USA > Michigan > Michigan official directory and legislative manual for the years 1905-1906 > Part 5
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SEC. 10. The supreme court may appoint a reporter of its decisions. The de- cisions of the supreme court shall be in writing and signed by the judges concur- ring therein. Any judge dissenting therefrom shall give the reasons of such dissent in writing under his signature. All such opinions shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the supreme court. The judges of the circuit court within their respective jurisdictions may fill vacancies in the office of county clerk and of prosecuting at- torney; but no judge of the supreme court or circuit court shall exercise any other power or appointment to public office.
(a) As amended by joint resolution No. 4, public acts, 1903; ratified April elec tion. 1903.
(b) As amended by joint resolution No. 12, public acts 1893 ratified April elec- tion, 1893.
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CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.
SEC. 11. A circuit court shall be held at least twice in each year in every county organized for judicial purposes, and four times in each year in counties containing ten thousand inhabitants. Judges of the circuit court may hold courts for each other, and shall do so when required by law.
(a) SEC. 12. The clerk of each county organized for judicial purposes shall be the clerk of the circuit court of such county. The supreme court shall have power to appoint a clerk for such supreme court.
SEC. 13. In each of the counties organized for judicial purposes there shall be a court of probate. The judge of such court shall be elected by the electors of the county in which he resides, and shall hold, his office for four years, and until his successor is elected and qualified. The jurisdiction, powers and duties of such courts shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 14. When a vacancy occurs in the office of judge of the supreme, circuit or probate court, it shall be filled by appointment of the governor, which shall con- tinue until a successor is elected and qualified. When elected, such successor shall hold his office the residue of the unexpired term.
SEC. 15. The supreme court, the circuit and probate courts of each county shall be courts of record, and shall each have a common seal.
SEC. 16. The legislature may provide by law for the election of one or more per- sons in each organized county, who may be vested with judicial powers not exceed- ing those of a judge of the circuit court at chambers.
SEC. 17. There shall be not exceeding four justices of the peace in each organ- ized township. They shall be elected by the electors of the townships, and shall hold their offices for four years and until their successors are elected and qualified. At the first election in any township they shall be classified as shall be prescribed by law. A justice elected to fill a vacancy shall hold his office for the residue of the unexpired term. The legislature may increase the number of justices in cities.
SEC. 18. In civil cases, justices of the peace shall have exclusive jurisdiction to . the amount of one hundred dollars, and concurrent jurisdiction to the amount of three hundred dollars, which may be increased to five hundred dollars, with such exceptions and restrictions as may be provided by law. They shall also have such criminal jurisdiction and perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the legislature.
SEC. 19. Judges of the supreme court, circuit judges and justices of the peace shall be conservators of the peace within their respective jurisdiction.
SEC. 20. The first election of judges of the circuit courts shall be held on the first Monday in April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, and every sixth year thereafter. Whenever an additional circuit is created, provision shall be made to hold the subsequent election of such additional judge at the regular elections herein provided.
SEC. 21. The first election of judges of the probate courts shall be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, and every fourth year thereafter.
SEC. 22. Whenever a judge shall remove beyond the limits of the jurisdiction for which he was elected, or a justice of the peace from the township in which he was elected, or by a change in the boundaries of such township shall be placed without the same, they shall be deemed to have vacated their respective offices.
SEC. 23. The legislature may establish courts of conciliation with such powers and duties as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 24. Any suitor in any court of this state shall have the right to prosecute or defend his suit, either in his own proper person, or by an attorney or agent of his choice.
SEC. 25. In all prosecutions for libels the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted. The jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.
SEC. 26. . The person, houses, papers and possessions of every person shall be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. No warrant to search any place or to
(a) As amended by joint resolution No. 5. public acts 1881, p. 408; ratified April election 1881.
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seize any person or things shall issue without describing them, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation.
SEC. 27. The right of trial by jury shall remain but shall be deemed to be waived in all civil cases unless demanded by one of the parties in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 28. In every criminal prosecution the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, which may consist of less than twelve men in all courts not of record; to be informed of the nature of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
SEC. 29. No person after acquittal upon the merits shall be tried for the same offense. All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, ex- cept for murder and treason when the proof is evident or the presumption great.
SEC. 30. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless upon the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
SEC. 31. Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines shall not be imposed; cruel or unusual punishment shall not be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreason- ably detained.
