Everitt v. Board County Commissioners

Citations

• 1 S.D. 365
• 47 N.W. 296
• 1890 S.D. LEXIS 42

Syllabus

<p>1. The jurisdiction conferred upon the supreme court by the constitution is primarily appellate, and that of exercising a superintending control over all inferior courts.</p> <p>2. Original jurisdiction is conferred upon that court to issue the writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo marranto, certiorari, and other original and remedial writs, with authority to hoar and determine the same; but as these writs at common law were prerogative or quasi prerogative writs, the supreme court will, in general, only issue them for prerogative purposes.</p> <p>3. They should only issue from the supreme court when the interests of the state at large are directly involved, in the preservation of its sovereign prerogatives, or its franchises, in the protection of its offices from usurpation, intrusion, or invasion, or lor the protection of the liberty of its citizens, except in special cases, or when, for some peculiar cause, application cannot properly be made to a subordinate court.</p> <p>4. This original jurisdiction will, generally, only be exercised by that court in cases prosecuted in the name of the state, and on the . relation or information of the attorney general.</p> <p>5. That court will only exercise its original jurisdiction to enforce a private or local right in special cases, or where, for some peculiar reason, application cannot properly be made to a subordinate court.</p> <p>6. The application for a writ for certiorari in this case was made upon the affidavit of petitioner, who sets forth therein that he is a taxpayer of Hughes county, and that, if certain alleged illegal acts of the board of county commissioners of said county establishing election precincts in certain unorganized counties are allowed to stand, his burden of taxation will be increased. Held, that the facts stated are not sufficient to call into exercise the original powers of the supreme court, without showing some special reasons why application is not made to a subordinate court.</p> <p>7.