USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 22
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The salaries of the Judges were fixed not to exceed one thousand dollars per annum, and the Constitution directed the Supreme Court to hold a term once a year in each county. Under these provisions of the Constitution and the laws, the General Assembly elected, on the 2nd of April, 1803, as the Judges of the first Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, Sam- uel Huntington, then the Senator from Trumbull County ; Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., then a member of the Territorial Court, and later Governor of Ohio, and William Spriggs, of Jefferson County. In 1804 the Legislature added a fourth Judge to the Supreme Court. Six years later, in 1810, the Legislature reduced the number to three, but in 1816 again added a fourth Judge. The Supreme Court continued to have that number of Judges until the 9th of February, 1852, when a new court, under the Constitution of 1851, began work.
In 1807 serious difficulties arose between the judiciary of the State and the Legisla- ture, which resulted in the impeachment proceedings of 1808 and 1809, and what was known as the "Sweeping Resolution," in 1810. At the session of the General Assembly which began in December, 1805, the Legislature passed an act relating to Justices of the Peace. Its fifth session so far extended their jurisdiction that no party to a suit in which more than twenty and not more than fifty dollars was in dispute could obtain a trial by jury. The twenty-ninth section provided that if any plaintiff suing on original writ in the Com- mon Pleas Court did not recover more than fifty dollars, he must pay his own cost. In 1807 Calvin Pease, sitting as presiding Judge in the Common Pleas Court of Belmont County and Jefferson County, held said provisions of said sections unconstitutional and declared them null and void, because Section 8, Article 8, Ohio Constitution, read: "The right of trial by jury shall be inviolate." In the Supreme Court, to which one or more of such cases had been duly carried, the voices of Samuel Huntington and George Tod, Judges, affirmed the ruling made by Judge Pease. When the General Assembly met at Chillicothe, in December, 1807, the then acting Governor, Thomas Kirker, the Speaker of the Senate, in his message, related said decisions and recommended that the Legislature make suitable provision for the trial of actions in which the issues concerned values between twenty dollars and not more than fifty dollars. The House at once referred the matter to a special committee. On the 4th of January, 1808, it passed a resolution reported by said committee, reading thus :
"Resolved, That the Judges of the State are not authorized by the Constitution to set aside an act of the Legislature, by declaring the same unconstitutional and void."
The vote was eighteen ayes and twelve noes. Although the committee continued to consult, no further action was had at that session. Notwithstanding the excitement, the House deliberated for almost one year before reporting articles of impeachment, although three-fourths of the body thought the Judges guilty ; but on the 23rd of December, 1808, the House adopted resolutions impeaching Judge Pease by a vote of thirty-five to eleven, and on the next day similar ones impeaching Judge Tod by a vote of thirty-four to nine. Judge Huntington, in October, 1808, had been elected Governor, and had resigned his Judgeship in order to enter upon his new office, and, therefore, no resolution against him was presented. The House directed Thomas Morris, Joseph Sharpe, James Pritchard, Samuel Marrett and Othniel Looker to act as managers of the prosecution during the trial
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before the Senate. Judge Pease at once filed answers admitting his decisions, averring that they were fully supported by constitutional law and that it was his official duty to decide and adjudge as he had done, and pleading "not guilty." Judge Tod did likewise. The Sen- ate sat as a court of impeachment from within the last week in December until the end of the first week in February. 1809, but not continuously, nor for a whole day at a time, and then acquitted both Judges.
The leaders in the attempt to impeach Judges Tod and Pease were among the ablest of the Ohioans at that time. One of the leaders, Thomas Morris, was subsequently elected to the Supreme Court and later to the United States Senate. Thomas Worthington, another of the leaders of the movement, served four years as United States Senator, and later as Governor of the State. During 1807, 1808, 1809 and 1810 the excitement in political quar- ters was intense. The impeaching resolutions were voted for by more than three-fourths
A TEMPLE OF JUSTICE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS WARREN, OHIO
of the House. The acquittal did not destroy this intense feeling for quite a time. Although the supporters of impeachment did not elect as large a majority in the House of 1809 and 1810 as they held in that of 1808 and 1809, they were able, in January, 1810, to pass what was known as the "Sweeping Resolution" referred to previously. This vacated the offices of all the then Judges of the Supreme Court, all presiding Judges and all the Associate Judges of Common Pleas Courts in every county. It also vacated the offices of Secretary of State, Auditor of State and Treasurer of State. This action on the part of the Legislature. by reason of the broadness of its character, has remained unduplicated in the history of the United States. For a time the State was thrown into a chaotic condition, but subsequently the places were filled again, and the business of the State progressed with its former smoothness.
