State ex rel. Keck v. Seibert

32 S.W. 670, 130 Mo. 202, 1895 Mo. LEXIS 376
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 5, 1895
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 32 S.W. 670 (State ex rel. Keck v. Seibert) 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. Keck v. Seibert, 32 S.W. 670, 130 Mo. 202, 1895 Mo. LEXIS 376 (Mo. 1895).

Opinions

Sherwood, J.

The decisions are conflicting on the point whether a witness who resides in another state is entitled to fees to his place of residence, he having been subpoenaed or recognized at the place of trial, or brought from his residence to that place to testify. In Howland v. Lenox, 4 Johns. 311; Melvin v. Whiting, 13 Pick. 184; White v. Judd, 1 Met. (Mass.) 293; Kingfield v. Pullen, 54 Me. 398, it was held that the travel fees of a witness not subpoenaed, could not extend beyond the state line although they attended from another state for the express purpose of testifying, and did testify.

In Bank v. Austin, 6 Wend. 548, it was ruled that a witness whose attendance is secured at the place of trial by subpoena, is not entitled to traveling fees. A like ruling was made in Crawford v. Abraham, 2 Ore. 163, no distinction being taken between witnesses attending on subpoena or on request.

A witness, then a resident of the state of Kansas, entered into a recognizance in that state to appear at a criminal trial. Subsequently having changed his place of residence to Massachusetts, he returned from that state, and, in obedience to his recognizance, attended the trial, and it was held that 'he could only recover mileage fees in going and returning from the state line. Board of Commissioners v. Chase, 24 Kan. 774.

In Hutchins v. State, 8 Mo. 210, it was ruled that a witness resident of another state, but recognized here for his appearance as a witness would be allowed mileage from his place of residence. A case is referred to in North Carolina by name as supporting this view, and one referred to in Louisiana without name as of the [215]*215same effect, but what were the statutory provisions in those states in respect to such matters does not appear..

When that ruling in Hutchins’ case was made, however, which was in 1843, the Revised Statutes of 1835 were in force, and Judge Scott, who delivered the-opinion of the court, pointed out the danger that under the rule thus established and admitted “many unjust and unfounded claims will be preferred, and many abuses practiced on the state under its sanction.” The next legislature, which assembled for the revision of 1845, evidently heeded the warning contained in this adjudication, because at the revising session of that year, they provided respecting fees, “That this act, like penal laws, should be construed strictly.” Revised Statutes, 1845, section 29, page 504. And also enacted for the first time section 22, page 251, Revised Statutes, 1845, now in substance section 4412, requiring the strict examination of bills of costs, and the ascertainment “whether the services have been rendered for which charges are made, and whether compensation is expressly given by law for the services charged.”

At the next revision, section 23, Revised Statutes, 1855, page 453, was added, now section 4414, wherein the judge and prosecuting attorney were required to certify that in the fee bill presented, they had strictly examined the bill of costs, etc., as required in section 22.

This section, 23, remained the same in substance in subsequent revisions (Revised Statutes, 1865, page 867, section 18; Laws, 1874, page 26, section 18; Revised Statutes, 1879, section 2110 until) the last revision, when an addition was required in section 4414 to be made in the certificate of the judge and prosecuting attorney to the fee bill, “that the fees of no more than three witnesses to prove any one fact are allowed.”

These very stringent provisions relative to costs in criminal cases, enacted so soon after the adjudication [216]*216in. Hutchins’ case, and increasing in stringency as the years go by, must be regarded as greatly modifying the adjudicatory force of that ruling.

When the legislature treats of process and its •service and of recognizances, it will be intended that such process can only be served within this state, and that such recognizances only possess obligatory force within its borders. Neither process nor recognizances can have any extraterritorial operation. State v. Pagels, 92 Mo. loc. cit. 308; State v. Butler, 67 Mo. loc. cit. 62; Board, etc., v. Chase, 24 Kan. 774. And it would be beyond the power of the legislature to authorize process to be effectual outside of this state. Wilson v. Railroad, 108 Mo. 588.

And it is well settled that all statutory bonds and recognizances entered into in the course of judicial proceedings and in accordance with the statute law of the forum where taken, executed in reference to such proceedings, are purely local in their nature, and their enforcement is bounded by, and confined to, the state where entered into, and outside of that sovereignty have no binding or obligatory force, and, consequently, can not be enforced in the courts of another state. Rorer, Interstate Law [2 Ed.], 72, et seq.

But the recognition of a recognizance as one of the' means of securing the attendance of a witness in this state stands on the same footing as a subpoena, section 5003, supra. Either method of service is valid, and “expressly authorized by law;” but for reasons already stated, the recognizances in this case could have no operation beyond the state line, no more than could a subpoena.

For many years this court, in obedience to strict statutory provisions, has sedulously maintained that no costs can be taxed except such as the law in terms allows. Shed v. Railroad, 67 Mo. 687; Crouch v. Plum[217]*217mer, 17 Mo. 420; State ex rel. v. Hill, 72 Mo. 512; Thompson v. Elevator Co., 77 Mo. 520; Williams v. Chariton Co., 85 Mo. 646. This is the rule elsewhere. Crofut v. Brandt, 58 N. Y. 108, and cases cited; City v. Meintz, 107 Mo. 611; State v. Oliver, 116 Mo. 188.

At common law no recovery of costs was ' allowable, and when statutes were passed allowing costs they were always strictly construed. Crofut v. Brandt, supra; Kneass v. Bank, 4 Wash. C. C. 106; Hart v. Fitzgerald, 2 Mass. 509. The right to costs being thus purely statutory, such right can have no existence- except the statute authorizing the item or items can be directly pointed out.

And the auditor acted properly in refusing to allow costs except to the extent stated as being justifiable, and for aught that can be seen a nonresident witness, recognized in this state to appear at a subsequent term, would still be entitled to his costs as aforesaid, in going and returning, notwithstanding he should return to his home in another state.

There are other reasons why the auditor properly refused to allow the fee bill presented; that bill was not certified according to law, in that the certificate to the fee bill does not state “that the fees charged are expressly authorized by law” but only that “compensation is given by law,” etc. Sec. 4414, supra.

1. The foregoing is the principal portion of the opinion as prepared and delivered in division number two of this court. That opinion was concurred in in its general result of denying the issuance of a peremptory writ, on the ground that J. L.

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Bluebook (online)
32 S.W. 670, 130 Mo. 202, 1895 Mo. LEXIS 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-keck-v-seibert-mo-1895.