Crawford v. Gilchrist

Citations

• 64 Fla. 41

Syllabus

<p>1. It is the duty of the court to facilitate and not to retard the determination of litigated causes.</p> <p>2. Where on application for a supersedeas order to suspend the operation of an injunction, the merits of the cause are fully argued, and the granting or refusal of a supersedeas will virtually dispose of the cause in which the people of the State are vitally interested, the court may, for the public welfare, consider the cause on its merits in adjudicating the application for a supersedeas, questions of law only being involved.</p> <p>3. A determination of whether an amendment to the constitution has been validly proposed and agreed to by the legislature, is to be had in a judicial forum where the constitution provides no other means for such determination.</p> <p>4. The act of the Secretary of State in publishing and certifying to the county commissioners proposed amendments to the constitution, is in its nature ministerial, involving the exercise of no discretion, and if the act is illegal it may be enjoined in appropriate proceedings by proper parties, there being no other adequate remedy afforded by law.</p> <p>5. Where an alleged illegal ministerial official act has relation to legislative action, such action may be considered by the courts in determining the validity or invalidity of the ministerial act. This is not an interference by the courts with the legislative department of the government.</p> <p>G. The Governor of the State suing as such and also as a citizen, taxpayer and elector is a proper complainant in proceedings brought to enjoin the Secretary of State from publishing at public expense and certifying proposed amendments to the constitution upon the ground that such proposed amendments are invalid because they have not been duly “Agreed to by three-fifths of all the inembers elected to each house” of the legislature.</p> <p>7. If essential mandatory provisions of the organic law are ignored in amending the constitution, it violates the r