SEC. 32. No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.
SEC. 33. No person shall be imprisoned for debt arising out of, or founded on a contract, express or implied, except in cases of fraud or breach of trust, or of moneys collected by public officers, or in any professional employment. No person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace.
SEC. 34. No person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief.
SEC. 35. The style of all process shall be, "In the name of the People of the State of Michigan."
ARTICLE VII.
ELECTIONS.
(a) SECTION 1. In all elections, every male inhabitant of this state, being a citizen of the United States, every male inhabitant residing in this state on the twenty-fourth day of June, eighteen hundred thirty-five, every male inhabitant residing in this state on the first day of January, eighteen hundred fifty, every male inhabitant of foreign birth who, having resided in the state two years and six months prior to the eighth day of November, eighteen hundred ninety-four, and having declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States two years and six months prior to said last named day, and every civilized male inhabitant of Indian descent, a native of the United States and not a member of any tribe, shall be an elector and entitled to vote; but no one shall be an elector or entitled to vote at any election unless he shall be above the age of twenty-one years, and has resided in this state six months, and in the township or ward in which he offers to vote twenty days next preceding such election: Provided, That in time of war, insurrection or rebel- lion, no qualified elector in the actual military service of the United States, or of this state, or in the army or navy thereof, shall be deprived of his vote by reason of his absence from the township, ward or state in which he resides, and the legis- lature shall have the power, and shall provide the manner in which, and the time and place at which such absent electors may vote, and for the canvass and return of their votes to the township or ward election district in which they respectively reside or otherwise.
SEC. 2. All votes shall be given by ballot, except for such township officers as may be authorized by law to be otherwise chosen.
SEC. 3. Every elector, in all cases, except treason, felony or breach of the peace.
(a) As amended by joint resolution No. 20, public acts 1893; ratified November election 1894.
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shall be privileged from arrest during his attendance at election, and in going to and returning from the same.
SEC. 4. No elector shall be obliged to do militia duty on the day of election, except in time of war or public danger, or attend court as a suitor or witness.
(a) SEC. 5. No elector shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his being employed in the service of the United States or of this state; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this state or of the United States; or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison, except that honorably discharged soldiers, sailors and marines who have served in the military or naval forces of the United States or of this state, and who reside in soldiers' homes established by this state, may acquire a residence where such home is located.
SEC. 6. Laws may be passed to preserve the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.
SEC. 7. No soldier, seaman or marine, in the army or navy of the United States, shall be deemed a resident of this state in consequence of being stationed in any military or naval place within the same.
SEC. 8. Any inhabitant who may hereafter be engaged in a duel, either as princi- pal or accessory before the fact, shall be disqualified from holding any office under the constitution and laws of this state, and shall not be permitted to vote at any election.
ARTICLE VIII. STATE OFFICERS.
SECTION 1. There shall be elected at each general biennial election a secretary of state, a superintendent of public instruction, a state treasurer, a commissioner of the land office, an auditor general, and an attorney general for the term of two years. They shall keep their offices at the seat of government and shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 2. Their term of office shall commence on the first day of January, one thou- sand eight hundred and fifty-three, and of every second year thereafter.
SEC. 3. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in any of the state offices, the governor shall fill the same by appointment, by and with the advice and consent of the senate if in session.
SEC. 4. The secretary of state, state treasurer, and commissioner of the state land office shall constitute a board of state auditors to examine and adjust all claims against the state, not otherwise provided for by general law. They shall constitute a board of state canvassers, to determine the result of all elections for governor, lieutenant governor and state officers, and of such other officers as shall by law be referred to them.
SEC. 5. In case two or more persons have an equal and the highest number of votes for any office, as canvassed by the board of state canvassers, the legislature in joint convention shall choose one of said persons to fill such office. When the determination of the board of state canvassers is contested, the legislature in joint convention shall decide which person is elected.
ARTICLE IX. SALARIES.
(b) SECTION 1. The governor shall receive an annual salary of four thousand dol- lars; the judges of the circuit court shall each receive an annual salary of two thou- sand five hundred dollars; the state treasurer shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars; the superintendent of public instruction shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars; the secretary of state shall receive an annual salary of eight hundred dollars; the commissioner of the land office shall receive an annual
(a) As amended by joint resolution No. 21, public acts 1893; ratified November election, 1894.