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The last Supreme Court under the old Constitution, consisting of Judges Peter Hitch- cock, Rufus P. Spaulding, William B. Caldwell and Rufus P. Ranney, elected by the Legis- lature, passed out of existence on the 9th of February, 1852, and a new court, elected by the people of Ohio at the previous election in October, 1851, came to the bench, in the persons of Judges William B. Caldwell, of Hamilton County; Rufus P. Ranney, of Trumbull County ; Thomas W. Bartley, of Richland County; John A. Corwin, of Cham- paign County, and Allen G. Thurman, of Ross County. On the organization of the court the Judges drew lots for the length of their terms, resulting as follows: For one year,
IMPORTERS AND WHO)
LIQUOR MERCH
6. SCHUNGK
PINGER BLOCK
FRANKLIN COUNTY COURT HOUSE
HIGH STREET, LOOKING NORTH FROM LIVINGSTON STREET COLUMBUS, OHIO
Judge Caldwell; for two years, Judge Bartley; for three years, Judge Corwin; for four years, Judge Thurman, and for five years, the length of the regular term under the new Constitution, Judge Hitchcock.
The constitution of 1851, which took the power to elect the Judges of the Supreme Court from the Legislature and gave it to the people, contains the following provision for the continuance of the authority of the Supreme Court :
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Section Il. Schedule. Suits pending in the Supreme Court in bank shall be trans- ferred to the Supreme Court, provided for in this Constitution, and be proceeded with in accordance to law.
Until 1890 the Supreme Court continued to consist of five members. Then, under a new law enacted by the Legislature, the membership of the court was increased to six,
MIAMI COUNTY COURT HOUSE TROY, OHIO
and the terms of office extended from five to six years, the term of one Judge expiring with each year. This court is divided into two divisions of three Judges each, the first division consisting of the Chief Justice and the third and fifth Judges in the order of the expiration of their terms, and the second division consisting of the remaining three. When the Judges of either division divide as to the decision in a cause before it, the cause shall be reserved for decision by the full court ; and when different causes involving the same question are before the respective divisions at the same time, such causes shall also be reserved for decision by the full court. If the whole court be divided evenly as to the de- cision in any cause, the judgment of the lower court shall be entered as af- firmed, and such decisions shall be held to be the law as to all such questions in other causes until overruled by a ma- jority of all the Judges. And when the members of the court in any matter of original judgment divide evenly on any question or questions therein, the deter- mination of the members with whom the Chief Justice votes shall be held to be the judgment of the court.
In 1873 an amendment to the Consti- tution authorized the Legislature to pro- vide once in ten years a Supreme Court Commission of five Judges, to be nominated by the Governor, and confirmed by the State Senate. Governor Hayes appointed the first commission, which sat for three years, from 1876 to 1879; the second commission was appointed by Governor Foster. The commission, consisting of five Judges, was in office from April, 1883, to April, 1885. The statutes now require the Supreme Court to hold an annual term, beginning on the Tuesday after the first Monday in January, at Columbus, O. It may hold special or adjourned terms at such times and places as the Judges, or a majority of them, shall from time to time determine, but, if held elsewhere than in Columbus, thirty days' notice of time and place must be published in Columbus newspapers. The Supreme Court and Supreme Court Library, as well as the
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offices of the Clerk and Reporter of the Supreme Court occupy more than one and one- half floors of space in the new State Judiciary Building.
