State v. Town Council So. Kingstown
Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Petition for a writ of Mandamus. On demurrer to the petition. This petition preferred by the Attorney General sets forth that an elective meeting to choose a senator and representatives from the town of South Kingstown to the General Assembly of the State was holden on the first Wednesday in April, 1893, and failed to elect, no person voted for having a majority of the vote cast ; that pursuant to Pub.
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Petition for a writ of Mandamus. On demurrer to the petition. This petition preferred by the Attorney General sets forth that an elective meeting to choose a senator and representatives from the town of South Kingstown to the General Assembly of the State was holden on the first Wednesday in April, 1893, and failed to elect, no person voted for having a majority of the vote cast ; that pursuant to Pub. Laws R. I. cap. 710, § 18, of March 22, 1888, the town council ordered a new election to he holden April lé, 1893, which duly took place and also resulted in a failure ’ to elect ; that the…
1Dissent
I am unable to see that the court has jurisdiction of a petition like this. I do not doubt the authority of the court to issue a mandamus which involves only a plain ministerial duty, for, in such case, the court exercises an executive rather than a judicial function. But here the controlling question is whether, if an election is called as prayed, the persons chosen at such election will be legally elected; for, unless this is so, clearly we have no right to command the calling of an election. The gist of the matter then is the legality of the election and this requires the exercise of a…
2Cases cited9 opinions
- People Ex Rel. Sherwood v. State Board of CanvassersNew York Court of Appeals · 1891
- People Ex Rel. Hatzel v. . HallNew York Court of Appeals · 1880
- People ex rel. Fuller v. HilliardIllinois Supreme Court · 1862
- People Ex Rel. Demarest v. . FairchildNew York Court of Appeals · 1876
- Peabody v. School CommitteeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1874
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