(b) As amended by joint resolution No. 2, public acts 1889; ratified April elec- tion 1889.
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salary of eight hundred dollars; the attorney general shall receive an annual salary of eight hundred dollars. They shall receive no fees or perquisites whatever for the performance of any duties connected with their office. It shall not be competent for the legislature to increase the salaries herein provided.
ARTICLE X.
COUNTIES.
SECTION 1. Each organized county shall be a body corporate, with such powers and immunities as shall be established by law. All suits and proceedings by or against a county shall be in the name thereof.
SEC. 2. No organized county shall ever be reduced by the organization of new counties to less than sixteen townships as surveyed by the United States, unless in pursuance of law a majority of electors residing in each county to be affected thereby shall so decide. The legislature may organize any city into a separate county, when it has attained a population of twenty thousand inhabitants, without reference to geographical extent, when a majority of the electors of a county in which such city may be situated, voting thereon, shall be in favor of a separate organization.
SEC. 3. In each organized county there shall be a sheriff, a county clerk, a county treasurer, a register of deeds and a prosecuting attorney, chosen by the electors thereof, once in two years, and as often as vacancies shall happen, whose duties and powers shall be prescribed by law. The board of supervisors in any county may unite the offices of county clerk and register of deeds in one office, or disconnect the same .-
SEC. 4. The sheriff, county clerk, county treasurer, judge of probate and register of deeds shall hold their offices at the county seat.
SEC. 5. The sheriff shall hold no other office, and shall be incapable of holding the office of sheriff longer than four in any period of six years. He may be required by law to renew his security from time to time, and in default of giving such security, his office shall be deemed vacant. The county shall never be responsible for his acts.
SEC. 6. A board of supervisors, consisting of one from each organized township, shall be established in each county, with such powers as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 7. Cities shall have such representation in the board of supervisors of the counties in which they are situated as the legislature may direct.
SEC. 8. No county seat once established shall be removed until the place to which it is proposed to be removed shall be designated by two-thirds of the board of super- visors of the county, and a majority of the electors voting thereon shall have voted in favor of the proposed location, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 9. The board of supervisors of any county may borrow or raise by tax one thousand dollars for constructing or repairing public buildings, highways or bridges; but no greater sum shall be borrowed or raised by tax for such purpose in any one year, unless authorized by a majority of the electors of such county voting thereon.
(a) SEC. 10. The board of supervisors, or, in the counties of Saginaw, Jackson, Washtenaw, Kent and Wayne, the board of county auditors, shall have the exclusive power to fix the compensation for all services rendered for, and to adjust all claims against, their respective counties, and the sum so fixed and defined shall be subject to no appeal.
SEC. 11. The board of supervisors of each organized county may provide for lay- ing out highways, constructing bridges, and organizing townships, under such restric- tions and limitations as shall be prescribed by law.
ARTICLE XI. TOWNSHIPS.
SECTION 1. There shall be elected annually, on the first Monday of April, in each organized township, one supervisor, one township clerk, who shall be ex officio school inspector, one commissioner of highways, one township treasurer, one school inspector,
(a) As amended by joint resolution No. 3, public acts 1903; ratified April elec- tion, 1903.
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CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.
not exceeding four constables, and one overseer of highways for each highway dis- trict, whose powers and duties shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 2. Each organized township shall be a body corporate, with such powers and immunities as shall be prescribed by law. All suits and proceedings by or against a township shall be in the name thereof.
ARTICLE XII.
IMPEACHMENTS AND REMOVALS FROM OFFICE.
SECTION 1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching civil officers for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes or misdemeanors; but a ma- jority of the members elected shall be necessary to direct an impeachment.
SEC. 2. Every impeachment shall be tried by the senate. When the governor or lieutenant governor is tried, the chief justice of the supreme court shall preside. When an impeachment is directed, the senate shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try and determine the same according to the evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected. Judgment in case of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office, but the party convicted shall be liable to punishment according to law.
SEC. 3. When an impeachment is directed, the house of representatives shall elect from their own body three members, whose duty it shall be to prosecute such im- peachment. No impeachment shall be tried until the final adjournment of the legis- lature, when the senate shall proceed to try the same.
SEC. 4. No judicial officer shall exercise his office after an impeachment is directed until he is acquitted.