The Supreme Court Library
The law books forming a part of the State Library were taken to the rooms assigned for the use of the Supreme Court and Law Library in the present Capitol Building as soon as said rooms were ready for occupancy. There is no data obtainable showing just when this change was made, but it was about 1858. At this time the num- ber of volumes could not have exceeded a couple of thousands. In 1866 a count showed about two thousand five hun- dred volumes. The Library was first in charge of the messenger of the Supreme Court, who was assigned the duty of Li- brarian. At this time there were two officers of the court, a crier and a mes- senger. Owing to the illness of the messenger during the greater portion of the year of his service the crier of the court acted as Librarian, and furnished an assistant, who was compensated un- der an arrangement with the messenger. In 1867 an act was passed providing for the appointment of a Law Librarian, tak- ing effect on the 9th of February, 1876, and the positions of crier and messenger of the Supreme Court were abolished, the Law Librarian being made ex-officio crier of the court, said crier to furnish an assistant. For a number of years the listing of the volumes being added to the law library were taken as part of the State Library, and the State Library figures given of the number of volumes enrolled included all those which had PERRY COUNTY COURT HOUSE NEW LEXINGTON, OHIO been set apart as the Law Library of the Supreme Court and additions thereto. This was discontinued early in the '7os, and the first record kept, showing additions to the Law Library, were made in 1873.
From this time on more attention was given to the subject of books, and in 1875 the Library had grown to nearly four thousand volumes. In 1880, when the first catalogue was made, the Library contained about seven thousand five hundred volumes, and on the Ist of March, 1901, the Library counted a little over twenty thousand volumes. The first mes- senger and librarian was Richard Riordan, who served two years. He was succeeded by Herman Ruess, in 1860, who served until the IIth of February, 1866. James H. Beebe was acting crier of the Supreme Court, appointed by the Supreme Court on the 6th of
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April, 1865. and reappointed on the 11th of February, 1866, at which time he took charge substantially of the Law Library. On the 16th of February, 1867, a law was passed creat- ing the office of Law Librarian, who, ex-officio, should be the crier of the court. James H. Beebe served in this capacity until his death, on the 12th of July, 1880. Frank N. Beebe, who had been serving as an assistant to his father, was appointed Law Librarian, and suc- ceeded his father in charge of the department on the 13th of July, 1880, and has served continuously up to the time of his death, in October. 1903, when he was followed by the present incumbent in office, Marshal and Librarian of the Supreme Court, Howard E. Gilkey. Under his administration the Library is splendidly cared for and a large number of volumes has been added. This library is considered to be one of the most complete law libraries in the United States.
The Circuit Courts of Ohio
These courts were created by the following pro- vision in the Constitution of 1851 :
"Section 6, AArticle IV. The Circuit Court shall have like original jurisdiction with the Supreme Court, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law. Such courts shall be composed FIRST COURT HOUSE OF LUCAS COUNTY of such number of Judges as may be provided by law, and shall be held in cach county at least once in each year. The number of circuits and the boun- daries thereof shall be prescribed by law. Such Judges shall be elected in each circuit by
th selectors thereof, and at such time and for such term as may be prescribed by law, and the same number shall be elected to each circuit. Each Judge shall be competent to exercise his judicial powers in any circuit. The General Assembly may change from time to time the number and boundaries of the circuits." (As amended October 9, 1883, 80 V. 382.)
By an act passed by the General Assembly on the 14th of April, 1884, the State was divided into seven circuits, in each of which the people elected three Circuit Judges for terms of six years. The first election of Circuit Judges was held in October, 1884, and the first sitting of the several Circuit Courts was fixed for the 9th of February, 1885. The Judges are elected in alternate years, one Judge in each circuit for a term of six years. In 1887 the State was redistricted and an eighth circuit added.
The Courts of Common Pleas
These courts were created under the Constitution of 1802. Regarding these courts, the first Constitution of Ohio contained the following provision :
Article III., Section 3. The several Courts of Common Pleas shall consist of a Presi- dent and Associate Judges. The State shall be divided by law into three circuits. There shall be appointed in each circuit a President of the Courts, who, during his continuation in office, shall reside therein. There shall be appointed in cach county not more than three nor less than two Associate Judges, who, during their continuance in office, shall reside therein. The President and Associate Judges in their respective counties, any three of whom shall be a quorum, shall compose the Court of Common Pleas, which court shall have common law and chancery jurisdiction in all such cases as shall be directed by law ; pro- vided, that nothing here contained shall be construed to prevent the Legislature from increas- ing the number of circuits and Presidents after the term of five years (et seq.).
