Ex parte Hall
Supreme Court of Alabama
This was a petition of William M. Hall for a rule nisi to be directed to the presiding judge of the circuit court of Etowah, commanding said court to strike from the docket the case of the State of Alabama v. William M. Hall, on an indictment for murder, on the ground that the case had been discontinued. The facts material to an understanding of the case will be found in the opinion of the court.
Read the full summary
This was a petition of William M. Hall for a rule nisi to be directed to the presiding judge of the circuit court of Etowah, commanding said court to strike from the docket the case of the State of Alabama v. William M. Hall, on an indictment for murder, on the ground that the case had been discontinued. The facts material to an understanding of the case will be found in the opinion of the court. Cooper & Beeves, for the petition. — Under the laws of England, whence our system of jurisprudence is derived, since the time of Edward I, the king was recognized as the fountain of justice and…
1Dissent
PETERS, J.,
(dissenting.) — I assent to the judgment of the court pronounced by the Chief-Justice in this case, refusing the rule nisi ; but I do not feel content with all the conclusions which seem to grow out of the argument in its support. I am not prepared to admit that the mere abolition of a county by the legislative power of - the State is, *685in fact, or in effect, a discontinuance of all the causes depending in the courts of the county thus abolished. The rule of discontinuance is the same in civil and in criminal cases. In a civil cause there must be some voluntary act of the plaintiff,…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Drinkard v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1852
- Harrall v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1855
- Doe ex dem. Brown v. ClementsSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
- Whitaker v. Van HornSupreme Court of Alabama · 1869
- Garrett v. LynchSupreme Court of Alabama · 1870