General Court of Massachusetts

“ The statute of Massachusetts and the act of congress resemble each other in many other respects. Each authorizes 'the person entitled to the premises' to recover possession by complaint to a justice of the peace. Each authorizes the complaint to be in general terms,-in Massachusetts, alleging that the defendant is in possession of the land, and holds it unlawfully, and against the right of the plaintiff; in the District of Columbia, 'charging a forcible entry or detainer of real estate.' Each requires the summons to be served seven days before appearance. ”

“ The general principle is that judgments cannot be disturbed after the term at which they are rendered, and can only be corrected, if at all, by writ of error, or appeal, or relieved against in equity in certain cases. There are, it is true, certain exceptions to the rule, within which, it is the contention of the plaintiff in error, the present action is brought.
No contention is made in the brief or argument of counsel for plaintiff in error that the question for decision in this case is changed or modified because of the fact that terms of court are abolished by statute in Massachusetts. ”

“ The current has been so strong that in Massachusetts, where counsel are admitted to have the right to argue the law to the jury, it has yet been held that the jury have no right to decide it, and it has also been held, by a majority of the court, that the legislature could not constitutionally confer upon the jury the right to determine, against the instructions of the court, questions of law involved in the general issue in criminal cases ”

“ The act of the legislature of Massachusetts consenting to the purchase, and ceding the jurisdiction, provides, that if the agent of the United States, and the owners of the land so to be purchased, cannot agree in the sale and purchase thereof, application may be made to any court of general sessions of the peace of the county of Middlesex, which court is authorized to summon a jury to value the same. ”

“ The 'Body of Liberties' never having been printed and the nineteen original official manuscript copies having doubtless been lost or forgotten, the 'bar' (which did not begin to develop until the beginning of the 18th century) and the 18th century people, probably grew up without any general knowledge of the expressly optional character of the right to a jury established as a 'fundamental' by the common law of Massachusetts in the colonial period.' [4]
It appears that from the early days of Maryland's colonization minor cases were tried by judges sitting alone. ”

“ He was graduated at Harvard in 1751, studied law with Jeremy Gridley, became attorney-general of Massachusetts, was appointed judge of probate of Lincoln county. Me., in 1768, became judge of the Massachusetts superior court in 1772, chief justice in 1777, and in 1780 was chosen the first chief justice of Massachusetts under the state constitution. At the beginning of the Revolution he stood almost alone among the superior officials in supporting the cause of independence. ”

“ The rule in Massachusetts is an exception to the general law; but even there, as we have said, the presumption that the note was given in satisfaction of the debt may be repelled and controlled by evidence that such was not the intention of the parties, and this evidence may arise from the general nature of the transaction, as well as from direct testimony to the fact. ”

“ These courts are held by the judge of probate and insolvency appointed for the county; but the judges of the several counties may, in ease of necessity or convenience, interchange services.
Local Government. The General Court establishes municipal governments in towns exceeding 12,000 population, with the consent and upon the application of a majority of the inhabitants. All bylaws of such city governments, however, are at all times subject to annulment by the General Court. Sheriffs, registers of probate, and clerks of the courts are elected by the people of the several counties. ”

“ Counties and towns had to be practically incorporated, taxes were levied upon inhabitants, and in 1634 all pretence of a General Court of freemen was dropped, and the towns chose delegates to represent them, though the legislature was not divided into two branches until ten years later. When the government had become fully organized supreme power was vested in the General Court, a legislature composed of two houses; the assistants, or magistrates, as they were called, and the deputies. The governor, deputy governor, and assistants were elected by a general vote ”

“ Thus the general principles which governed the Ecclesiastical Courts and the High Court of Parliament, in relation to divorce proceedings, became and formed a part of the common or unwritten law of Massachusetts at the commencement of her history; and they have never ceased to form a part of her common law. ”

“ The legislative and judicial methods of the several governments are of the first importance to the understanding of New England history, for it was a slow process by which it came to pass that professional lawyers held any shaping hand in the making or the administering of laws. The first Superior Court of Massachusetts under the provincial charter had not a single trained lawyer on the bench, and its assembly was equipped more with persistency and shrewdness in working out its struggle with the crown officer who tried to rule them than with legal acquirements. ”

“ Secretary and Treasurer Charity Organization Society, Buffalo 279Juvenile probation is no new thing. It has been used in Massachusetts since 1869, or for over thirty years, and for the same length of time in that state a statute has required that children’s cases should be “heard and determined by themselves, separate from the general and ordinary criminal business of said courts.” There is no separate children’s court in Massachusetts, but in some of the courts the session for adults is formally adjourned, and the room is cleared of all except those who have to do with the juvenile cases ”

“ And so it is that I carry with me from this state to that high and lonely office to which I now succeed more than fond memories of firm friendships. The enduring qualities of Massachusetts – the common threads woven by the Pilgrim and the Puritan, the fisherman and the farmer, the Yankee and the immigrant – will not be and could not be forgotten in this nation's executive mansion.
They are an indelible part of my life, my convictions, my view of the past, and my hopes for the future. ”

