State Ex Rel. Garvey v. Buckner

272 S.W. 940, 308 Mo. 390, 1925 Mo. LEXIS 667
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 23, 1925
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 272 S.W. 940 (State Ex Rel. Garvey v. Buckner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Garvey v. Buckner, 272 S.W. 940, 308 Mo. 390, 1925 Mo. LEXIS 667 (Mo. 1925).

Opinion

*398 ATWOOD!, J.

This is an original proceeding’ in prohibition. The relator is Roy B. Garvey, who is defendant in the criminal case of the State of Missouri v. Roy B. Garvey pending in Division No. 1 of the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri. The respondent is judge of Division No. 1 of said circuit court. Relator stands charged with first degree murder alleged to have been committed on September 6, 1922. He seeks to prohibit respondent from entertaining jurisdiction and proceeding with the trial of said cause.

Relator was first proceeded against by indictment filed September 27, 1922. After numerous continuances, resettings and one change of venue, the case was'dismissed on February 18, 1924. On May 28, 1924, the prosecuting attorney filed an information against relator, charging him with the same crime, upon which information defendant was arraigned, pleaded not guilty and the case was set for trial June 16, 1924, thereafter set'for July 28, 1924, thereafter continued on defendant’s application to September 8, 1924, thereafter reset for September 15>, 1924, when relator filed application for change of venue from Judge Austin’s division, which was Division No. 9 and designated as Criminal Division A, which change of venue was ■ granted and the case transferred to Judge Buckner’s division, which was Division No. 1 and designated as Criminal Division C. On September 16, 1924, relator filed application for a continuance, which was overruled, and the case set down for trial on the 22d day of September, 1924. On September 18, 1924, relator filed his petition here for writ *399 of prohibition and assigned the following grounds:

1. That the Act of March 11, 1921, is unconstitutional and void, because,

(a) It contains more thajn one subject, in violation of Section 28 of Article IY of the Constitution of Missouri.

(b) It is a local or special law, in violation of Section 53 of Article IV of said Constitution.

(c) No notice of intention to apply for the passage of said bill was published, in violation of Section 54 of Article IV of said Constitution.

2. That the transfer of the case by Division No. 9 to Division No. 1 was in violation of court Rules 46 and 48 pertaining to criminal causes, and therefore void.

3. That the rule adopted by the circuit court on January 1, 1923, and the said rule thereafter adopted, are null and void and in direct conflict with said act of the Legislature.

4. That relator’s application for continuance filed on September 16, 1924, was improperly overruled.

Preliminary writ was issued. Respondent’s return denies the existence of the grounds specified and relator’s right to the relief prayed, and sets up new matter mainly relating to additional court rules or orders. After issue joined by relator’s reply, Hon. William C. Lucas was appointed by this court as special commissioner, who took and returned testimony on issues of fact.

Relator’s claims will be considered in the order pleaded.

He first says that the Act of March 11, 1921, is unconstitutional and void, because it contains more than one subject, in violation of Section 28, Article IY ^ie Constitution, which provides that “no bill .' . . shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.” It is uniformly held that this provision should be liberally construed; that the title need only indicate the general contents of the act; and if the contents of the act fairly relate to and have a natural connection with the subject expressed in *400 the title they fall within the title. [State v. Mullinix, 301 Mo. 385; Ex parte Harvey Karnstrom, 297 Mo. 384; State ex rel. v. Hackmann, 292. Mo. 27; State ex rel. McClintock v. Guinotte, 275 Mo. 298; Coffey v. Carthage, 200 Mo. 616; 36 Cyc. 1017, 1028.]

The act in question consists of eleven sections found on pages 220 to 222 of the Laws of Missouri for the year 1921, and the title reads as follows:

“An Act in relation to the administration of justice in Jackson County; abolishing the criminal court of Jackson County and the office of judges and clerk thereof, abolishing the office of marshal of said county, and vesting the jurisdiction of said criminal court in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, and providing for the performance of the duties now performed by said clerk of the criminal court and said marshal of Jackson County. ’ ’

This act relates to the ‘ ‘ administration of justice in Jackson County.” The act deals with this single, general subject. True, this subject is amplified, but it is singly and clearly expressed in the title. Every provision of the act fairly relates to and has a natural connection with the subject expressed in the title and therefore, falls within the title. There is no multiplicity. Moreover, the provisions enacted are all harmonious and compatible, and therefore not incongruous. Where the contents of the act are harmonious and have a natural connection with one subject singly and clearly expressed in the title, it is of no consequence that the General Assembly may not have fully legislated on the subject, that some provisions of the act are not specifically named in the title, or that by refinement of terminology the minutiae of thé act itself can be separately catalogued. This point is ruled against relator.

Relator further says that the act is a local or special law, in violation of Section 53 of Article IV of the Constitution which provides that the General Assembly shall not pass any local or special law in. some thirty-two specified cases. This section has frequently been here for construction and the unvaried *401 holding is that legislation authorized by the Constitution cannot be regarded as local or special, although its application is purely local. It is also held that whether an act be local or special must be determined by the generality with which it affects the people as a whole rather than the extent of the territory over which it operates, and if it affects equally all persons who come within its operation it cannot be local or special within the meaning of the Constitution. [State ex rel. Judah v. Fort, 210 Mo. 512; State v. Etchman, 189 Mo. 648; State ex rel. v. Yancy, 123 Mo. 391; State ex rel. v. Hughes, 104 Mo. 459.]

Section 22 of Article VI of the Constitution provides that the circuit court shall have jurisdiction over all criminal cases not otherwise provided for by law; Section 24 of said Article VI provides that judicial circuits may be changed, enlarged, diminished or abolished, from time to time, as public convenience may require; and Section 4 of the Schedule provides that all criminal courts organized and existing under the laws of this State, and not specially provided for in this Constitution, shall continue to exist until otherwise provided by law. These provisions undoubtedly constitute an 'express grant to the Legislature of power to pass the Act of March 11, 1921, and the act having been passed in pursuance of such express grant of authority in the organic law, it cannot be regarded as local or special. Furthermore, the law affects all persons alike who come within its operation, and hence it is not local or special.

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Bluebook (online)
272 S.W. 940, 308 Mo. 390, 1925 Mo. LEXIS 667, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-garvey-v-buckner-mo-1925.