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The Judges under this provision under the first Constitution were elected by the Gen- eral Assembly. The terms of the Common Pleas Courts were fixed by the Legislature, three terms each year in each county. To transact probate business the Judges could hold special terms at any time. The number of Common Pleas circuits was from time to time changed and increased as the population increased, and new counties were created. The Constitution of 1851 provides for the election of the Common Pleas Judges by the people. It contained the following provisions by which the State was permanently subdi-
vided into Common Pleas Districts, and these again divided into three sub-dis- tricts each :
Article IV., Section 3. The State shall be divided into nine Common Pleas Districts, of which the county of Hamil- ton shall constitute one, of compact ter- ritory and bounded by county lines, and each of said districts consisting of three or more counties shall be sub-divided into three parts of compact territory, and bounded by county lines, and as nearly equal in population as practical, in each of which one Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for said district, and re- siding therein, shall be elected by the electors of said sub-division. Courts of Common Pleas shall be held by one or more of these Judges in every county in the district, as often as may be provided by law, and more than one court or sit- ting thereof may be held at the same time in each district.
Article IV., Section 4. The Juris- diction of the Courts of Common Pleas and of the Judges thereof shall be fixed by law. (See Const. 1802, Art. III., $ยง 3, 4, 5 and 6.)
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The first election of Judges under the new Constitution was held on the second Tuesday of October, 1851. The BELMONT COUNTY COURT HOUSE ST. CLAIRSVILLE, OHIO terms of the old Judges and Clerks were extended by Section 4 of the sched- ule to the second Monday of February, 1852, at which the new Judges began their term of office. The number of Common Pleas Court districts was increased to ten in January, 1879, when the State was redistricted by the General Assembly, each district having more than three counties contained three sub-divisions; each subdivision, by popular vote, chose one Judge of Common Pleas for a term of five years. Under later legislation in each sub-divi- sion additional Common Pleas Judges were chosen, so that now there are eighty Judges of Common Pleas in Ohio.
Besides the courts mentioned from 1838 to 1853, one Judge elected for seven years by the Legislature, held the Superior and Commercial Court of Cincinnati; from 1848 to February, 1853, a like Judge held the Superior Court of Cleveland; from April, 1854, a Superior Court of the city of Cincinnati has been held by three Judges, chosen by the city voters for terms of five years ; from the Ist of July, 1856, to the Ist of July, 1886, one Judge chosen by the voters of Montgomery County, for a five years' term, held a Superior
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LUCAS COUNTY COURT HOUSE IN 1900 TOLEDO, OHIO
Court in Montgomery County ; from March, 1857, to April, 1865, a like Judge, chosen by the voters of Franklin County, held the Superior Court of Franklin County, and from March, 1852, to May, 1854, a like Judge, chosen by the voters of Hamilton County, held the Crim- inal Court of Hamilton County.
The Insolvency Courts
The Courts of Insolvency were created by an act of the Seventy-first General Assem- bly, as follows:
"There shall be and hereby is established in any county of this State, containing any city of the first grade of the first class, a court of record, which shall be styled "The Court of Insolvency." It shall consist of one Judge, who shall be elected by the electors of such county."
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"The first election for such Judge shall be held on the first Tuesday after the second Mon- day in November, 1894, and shall be conducted in the same manner and governed by the same laws that are now in force or may hereinafter be enacted regulating the election of Judges in the State. The term of office shall commence on the 9th day of February, 1895, and shall continue for the term of five years."
Under the above laws the Insolvency Court of Hamilton County was established, and the first Judge of said court, Aaron McNeill, was elected on the date mentioned above. The Seventy-second General Assembly extended the Insolvency Courts to "any county of this State containing any city of the second grade of the first class," and under this law the Insolvency Court of Cuyahoga County was established, the first Judge of which took his seat on the 9th of February, 1897.
Until 1900 the jurisdiction of the above-named courts was confined to bankruptcy cases, but on the 16th of April, 1900, the following act of the General Assembly was passed, which enlarged the scope of the Insolvency Courts :
"Section 2. The said Courts of Insolvency shall have jurisdiction concurrent with the Probate Courts of such counties, in allowing and issuing writs of habeas corpus, and deter- mining the validity of the caption and detention of the persons brought before it on such writs ; also, to make inquests of the amount of compensation to be made to the owners of real estate when appropriated by any corporation, legally authorized to make such appropria- tion. And from orders, decrees and jugments, in such cases, appeals may be taken to the Court of Common Pleas, and error may be prosecuted with the Court of Common Pleas, in the same manner and to the same extent in all respects, as is provided in such cases respec- tively when pending in the Probate Court."
