Rambo v. Larrabee

Citations

• 67 Kan. 634
• 73 P. 915

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Constitutional Law —Laws of a General Nature. The first clause of section 17, article 2, of the constitution, which is, “All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation throughout the state,” is mandatory upon the legislature.</p> <p>2. - Uniform, Operation of General Law. A law of a general nature which does not have uniform operation throughout the state is unconstitutional and void.</p> <p>3. - When Either a General or a Special Law May he En acted. If the object to be accomplished by a law is in its nature special, either a general or a special law may be enacted, as the legislature may decide.</p> <p>4. -Whether Generator Special, a Question for the Courts. Whether a law is general or special in its nature is a question for the courts, and not for the legislature.</p> <p>5. - General Law Defined — Class Legislation. An act, to have,a uniform operation throughout the state, need not affect every individual, every class, or every community alike. It is competent for the legislature to classify and adapt a law general-in its nature to a class, but such classification must be a natural and not an arbitrary or fictitious one, and the operation of such-general law must be as general throughout the state as are the genera therein provided for.</p> <p>6. - Criminal Appeals — Act of 1903 Void. Chapter 390, Laws of 1903, entitled “An act concerning criminal appeals in counties containing more than 65,000 inhabitants, in certain cases,” is general in its nature, and as it does not have a uniform operation throughout the state it is unconstitutional and void.</p>