“ Mr. Justice Story had occasion to consider the application to the Government of a state statute purporting to bar claims against decedent's estates in United States v. Hoar, Fed.Cas.No. 15,373, 2 Mason 311. There an action was brought by the United States against an administrator of an estate and the defendant pleaded the general statute of limitation of Massachusetts as to personal actions and also the particular statute limiting suits against executors and administrators to four years after the acceptance of the trust. Mr. ”

“ It is true that at common law there was no practice of setting aside a verdict in part. If the verdict was erroneous with respect to any issue, a new trial was directed as to all. [1] This continued to be the rule in some states after the adoption of the Constitution; [2] but in many it has not been followed, notwithstanding the presence in their Constitutions of provisions preserving trial by jury. The Massachusetts courts early modified it to permit a new trial of less than all the issues of fact when they were clearly separable. ”

“ It is clear that until the judgment of the Massachusetts court is set aside or annulled by some direct proceeding in that court, its effect cannot be defeated as a cause of action, when sued in another state, by pleading the discharge as a bar which might have been pleaded in the original action. ”

“ The terms of the provision in the constitution of Massachusetts require a much broader interpretation, as has already been indicated; and no one can be required to forego an appeal to its protection, unless first secured from future liability, and exposure to be prejudiced, in any criminal proceeding against him, as fully and extensively as he would be secured by availing himself of the privilege accorded by the constitution. ”

“ It cannot for a moment be doubted that the legislature has the general power, in their wisdom and discretion, to determine what acts shall be deemed crimes, and to prescribe for them such punishment as they may judge proper, either by fine, by imprisonment, or by the taking of life.
18 *231 The defendant has fallen into the common error of arguing from the abuse of a power against its existence. ”

“ It is a right that necessarily rides over all property, and can never be questioned. It is the duty of every government to make compensation, where it is taken; and Massachusetts has made what she deems adequate and suitable provision, by her fundamental law, and it is no part of the business of this government to inquire into the sufficiency or insufficiency of that provision, nor what exposition is put upon it by her courts. The thing does not lie in contract, but in public law; and this court has never gone further than to declare private acts, contracts. ”

“ The view, the testimony given by the witnesses and the exhibits comprise the evidence that is before you.' The question in this court is whether a view in the absence of a defendant who has made demand that he be present is a denial of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The commonwealth of Massachusetts is free to regulate the procedure of its courts in accordance with its own conception of policy and fairness, unless in so doing it offends some principle of justice so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental. ”

“ Why may not one who claims a right to vote in Massachusetts, and is denied the privilege, claim that the obligation of contract is impaired, for his right rests on the constitution? Why may not all officers whose qualifications, prescribed by the constitution, are drawn in question, and the rights they claim denied to them, come here for redress? Why may not a judge, who is legislated out of office, by taking away his salary, appeal to this court? ”

“ State courts are governed by the common law, and not the law maritime. The decisions of one State, moreover, are not binding on another, and thus there would be no uniformity. Whilst the regulation of the commerce of the country was in the hands of the federal government, if its courts had no jurisdiction over commercial questions which might arise out of that commerce, there would be one law in New York, another in Massachusetts, and a third in some other State. ”

“ In Massachusetts the probation act requires a probation officer to inquire into the nature of every criminal case brought before the court, and he may recommend that any person committed by the court be placed on probation. The question for the court, upon the information of the probation officer, is to decide whether it is safe for society to allow the prisoner to go at large. It has become an established fact among the people of Massachusetts, after several years of trial, that in the administration of justice the probation system has been wise and beneficial. ”

“ The Constitution and statutes and judicial decisions of the commonwealth of Massachusetts are the authentic forms through which the sense of justice of the people of that commonwealth expresses itself in law. We are not to supersede them on the ground that they deny the essentials of a trial because opinions may differ as to their policy or fairness. ”

“ It is an office which, to fill with honour and dignity, requires an honest heart, a clear head and a perfect knowledge of law in its extensive relation." [12] When it became known that Washington was considering passing over Lowell and appointing William Cushing, the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, a strong and interesting protest was made by Christopher Gore in a letter to Rufus King of New York: [13]
The appointments to the Judicial seats will soon be made. We flatter ourselves in Massachusetts that one of the Supreme Court will be taken from this State. ”

“ An action was thereupon brought against the City of Boston, in the Court of Common Pleas, to recover back this money; under the instructions of the court, the jury found a verdict for the defendant, on which judgment was entered, and which was affirmed on a writ of error to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. ”

“ All that is asked, is, that the franchise shall be protected. Massachusetts has not made any improvement of her own, although she has subscribed liberally to those which have been undertaken by individuals and corporations. In all these cases, private rights have been respected; and except in the case now before the court, Massachusetts has kept her faith. Recent and previous acts by her legislature show this. In every case, but this, compensation has been made in the law, or provided for.
The plaintiffs do not seek to interrupt the progress of improvements, but they ask to stay revolution ”

“ The motion on the part of the state of Massachusetts, to withdraw the appearance heretofore entered, seems to be founded on what is supposed to have fallen from the Court at the present term, in the opinion delivered upon the question of jurisdiction in this case. It is thought that opinion is open to the inference that jurisdiction is assumed, in consequence of the defendant's having appeared in the cause. ”