Attorney General v. Donahue
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Three informations in the nature of a quo warranto, alleging that the defendants, Donahue; Callahan, and Cahill, had usurped the office of city solicitor, superintendent of streets, and city messenger of the city of Lowell, respectively.
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Three informations in the nature of a quo warranto, alleging that the defendants, Donahue; Callahan, and Cahill, had usurped the office of city solicitor, superintendent of streets, and city messenger of the city of Lowell, respectively. The cases were heard by Allen, J., on the pleadings and agreed statements of facts; and, in the cases of Donahue and Cahill, evidence that the action of the city council in removing them from office was based on partisan grounds was offered by the defendants, and excluded. In the first case, the statement of agreed facts alleged, in substance, that on January…
1Opinion of the CourtHolmes, J.
It is not necessary to consider whether the appointments were valid or not, since we are of opinion that, if they were valid, the defendants were removed from office effectually by the two thirds yea and nay vote of the city council. By St. 1896, c. 415, § 2, the power of the city council to remove was separated from the power to appoint, which, by construction of the same act, was held to be given to the mayor. Attorney General v. Varnum, 167 Mass. 477. There is no indication that the power to remove, given to the city council, was part of a scheme of which the mayor’s power to appoint was…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- O'Dowd v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1889
- Attorney General v. VarnumMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1897
3Cited by11 opinions
- Eustace v. DickeyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1921
- Dittemore v. DickeyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1924
- Bailen v. Board of Assessors of ChelseaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1922
- Commonwealth v. DonovanMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1898
- McFeeters v. ParkerSupreme Court of Vermont · 1943
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