Gonzales v. Cunningham

Citations

• 164 U.S. 612
• 17 S. Ct. 182
• 41 L. Ed. 572
• 1896 U.S. LEXIS 1893

Syllabus

<p>An appeal lies to this court from a final order of the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Mexico, ordering a writ of .habeas corpus to be discharged.</p> <p>The cases deciding that there is a want of jurisdiction over a similar judgment rendered in the District of Columbia are reviewed, and it is held that the legislation in respect of the review of the final orders of the territorial Supreme Courts on habeas corpus so far differs from that in respect of the judgments of the courts of the District of Columbia, that a different rule applies.</p> <p>Section 1852 of the Compiled Laws of New Mexico of 1884 which provides ' that “when any justice of the Supreme Court shall be absent from his district, or shall- be in any manner incapacitated from acting or performing any of his duties of judge or chancellor, in his district, or from holding court therein, any other justice of the Supreme Court may perform all such duties, hear and determine all petitions, motions, demurrers, grant all rules and interlocutory orders and decrees, as also all extraordinary writs in said district,” was within the legislative power of the assembly which enacted it, and is not inconsistent with the provision in the act of July 10, 1890, c. 605, 26 Stat. 226, for the assignment of judges to particular districts, and their residence therein; and while, for the convenience of the public, it was provided in the organic act, that a justice should be assigned to each district and reside therein, there was no express or implied prohibition upon any judge against exercising the power in any district other than the one to which he had been assigned, and there was nothing in the language of the provision requiring such a construction as would confine the exercise of the power to the particular justice assigned to a district when he might be otherwise incapacitated.</p> <p>In that territory a trial judge may continue any special term he is holding until a pending case' is concluded, even i f the pr