The Probate Courts
Under the first Constitution exclusive jurisdiction in probate and testamentary matters was vested in the Courts of Common Pleas, and the orders of those courts made in the prog- ress of such matters could not be reviewed in the Supreme Court upon writ of error.
Article III., Section 5. The Court of Common Pleas in each county shall have juris- diction of all probate and testamentary matters, granting administration, and such other cases as shall be prescribed by law.
The Constitution of 1851, after creating the Probate Courts, defines their duties as follows : Article IV., Section 8 .- The Probate Court shall have jurisdiction in probate and testa- mentary matters, the appointment of administrators and guardians, and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, issuing of marriage licenses, and for the sale of land by executors, admin- istrators and guardians, in any county or counties, as may be provided by law.
Besides the jurisdiction given to the Probate Court by the Constitution of 1851, the General Assembly gave that court power in many cases and proceedings not requiring a jury and jurisdiction of jury cases for appropriations of property for public use, and considerable minor criminal jurisdiction.
The Courts of the Justices of the Peace
are also an integral part of the judiciary system of Ohio. These courts were created by the first Constitution, in 1802, as specified in Article III., Section II-A competent number of Justices of the Peace shall be elected by the qualified electors in each township in the several counties, and shall continue in office three years, whose powers and duties shall, from time to time, be regulated and defined by law.
A similar clause confirming the above was embodied in the Constitution of 1851.
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The Judiciary of Ohio has always been of the highest order, and members of it have sustained the good name of the State. The following contributions have been made by the Ohio bench, during the last hundred years, to positions of great responsibility and trust in the service of the State and Nation :
Eight Governors of Ohio, for terms aggregating twenty-two years; three Justices of the United States Supreme Court, for terms aggregating forty years ; one Secretary of State ; two Attorney-Generals : two Secretaries of War; two Postmaster Generals of the United States, for terms aggregating twenty-one years; one Governor General of the Philippines ; nine United States Senators, for terms aggregating seventy-six years, and forty-two mem- bers of the National House of Representatives, for terms aggregating one hundred and fifty-eight years.
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EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
Development of Ohio's Public School System
Early School History .- Provisions for Maintaining Educational. Institutions .- Allotment of Lands for School Purposes. - A General History of the State School System .- Statistical Information .- The Columbus Public School Library .- Legislative Enact- ments .- Private Schools .- Creation of High and Normal Schools.
N 1903 the population of Ohio numbered 4,157,545. This teeming popu- lation necessarily spread all over the State. The primeval forests had disappeared, and the plains had changed into fertile farmlands, culti- vated by an industrious, busy people. Cities, towns, villages and ham- lets had sprung up, and everywhere could be seen the signs of civiliza- tion and progress. Factories and tremendous industrial enterprises. flourished ; pretty, ornamental and comfortable residences were erected ; farmhouses and roomy barns dotted the land; cultivated fields took the place of the hunting grounds of the red men ; endless railway and trac- tion lines girded the State from East to West and North to South; magnificent churches of varied denominations displayed their spires to the heavens and thousands of schoolhouses, from the small one-room "red schoolhouse" to the palatial building, devoted to modern education, were in evidence. The public free school system of Ohio must be linked in history to the school system of the New England States. That it would be impossible to grant important civic rights to the people without providing the means for their proper education has been foreseen by our forefathers. To permit the exercise of suffrage and the control of the affairs of the Nation itself to the people in general without providing education for all and a consequent spread of intelligence, would mean the undermining of the very founda- tion of the Republic. In order to be free in every sense of the word, the people had to be educated. These conditions were recognized even before the War of the Rebellion, and the literature of the later Colonial and Revolutionary periods abound in reference to the neces- sity of education. The New England free school, as well as later the free school system of Ohio, was the outgrowth of the spirit of Democracy. The immortal Washington splendidly voiced this sentiment when he wrote in his farewell address: "Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened." The public school system of today is not the work of one man, or of one period. It is the result of necessary circumstances, a development, an evolution. At first the public school system was a community necessity, later a definitely recognized insti- tution. Spontaneity had been its keynote from the beginning. Its worth has been recog- nized in town meetings, in colonial assemblies, in State constitutions, in State legislations, as well as in the halls of the National Congress. Every State and Territory has helped to build up the public school system of the United States, and it may truthfully be said that the State of Ohio has nobly done her share.
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