Mansfield's Case

Citations

• 22 Pa. Super. 224
• 1903 Pa. Super. LEXIS 193

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law—Courts—Creation of courts—Juvenile court—Act of May 21, 1901, P. L. 279,</p> <p>The legislature in creating a new court within the district occupied by an old one cannot legislate upon the bench of the new court, the judge of the old court. The judge of the new court must be chosen by the people of his dislrict.</p> <p>Criminal law—Juvenile court—Petition—Absence of affidavit—Act of May 21, 1901.</p> <p>A petition under the juvenile court act, not verified by affidavit, is insufficient to give the court jurisdiction even to issue a summons, and this defect is fatal to all subsequent proceedings.</p> <p>Constitutional law—Title of statute—Juvenile cozirt act—Act of May 21, 1901— Classification—Trial by jury—Fourteenth amendment. ■</p> <p>The act of May 21, 1901, a portion of the title of which is as follows: “ An act to regulate the treatment and control of dependent, neglected and delinquent children under the age of sixteen years; .providing for the establishment of juvenile courts, and regulating the pi’actice before such courts,” is insufficient in title, because (1) the title contains no intimation that it was the purpose of the act to deal with the treatment and control of all children, but only of dependent, neglected and delinquent; (2) that the title contains no intimation that the legislation changes the whole course of judicial procedure as to delinquent children, in criminal proceedings and actions for penalties, nor that it changes the punishment or penalty of every offense, arising at common law, or created by statute or municipal ordinance.</p> <p>The juvenile court act and its classification of citizens over sixteen years of age and all those under that age who are inmates of institutions, etc., as one class, and all other children under sixteen years of age as a second class, violates the provisions of article 3, section 7 of the constitution, which forbids the passage of any special law regulating practice and jurisdiction in j