Supreme Court of the State of New York

“ The modern city is mainly a development of the last fifty years. It is not surprising, therefore, that the judicial mind steeped mainly in the old traditions of the law sometimes fails to do justice. The Court of Appeals in New York has usually been made up almost entirely of what are called "up-state" judges. The Supreme Court of Illinois consists of seven judges elected from as many districts. ”

“ Most of the local or inferior courts, however, as well as the superior courts of law and of equity, were copied by State constitutions and statutes from English originals. In many of the States courts of chancery (q.v.) and of common law (q.v.) have been united into a single supreme court. It is impossible in this article to describe the judiciary system of each of the States, for in matters of detail they differ not a little; but a brief sketch of the New York courts will give the reader an idea of those existing in other States. ”

“ The only limitation upon the freedom of a State to define the jurisdiction of its own courts is that implied by Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution, whereby 'The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.' The Constitution does not require New York to give jurisdiction to its courts against its will. ”

“ Congress has passed no act for the special purpose of prescribing the mode of proceeding in suits instituted against a state, or in any suit in which the supreme court is to exercise the original jurisdiction conferred by the constitution.
The act to establish the judicial courts of the United States, section thirteen, enacts 'that the supreme court shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all controversies of a civil nature where a state is a party, except between a state and its citizens ”

“ Does the Court's new rule allow the judge to decide voluntariness merely on a preponderance of the evidence? If so, this is a distinct disadvantage to the defendant. In fashioning its new constitutional rule, the Court should not leave this important question in doubt.
Finally, and even more important, the Court's new constitutional doctrine is, it seems to me, a strange one when we consider that both the United States Constitution and the New York Constitution (Art. I, § 2) establish trial by jury of criminal charges as a bedrock safeguard of the people's liberties. ”

“ So here, though no constitutional issue is present, regard for the respective orbits of State and federal tribunals is the best of reasons, as a matter of judicial administration, for requiring a definitive adjudication by the New York courts rather than proceeding on the basis of our own tentative guess as to the meaning of the New York statutes. That federal issues may remain is no justification for refusing to submit to the New York courts a separable issue of New York law. ”

“ They are not subject to the control of Congress though of course state law may in words or by implication make the federal rule for conducting litigation the rule that should govern suits to enforce federal rights in the state courts. Surely it cannot be that should New York decide to regulate the public profession of the law by putting the determination of all attorneys' fees in charge of its courts, Congress could provide that actions thereafter brought in New York courts in the enforcement of federal rights shall not be subject to New York's fee system. ”

“ It is true, however, that the right of the state of New-York cannot be affected by a decision in the Cir-cuit Court; but till that right is lawfully settled, the number of suits, by individuals, must be indefinitely great; and merely to avoid a multiplicity of suits, to cut off, by one decision, various sources of strife and litigation, is a substantive ground for the exercise of a chancery juris-diction. ”

“ When the penalty is death, we, like state court judges, are tempted to strain the evidence and even, in close cases, the law in order to give a doubtfully condemned man another chance. But we cannot see the slightest justification for reading the Fourteenth Amendment to deny the State of New York the power to hold these defendants guilty on the record before us. ”

“ Upon principle, therefore, we cannot say that we are satisfied that the doctrine of the Supreme Court of New York can be maintained; for the general principle certainly is, that whatever is sacrificed voluntarily for the common good, is to be recompensed by the common contribution of the property benefited thereby. ”

“ What is contended is that historically federal courts have carved out a rule to protect themselves from interference by state courts, and that a plaintiff in a federal court proceeding has an absolute right to prosecute his suit and collect his judgment in that court-a right which would somehow be arrested or taken away by giving effect to the New York attachment. ”

“ The people of the United States have vested that power in this tribunal, and its highest duty is to exercise it with fidelity. The point of difficulty in this case is to decide, whether the legitimate exercise of this power has been obstructed by the judgment of the court of errors of New York, now under consideration. ”

“ In that case it was held by this court that the judgment was void as to the defendant not served, and that the law of New York could not make it valid outside of that State; that the constitutional provision and act of Congress giving full faith, credit, and effect to the judgments of each State in every other State do not refer to judgments rendered by a court having no jurisdiction of the parties ”

“ It is alarming to find so many Members of Congress sworn into the Federal Court at its first sitting in New York. The question then is whether it is proper that Congress should consist of so large a proportion of Members who are sworn attomies in the Federal Courts ; or whether it is prudent to trust men to enact laws who are practising on them in another department. Let common sense answer. If Congress does consist of practising Attorneys, the laws enacted may, in a great measure, depend on the particular causes such individuals may have to manage in the Judiciary ”

“ If the District Court in this case were to rule for appellants on the merits of their constitutional attack on New York City's federally funded programs, that decision would cast sufficient doubt on similar programs elsewhere as to cause confusion approaching paralysis to surround the challenged statute. Therefore, even if the injunction which might issue in this case were narrower than that sought by appellants, we are satisfied that the legislative policy underlying § 2282 was served by the convening of a three-judge court, despite appellants' focus on New York City's programs. ”

“ As to such purposes the state of New York does not exist. Within the field of its powers, what ever the United States right-fully undertakes, it necessarily has warrant to consummate. And when judicial authority is invoked in aid of such consummation, State Constitutions, state laws, and state policies are irrelevant to the inquiry and decision. ”

“ The trial judge, too, has a heavy responsibility resulting from broad powers to set aside a verdict if he thinks the evidence does not warrant it. [18] Petitioners submitted such a motion, which the judge denied, thus adding the weight of his own approval to the jury verdict.
An attack on the fairness of New York procedure is that petitioners could not take the witness stand to support, with their own oaths, the charges their counsel made against the state police without becoming subject to general cross-examination. State law on the subject is disputed and uncertain. ”