full for all services rendered in each case up to and including remittitur to Court below; For dismissing on Clerk's certificate, two dollars and fifty cents; For all services rendered in each original proceeding, ten dollars; For certificate of admission as attorney and counselor, ten dollars; For making and certifying each copy of any paper, document, or record in his office, the sum of fifteen cents per folio; but this fee must not be taxed against the parties to suits for any paper or copies of papers necessary up to and including the remittitur. of fees. .753. All fees collected by him, except such as may Disposition be collected under the laws in force prior to the first day of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, must be paid into the State Treasury; eighty per cent thereof to the credit of the General Fund, and twenty per cent thereof to the credit of the Supreme Court Library Fund. ments, when and how made, 754. He is responsible and must account for, and Settlein his settlements with the Controller must be charged with, the full amount of all fees collected or chargeable and accruing in causes brought into the Court for services rendered therein up to the time of each settlement (except such fees as are collected under the laws referred to in the preceding section), and must at the end of every month pay the same into the State Treasury. He must also, at the end of every month, render to the Controller of State, in such form as that officer prescribes, an account in detail, under his own oath, of all fees chargeable and accruing in causes brought into Court and not included in his previous accounts rendered. His salary must not be allowed or paid until all fees so accruing, and for which he is chargeable, have been accounted for and paid over. Salary of Salary of Official bond. 755. The annual salary of the Clerk of the Supreme Court is four thousand dollars. NOTE.-Stats. 1872, p. 37, has an Act amending an Act on the subject of this section which is repealed, and the amendment is of course void, by Sec 330, ante. 756. The annual salary of the Deputy Clerk is eighteen hundred dollars. 757. The Clerk of the Supreme Court must execute an official bond in the sum of ten thousand dollars. NOTE.-See Secs. 947-957, post, inclusive, as to the bond. This Article is founded upon the following statutes: 1850, p. 74; 1868, p. 215; 1870, p. 157. Reporter of Decisions, appointment and term. ARTICLE II. REPORTERS OF THE SUPREME COURT. SECTION 767. Reporter of Decisions, appointment and term. 768. Affidavit to be made by appointee before order is entered. 769. Phonographic Reporter, appointment and term. 770. Duties of Phonographic Reporter. 771. General duties of Reporter of Decisions. 772. Same. 773. Reports, what to include. 774. Justices must supervise publication. 775. Proof sheets. 776. Original papers. 777. Style of reports. 778. Number of volumes. 779. Printing and binding. 780. Disposition of edition. 781. Same. 767. The Supreme Court may, by an order entered upon the minutes, appoint a Reporter of its decisions, to hold office at its pleasure. NOTE.-Const., Art. VI, Sec. 14. "The Legislature shall provide for the speedy publication of such opinions of the Supreme Court as it may deem expedient, and all opinions shall be free for publication by any person."-Am. 1861, ratified 3d September, 1862. In this Article "decision" is used for the term "opinion." It is the clear policy of this Article to "provide for the speedy publication," and to preserve in an authentic shape, easy of access, and prepared by appointees of the Supreme Court, the rules and reasons of their decisions, embodying the principles of the law as applied to each case for use in subsequent cases of like or proximate character. See Houston vs. Williams, 13 Cal., p. 27; Stearns vs. Aguiere, 7 Cal., p. 448. Bouvier's Law Dict., Vol. 1, p. 438, defines a decision to be: "A judgment given by a competent tribunal. The French lawyers call the opinions which they give on questions propounded to them, decisions."-Just. Inst., Book 1, Title 2, law 8; Dig. Civil Law, Book 1, Title 2, law 2. But we use it more particularly with reference to the opinions of the Court of last resort the Supreme Court-as authority in all the Courts. Says Bouvier, vol. 2, p. 542: "It is a general maxim that when a point has been settled by decision, it forms a precedent which is not afterwards to be departed from." And this is that doctrine called stare decisis; as a rule, however, it is not always reliable, for Courts frequently find it necessary to overrule cases decided contrary to principle. Hundreds of such decisions have been carefully collected from the American and English Reports.-See Greenleaf's Overruled Cases; 1 Kent Comm., p. 477; Livingston's Syst. of Pen. Law, p. 104. The language of judicial opinions must generally be held as referring to the particular cases decided, and general expressions taken in 'connection with the circumstances attending the cases; in other words, the history of the case should be given and considered in giving it construction.