White v. Donaldson

153 S.E. 19, 170 Ga. 432, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 474
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedApril 18, 1930
DocketNo. 7410
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 153 S.E. 19 (White v. Donaldson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. Donaldson, 153 S.E. 19, 170 Ga. 432, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 474 (Ga. 1930).

Opinion

Hines, J.

Houston White filed with the ordinary of Fulton [433]*433County a petition in which he alleged that Mrs. B. Donaldson was a person of unsound mind, that she had property and was incapable of managing her estate, that a guardian should be appointed for her person and property, and that three named persons were her three nearest adult relatives. He prayed that notice of the application be given to said persons, “and that a commission issue to investigate the same according to law.” These relatives of Mrs. Donaldson were given notice of this application, two of them acknowledging service thereof, and the other being duly served with a copy thereof. The ordinary passed an order that the “usital commission issue, directed according to law.” Thereupon that officer issued a commission to two named physicians and James Moore, as acting solicitor-general, requiring them to have Mrs. Donaldson personally brought before them, to examine her by inspection, hear and examine witnesses on oath, if necessary, as to her condition, and to make return of such examination and inquiry to the ordinary, specifying in-their return under which class they found Mrs. Donaldson to come. The commission made their return finding that Mrs. Donaldson was a person of unsound mind and incapable of managing her estate, and that a guardian should be appointed for her person and property. Thereupon the ordinary passed an order-adjudging Mrs. Donaldson to be a person of unsound mind, and appointing Lucyle McGinnis as guardian of her person and property, and directed that letters issue to her upon her giving bond and security in the sum of $67,000, and upon her taking the oath required by law. Mrs. Buby Williamson, a niece of Mrs. Donaldson, as next friend, and as an objector in the proceedings before the commissioners, and being dissatisfied therewith, duly entered an appeal to a jury in the superior court of said county. The ease came on for trial in the latter court; and after hearing evidence from the applicant, which consumed practically two days, Mrs. Williamson moved to dismiss the case, upon the grounds that the act of August 20, 1918 (Acts 1918, p. 162), under which the application was brought, is unconstitutional and void, in that (1) it violates article 3, section 7, paragraph 8, of the constitution of this State, which declares that “No law or ordinance shall be passed which refers to more than one subject-matter, or contains matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof,” in that there is nothing in the title of said act that refers to the appointment [434]*434of guardians for persons liable to have guardians appointed, to manage their estate; (2) that said act violates article 3, section 7, paragraph 17, of the constitution of this State, which provides that "ho law or section of the Code shall be amended or repealed by mere reference to its title, or to the number of the section of the Code, but the amending or repealing act shall distinctly describe the law to be amended or repealed, as well as the alteration to be made; and (3) that said act violates article 1, section 1, paragraph 3, of the constitution of this State, which declares that “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process of law.”

The trial judge sustained the first ground of said motion and dismissed the case. In his order of dismissal he directed that a copy thereof be transmitted to the court of ordinary of said county, with direction that all proceedings in the court of ordinary relating to the appointment of a guardian for Mrs. Donaldson be vacated and set aside, and that the appointed guardian be discharged. To this judgment the applicant excepted on the grounds (1) that said act is not unconstitutional, and that the case should not have been dismissed for this reason; (2) that even if said act is unconstitutional, its unconstitutionality affected only so much of the proceedings as related to the “constitution of the jury and fact-finding body; and even if the jury was irregular because the act under which they proceeded was unconstitutional, the defendant in error is estopped to take advantage of its irregularity, or has waived the defect because of the failure of the defendant in error to raise any objection until the plaintiff in error had closed his case before the jury in the superior court;” and (3) to so much of said judgment as undertakes to give directions to the court of ordinary applicant excepts upon the grounds (a) that the judge of the superior court had no authority or jurisdiction to give directions to the court of ordinary, his functions having terminated when he dismissed the case; and (b) that, if it were otherwise, said order to set aside all the proceedings was error for the reason that if the law under which the commission was appointed was unconstitutional, its unconstitutionality affected only so much of the proceedings as'related to the “constitution of the jury.”

Does the act of August 20, 1918 (Acts 1918, p. 162), violate par. 8 of see. 7 of art. 3 of the constitution of this State, which [435]*435declares that “No law or ordinance shall be passed which refers to more than one subject-matter, or contains matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof”? Civil Code (1910), § 6437. This act makes certain changes in the law embodied in section 3092 of the Civil Code of 1910. The principal change made by this act in the law embodied in said section of the Code consists in the substitution for a commission composed of jurors and a physician a commission composed of three reputable persons, two of whom shall be practical medical physicians in good standing, residents of the county, and the county attorney or solicitor of any city court located in such county; and if there is no attorney or solicitor of said city court, the solicitor-general, or some attorney of the county appointed by him. The title of said act is “An act to revise the laws of the State of Georgia with reference to commitments to the Georgia State Sanitarium, providing a method of transportation to the Sanitarium and for caring for and keeping patients while committed therein, setting forth tlie persons eligible to be committed to the State Sanitarium, and páyment of reasonable sums for board and keep of inmates whose estates are sufficient to provide for them, and specifying certain classes of persons who shall be excluded therefrom, and for other purposes.” This act declares that one of its main purposes is “to revise the laws of the State of Georgia with reference to commitments to the Georgia State Sanitarium.” The scope of the title of this act is very broad. It embraces the revision of any and all laws of the State having reference to commitments to the State Sanitarium. Such revision can retain, reject, or modify any provisions of previous laws having reference to commitments to the State Sanitarium.Therefore if the body of this act revises any law or laws having reference to commitments to the State Sanitarium, it comes within the scope of its title. This act revises the law as it stood in section 3092 of the Civil Code of 1910. If the law in tliat section has reference to commitments to the sanitarium, the revision thereof falls squarely within the caption of this act. Does that section refer to commitments to the State Sanitarium? It provides: “Upon the petition of any person, on oath, setting forth that another is liable to'have á guardian appointed [or is subject to be committed to'’the Georgia State Sanitarium), the ordinary,- upon proof that ten days notice of such application has been given to the [436]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hawes v. CORDELL FORD COMPANY, INC.
154 S.E.2d 599 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1967)
Undercofler v. Hospital Authority
145 S.E.2d 487 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1965)
Eubanks v. State
124 S.E.2d 269 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1962)
Swiney v. City of Forest Park
84 S.E.2d 573 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
153 S.E. 19, 170 Ga. 432, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-donaldson-ga-1930.