People ex rel. Murphy v. Lippincott

Citations

• 67 Ill. 333

Syllabus

<p>1. Constitutional law-legislative power to abrogate am office. It is a general rule, that where an office is created by statute, it is wholly within the control of the legislature creating it. The length of term and mode of appointment may be altered at pleasure, and the office maybe abolished and the compensation taken away from the incumbent, unless forbidden by the constitution.</p> <p>2. Same—office of judge of the Common Pleas court of Sparta, abolished by act of 1871. The office of j udge of the Common Pleas court of Sparta was purely the creature of the legislature under the constitution of 1848, and under that constitution liable to be abolished at anytime; and such office was not protected by the constitution of 1870 until the term for which the judge had been elected should expire. The office was abrogated by the act of April 6,1871, and thereafter the person who had been the judge of said court had no claim for any compensation 'as judge.</p> <p>3. Same—extra compensation to circuit judges. If the services or duties required or imposed by the act of January 29,1869, are to be considered as judicial, or as pertaining to the office of circuit judge as such, the act was clearly unconstitutional, as the constitution of 1848 provided that such judges should receive $1000 per annum and no more. But the court are inclined to hold that the duties imposed were those of mere commissioners of revision, and the designation of thpse employed as circuit judges as merely deseriptio persones.</p> <p>4. Judge of Common Pleas court of Sparta—«oí entitled to compensation as commissioner of revision. The judge of the Common Pleas court of Sparta, although having the powers of a circuit judge in many respects, was not intended to be included in the act of January 29,1869, which gave circuit judges additional compensation as commissioners of revision, and he is not entitled to such compensation.</p>