Carlton v. Young

1 Aik. 332
CourtSupreme Court of Vermont
DecidedMarch 15, 1826
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1 Aik. 332 (Carlton v. Young) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Vermont primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carlton v. Young, 1 Aik. 332 (Vt. 1826).

Opinion

Hutchinson, J.

delivered the following opinion, in which Royce, J. concurred. This is a scire facias, brought directly before the county court, upon a recognizance of ten dollars. The defendant filed a plea to the jurisdiction of the county court, alleging that a justice of the peace had jurisdiction of the demand. To this plea the plaintiff demurred, and the defendant joined in demurrer. A decision was made upon this plea in the county court, and an appeal taken to this court, and the cause has been argued upon the same pleadings. The defendant, however, in argument, objects to the declaration for want of an averment that the recognizance on which the suit is brought had become matter of record in said county court.

On perusing the declaration, we find in it a recital that one Samuel Eastman sued Carlton, the present plaintiff, before a justice of the peace, and Young, the present defendant, entered into the recognizance in question, in the common form, as security for cost, if the then plaintiff should fail to recover; that the plaintiff, Eastman, recovered $65 and his cost; that Carlton appealed to the next county court, and duly entered his appeal before said county court; and that Eastman then became non-suit, and Carlton recovered, before said county court, his cost, taxed at $7,58. Then follows the averment: “all which will appear by the files and records of said county court, in saicj court re[334]*334gaining.” Then follows a proper assignment of the breaches of the condition of the recognizance, and an averment that said recognizance yet remains in full force, &c. and that said costs remain unpaid. The declaration then proceeds, “as by said bond of recognizance, ready in Court to be shown, may more fully and at large appear.” The plaintiff, Carlton, then prays for his execution against said Young for his said cost, &c. After noticing the averment above recited, there seems no great difficulty in disposing of the objection to the declaration. It does not, to be sure, allege that the recognizance has become a matter of record in the county court. But it does allege the duly entering the appeal, one part of which, by the statute, is the furnishing a copy of all the proceedings before the justice, alleges the giving the recognizance and all the proceedings before the justice and before the county court: and then avers that all this will appear by the files and records of said county court. This objection to the declaration borrows force from the supposition, that the recognizance itself should arrive at the county court, before it becomes a matter of record, as is the case in Massachusetts; whereas it becomes a matter of record before the justice, and his copies, in case of appeal, go to the county court, and are by law made a competent foundation for the proceedings of the county court to the final judgment in the action. If, then, the averment sufficiently shows those records and papers before the county court, which warranted their proceeding to judgment, that must also be sufficient to support a. process brought to give effect to that judgment. The strongest shape in which to place this objection is, to call it an argumentative mode of declaring. But it is the usual mode in a scire facias, which always is in the language of recitation, and is well enough, especially on a demurrer to a plea which operates upon the declaration only as a general demurrer.

The plea to the jurisdiction involves a question of greater difficulty. It is contended for the defendant, that this recognizance being only for ten dollars, an action of debt might have been brought upon it before a justice of the peace. And, by express statute, the county court cannot take original cognizance of any action originally cognizable before a justice of the peace. This is literally correct. And, if this action had been an action of debt, the county court would clearly have had no jurisdiction. Other questions must, therefore, be decided.

1. Could any justice of the peace have sustained jurisdiction over this action ? and, if not, what court has jurisdiction?

2. Have the general statutes, regulating the original jurisdiction of the several courts, any application to this action ?

Upon the first point it is urged, that a scire facias must be brought. before that court, where the recognizance is a matter of record. And the authorities cited are full to this purpose. Then it is further urged, that this recognizance was taken before the justice that issued the first writ, and must be considered a matter of record there. The inference drawn is, that, if a scire facias [335]*335will lie any where, it must be before that same justice; and the defendant contends, that it might there be brought, and relies upon the 7th and 9th of Mass. Reports. Those authorities are in point to show, that the scire facias must be brought before the court where the recognizance is of record. But the Court are of opinion that this action, under all its circumstances, could not be brought before the justice. It would contravene another principle as well established, to wit, that a judicial writ, to give effect to a judgment, must be brought before that court which rendered the judgment. But, in this case, the county court rendered the judgment that the plaintiff now wishes to enforce by this scire facias; so that, upon this principle, the county court has jurisdiction.

Now, can these principles be reconciled; or, is the plaintiff deprived of this judicial writ by their seeming opposite tendency ? This seeming difficulty arises from our actions going from one court to another by appeal, and final judgment being rendered in a different court from that in which the action begun. But the truth is, this difficulty is less real than imaginary; for an appeal from the judgment of a justice to the county court puts an end to that judgment, and the whole action goes up, without any judgment in force, and goes to trial anew in the county court. Just so of appeals from the county court to the supreme court, as heretofore in practice. And the statute, requiring certified copies to be carried up and lodged with the court to which the appeal is taken, makes those copies as the originals for the purpose of every future step in such action; as such they are, and ever have been treated, and so must necessarily be treated, or the action would become divided in different courts, and the court appealed to would have but a partial jurisdiction over the action, without the power to do complete justice between the parties. While thus treating the copies as originals, preserves entire that power, necessarily incident to a court of final jurisdiction, to issue all proper process to give effect to their own judgments; and the party recovering such judgment can have the benefit of its exercise in his behalf on all proper occasions. Long practice has rendered familiar the exercise of this power by courts of appellate jurisdiction, in a series of cases perfectly similar to the present: that is, perfectly similar, so far as relates to the certified copies deposited on entering an appeal being treated as originals. We refer to writs of scire facias, against the persons who have become bail for the appearance of the defendant, by endorsing the writ.

A writ of attachment issues in regular form, returnable before a justice of the peace. It is served by arresting the body of the debtor, and he procures a friend to become bail by endorsing the writ.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1 Aik. 332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carlton-v-young-vt-1826.