Duquesne City v. Fincke

Citations

• 269 Pa. 112
• 112 A. 130
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 776

Syllabus

<p>Courts — Jurisdiction—Superior Court.</p> <p>1. The jurisdiction of the Superior Court is purely Statutory, and it cannot review judgments of the lower courts unless expressly authorized so to do.</p> <p>Appeals — Review —Jurisdiction— Certiorari — Examination of opinion of court below.</p> <p>2. Although an appeal is not expressly given, appellate courts can always review, on certiorari, questions regarding the jurisdiction of the lower courts or touching the constitutional rights of the litigants.</p> <p>3. In determining these matters, if the case is one not arising in the course of the common law, the appellate court may examine the opinion of the court below in order to ascertain the reasons for its action.</p> <p>Constitutional law — Public meetings — Streets—Municipalities— Ordinance — Discrimination.</p> <p>4. Neither the 14th amendment to the federal Constitution, nor sections 7 and 20 of the Bill of Eights of the state Constitution, vest in the citizens a constitutional right to hold public meetings upon the streets of a municipality.</p> <p>5. Streets are not intended for the purpose of assemblage, but of passage.</p> <p>6. He who claims the right to use the streets for the purpose of assemblage, must show some constitutional or statutory authority so to do, either directly given thereby or by the municipality in the exercise of a power thereby conferred upon it.</p> <p>7. The courts cannot interfere with a municipality’s exercise of conferred power, if exercised in a reasonable, lawful and constitutional manner.</p> <p>8. Where it appears that a municipal officer has acted in accordance with a discretion legally vested in him, the courts have no power to interfere therewith.</p> <p>9. The courts may overturn arbitrary and intentional unfair discrimination in the administration of an ordinance, as fully as they may review an arbitrary and intentional discrimination appearing in’ the ordinance itself.</p>