In re Prescott — 84 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 518

Majority

p. 518

In the Matter of the Application of L. J. Prescott and Others, Respondents, for the Removal of Richard Donovan, a Justice of the Peace (Appellant) from Office.

Headnote

Justice of the peace — jurisdiction of a county judge over proceedings for his removal.

Á. county judge has no jurisdiction over proceedings to remove an individual from the office of justice of the peace. The General Term of the Supreme Court is the only court vested with such power.

Appeal by the defendant, Richard Donovan, from an order of the County Court of Franklin county, entered in the office of the clerk of the county of Franklin on the 15th day of March, 1893, purporting to remove the defendant from the office of justice of the peace, with notice of an intention to bring up for review on such appeal the preliminary objections to such proceeding, raised before the county judge, and also the order entered in said clerk’s office on the 12th day of April, 1893, denying the defendant’s motion to vacate, quash and set aside the same.

Wm. P. Gcmtwell, for the appellant.

Jacob W. Webb, for the respondent.

This is an appeal from an order of the county judge of Franklin county removing Richard Donovan from the office of justice of the peace.

The proceeding before the county judge for the removal of said Donovan from office was founded upon section 35 of part 1, chapter 5, title 4, article 4 of the Revised Statutes (Birdseye’s Statutes 1770, §§ 283, 284). These provisions of the Revised Statutes were repealed by chapter 569 of the Laws of 1890. (See § 243, schedule of laws repealed.)

Section 18 of article 6 of the Constitution provides that justices of the peace may be removed from office by such courts as may be prescribed by law, and the Legislature by law prescribed the General Term of the Supreme Court as the court to be vested with such power (see § 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), and it is the only court that the Legislature has vested with such power.'

p. 519

Tbe county judge bad, therefore, no jurisdiction over the proceedings to remove said Donovan from the office of justice of the peace, and the order appealed from should, therefore, be reversed, with the costs, printing and other disbursements of this appeal, and of the proceedings before the county judge.

Mayham, P. J., and PutNam, J., concurred.

Order reversed, with costs and printing and other disbursements upon this appeal, and the costs of proceedings before the county judge.