-Uhlfelder vs. Levy, 9 Cal., p. 607; People vs. Walker, id., p. 234; Seale vs. Mitchell, 5 id., p. 401. Mere obiter dictum, or expressions of opinion not involved in the case presented, settles no question.—State vs. McGlynn, 20 Cal., p. 233. When a case has been well considered, it should not be disregarded or carelessly overruled; nor should it be overruled at all, unless some well established rule of law, a statue constitutionally enacted, or a well defined or long established right of person or property has been invaded or affected by it. This view is sustained in Pioche vs. Paul, 22 Cal., p. 105, and many other decisions of our Supreme Court. But in matters purely of practice, when no principles or private rights are involved, it is well enough to adhere to a rule long in use, which was originally well considered and established.-Piercy vs. Sabin, 10 Cal., p. 30. Stare decisis may not be invoked to sustain new rules engrafted upon old and well established prin Affidavit to be made by appointee before order is entered. Phonographic Reporter, appointment and term. ciples of law. A rule, if sustained, must itself be one originally well considered and settled, and must have stability, or such ingredients as will endure changes in all other things without change in itself. A rule thus established and adhered to may for a time appear to operate harshly, but it is certainly better to have rules which in time must inspire respect than no rule at all, or even acting with uncertainty. This seems to be the general conclusion of Courts.-See Giblin vs. Jordan, 6 Cal., p. 418; Welch vs Sullivan, 8 Cal., p. 188; McFarland vs. Pico, 8 Cal., p. 631; Aud vs. McGruder, 10 Cal., p. 282; Cohas vs. Raisin, 3 Cal., p. 443; Hart vs. Bennett, 15 Cal., p. 607; Heihn vs. Courtis, 31 Cal., p. 398; Vassault vs. Austin, 36 Cal., p. 691. And it may be said that to serve the purpose of precedents and prevent a change in any well settled principle are among the objects of reported decisions. Whatever may be the language of a decision the presumption is that all the points made, and all the facts bearing upon them as well as the law relied upon, have been carefully considered by the Court.-Mulford vs. Estudillo, 32 Cal., p. 131. A decision does not necessarily hold to be correct law an assumption made by counsel in argument that a certain principle is correct, because that particular principle or assumption is not treated of or discussed in the decision.-Donner vs. Palmer, 31 Cal., p. 500. The participation of a Justice of the Supreme Court in deciding a case submitted on an argument which he did not hear, is an irregularity which may be waived.-Blanc vs. Bowman, 22 Cal., p. 23. 768. After the order is made, and before it is entered on the minutes, the person named therein must take and file with the Clerk an affidavit as follows: "I do swear that I have neither solicited nor procured any other person to advise, suggest, counsel, or solicit my appointment to the position of Reporter of the Decisions of this Court." 769. The Supreme Court may also, in like manner, appoint a Phonographic Reporter for the Court, to hold office at its pleasure. Phonographic Reporter. 770. It is the duty of the Phonographic Reporter Duties of to attend upon the Court during its sessions, and to: 1. Note the points made by counsel in oral argu ments; 2. To take down all opinions of the Court delivered orally; 3. Write out his notes in longhand, upon the order of the Court, and deliver such writing to the Reporter of the Decisions of the Court; 4. Perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him by the Court or a Justice thereof. 771. The Reporter of the Decisions of the Supreme Court must prepare a report of such cases decided as he may by the Court be directed to report. General duties of Decisions. 772. He must, from the notes delivered to him by Same. the Phonographic Reporter, prepare a report of each of the cases included therein, and after preparing such report, must submit it to the Court for correction and approval. 773. Each report must be made in manner and Reports, form as the Court may direct. what to include. must publication 774. The reports must be published under the Justices supervision of the Court, and to that end each of the supervise Justices must be furnished by the Reporter with proof sheets of each volume thirty days before its final publication. sheets. 775. Within thirty days after such proof sheets Proof are furnished, the Justices may return them to the Reporter with corrections or alterations, and he must make the corrections or alterations accordingly. papers. 776. The Reporter may take the original opinions Original and papers in each case from the Clerk's office, and retain them in his possession not exceeding sixty days. 25-VOL. I. |