In re State of New York et al. the Queen City

• Court: U.S. Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: PITNEY
• Citation: In re State of New York et al. the Queen City, 256 U.S. 503, 41 S.Ct. 592, 65 L.Ed. 1063 (1921)
• Decision Date: 01 June 1921
• Docket Number: No. 26,26
• Parties: In re STATE OF NEW YORK et al. THE QUEEN CITY

256 U.S. 503

41 S.Ct. 592

65 L.Ed. 1063

In re STATE OF NEW YORK et al. THE QUEEN CITY.

No. 26.

Argued Dec. 14, 1920.

Decided June 1, 1921.

Mr. Edward G. Griffin, of Albany, N. Y., for petitioners.

Mr. Irving W. Cole, of Buffalo, N. Y., for respondent.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 504-508 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice PITNEY delivered the opinion of the Court.

In October, 1920, March J. McGahan and another, as administrators of Evelyn McGahan, deceased, filed a libel in admiralty in the District Court of the United States for the Western District of New York against the steam tug Queen City, her tackle, apparel, and furniture, to recover damages alleged to have been sustained through the death of deceased by drowning, due to the negligent operation of the Queen City upon the Erie Canal, in said district. The Attorney General of the state of New York appeared specially for the purpose of questioning the jurisdiction of the court, and filed a verified suggestion of the went of such jurisdiction over the Queen City, for the reason that at all times mentioned in the libel and at present she was the absolute property of the state of New York, in its possession and control, and employed in the public service of the state for governmental uses and purposes, and, at the times mentioned in the libel, was authorized by law to be employed only for the public and governmental uses and purposes of the state of New York; such purposes being the repair and maintenance of the improved Erie Canal, a public work owned and operated by the state, and particularly the towing of dredges, the carrying of material and workmen, the towing of barges and vessels containing material, and the setting, replacing, and removing of buoys and safety devices. He prayed that the vessel be declared immune from process and free from seizure and attachment, and that the libel and all proceedings thereunder be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

The District Court overruled the suggestion and awarded process in rem, under which the Queen City was arrested. Thereupon the Attorney General, in behalf of the state, filed in this court, under leave granted, a petition for a writ of prohibition to require the District Court to desist from further exercise of jurisdiction and for a mandamus to require the entry of an order declaring the Queen City to be immune from arrest. An order to show cause was issued, to which the District Judge made return, embodying by reference the admiralty proceedings; and the matter was argued together with No. 25, original, Ex parte New York et al., Petitioners, 256 U. S. 490, 41 Sup. Ct. 588, 65 L. Ed. ——, just decided.

To the suggestion that the Queen City is the property of the state of New York, in its possession and control and employed in its public governmental service, it is objected at the outset that the record and proceedings in the suit in admiralty do not disclose the identity of the owner of the vessel or that she was employed in the governmental service of the state. We deem it clear, however, that the verified suggestion presented by the Attorney General of that state, in his official capacity as representative of the state and the people thereof, amounts to an official certificate concerning a public matter presumably within his official knowledge, and that it ought to be accepted as sufficient evidence of the fact, at least in the absence of special challenge. The suggestion was overruled and denied, with costs, and process thereupon ordered to issue against the vessel, without any intimation that there was doubt about the facts stated in the suggestion, or opportunity given to verify them further. It would be an unwarranted aspersion upon the honor of a great state to treat facts thus solemnly certified by its chief law officer, and accepted as true when passed upon by the District...