SEC. 5. The governor may make a provisional appointment to fill a vacancy occa- sioned by the suspension of an officer, until he shall be acquitted or until after the election and qualification of a successor.
SEC. 6. For reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for the impeach- ment of a judge, the governor shall remove him on a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislature; but the cause for which such removal is required shall be stated at length in such resolution.
SEC. 7. The legislature shall provide by law for the removal of any officer elected by a county, township or school district, in such manner and for such cause as to them shall seem just and proper.
(a) SEC. 8. The governor shall have power and it shall be his duty, except at such time as the legislature may be in session, to examine into the condition and admin- istration of any public office and the acts of any public officer, elective or appointed, to remove from office for gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein, either of the following state officers, to wit: The attorney general, state treasurer, commissioner of the land office, sec- retary of state, auditor general, superintendent of public instruction or members of the state board of education, or any other officers of the state except legislative and judicial, elective or appointed, and to appoint a successor for the remainder of their respective unexpired term of office, and report the causes of such removal to the legislature at its next session.
ARTICLE XIII.
EDUCATION.
SECTION 1. The superintendent of public instruction shall have the general super- vision of public instruction, and his duties shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 2. The proceeds from the sales of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to the state for educational purposes, and the pro- ceeds of all lands or other property given by individuals or appropriated by the state for like purposes, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest and income of
(a) As amended by joint resolution No. 15, laws of 1861, p. 588; ratified election of 1862.
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which, together with the rents of all such lands as may remain unsold, shall be inviolably appropriated and annually applied to the specific objects of the original gift, grant or appropriation.
SEC. 3. All lands the titles to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall escheat to the state, and the interest on the clear proceeds from the sales thereof shall be appropriated exclusively to the support of primary schools.
SEC. 4. The legislature shall, within five years from the adoption of this consti- tution, provide for and establish a system of primary schools, whereby a school shall be kept without charge for tuition at least three months in each year in every school district in the state, and all instruction in said school shall be conducted in the English language.
SEC. 5. A school shall be maintained in each school district at least three' months in each year. Any school district neglecting to maintain such school shall be de- prived, for the ensuing year, of its proportion of the income of the primary school fund and of all funds arising from taxes for the support of schools.
(a) SEc. 6. There shall be elected in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-three, at the time of the election of a justice of the supreme court, eight regents of the university, two of whom shall hold their office for two years, two for four years, two for six years, and two for eight years. They shall enter upon the duties of their office on the first of January next succeeding their election. At every regular elec- tion of a justice of the supreme court thereafter there shall be elected two regents whose term of office shall be eight years. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of regent, it shall be filled by appointment of the governor. The regents thus elected shall constitute the board of regents of the university of Michigan.
SEC. 7. The regents of the university and their successors in office shall continue to constitute the body corporate, known by the name and title of "The Regents of the University of Michigan."
SEC. 8. The regents of the university shall, at their first annual meeting, or as soon thereafter as may be, elect a president of the university, who shall be ex officio a member of their board, with the privilege of speaking but not of voting. He shall preside at the meetings of the regents and be the principal executive officer of the university. The board of regents shall have the general supervision of the univer- sity, and the direction and control of all expenditures from the university interest fund.
SEC. 9. There shall be elected at the general election in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two three members of a state board of education: one for two years, one for four years, and one for six years; and at each succeeding biennial election there shall be elected one member of such board, who shall hold his office for six years. The superintendent of public instruction shall be ex officio a member and secretary of such board. The board shall have the general supervision of the state normal school, and their duties shall be prescribed by law.
SEC. 10. Institutions for the benefit of those inhabitants who are deaf, dumb, blind, or insane shall always be fostered and supported.
SEC. 11 .. The legislature shall encourage the promotion of intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvements; and shall, as soon as practicable, provide for the establishment of an agricultural school. The legislature may appropriate the twenty- two sections of salt spring lands now unappropriated, or the money arising from the sale of the same, where such lands have been already sold, and any land which may hereafter be granted or appropriated for such purpose for the support and maintenance of such school, and may make the same a branch of the university, for instruction in agriculture and the natural sciences connected therewith, and place the same under the supervision of the regents of the university.
(b) SEC. 12. The legislature shall also provide for the establishment of at least one library in each township and city, and all fines assessed and collected in the several counties and townships for any breach of the penal laws shall be exclusively
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