduced on the motion to dismiss the appellant’s complaint and amended complaint; in the ninth assignment' that the court erred in failing to cast out the entire vote of the Augusta precinct; in the 10th that the court erred in .failing to cast out the entire vote in the Cotton Plant precinct; in the 11th that the court erred in permitting the records of the town council of McCrory to be introduced land particularly an instrument in writing purporting to be an agreemlent of certain members of the town council of McCrory to vote for an appropriation of Certain money of the Planters’ Mercantile Company for the purpose of paying the poll taxes; in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth assignments the court erred in passing upon the vote in certain precincts which were, designated, including those in the precincts of Pumpkin Bend, Tip and Chappie Grove.

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Cain v. Carllee, 277 S.W. 551, 169 Ark. 887, 1925 Ark. LEXIS 259 (Ark. 1925).

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