Commonwealth ex rel. Pughe v. Davis
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna county: Of January Term, 1885, No. 222. Upon the filing of a suggestion for a writ of quo warranto by the Commonwealth ex rel. Lewis Pughe, to test the right of one John R. Davis, to the office of Poor Director for the Scranton Poor District, and alleging that the relator had been duly elected thereto, a rule was granted to show cause why the writ should not issue.
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Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna county: Of January Term, 1885, No. 222. Upon the filing of a suggestion for a writ of quo warranto by the Commonwealth ex rel. Lewis Pughe, to test the right of one John R. Davis, to the office of Poor Director for the Scranton Poor District, and alleging that the relator had been duly elected thereto, a rule was granted to show cause why the writ should not issue. The real question sought to be determined was whether the office of Poor Director in the Scranton Poor District is an elective one, or one to be filled by appointment of the…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Paxson
We are asked to quash this writ upon the ground that error does not lie to the refusal of the court below to allow a writ of quo warranto.
It is settled law both in this country and in England that quo warranto is not a writ of right; it rests in the sound discretion of the judge whether he will allow the writ. The late Chief Justice Gibson has made this so plain in Com. v. Jones, 2 Jones, 365, that no room is left for doubt. The same rule is declared in Com. v. Reigart, 14 S. & R., 216; Com. v. Cluley, 6 P. F. S., 270, and in Com. v. McCarter, 2 Out., 607.
It is equally well settled that a…
2Cited by5 opinions
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- Commonwealth v. LukerSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1917
- Commonwealth v. Lackawanna Co., Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lackawanna County1890
- Commonwealth v. Ayers, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Northampton County1922
- Commonwealth v. BirdSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1913