Meagher v. Howell, Jr.
| Decision Date | 28 September 1916 |
| Citation | 171 Ky. 238 |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Meagher v. Howell, Jr., Chairman, et al. |
Appeal from Franklin Circuit Court.
SCOTT & HAMILTON and E. C. O'REAR for plaintiff.
J. H. HAZELRIGG and ELI H. BROWN for defendants.
This case presents a contest over the Democratic nomination for senator for the 20th senatorial district of Kentucky, composed of Franklin, Anderson and Mercer counties.
The defendant, S. W. Howell, Jr., is the chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Executive Committee, and the defendant, Burris Morris, is the chairman of the Anderson County Democratic Executive Committee. As chairman of their respective county committees, Howell and Morris, by virtue of rule 23 governing the Democratic party in Kentucky, constitute a majority of the present executive committee of the 20th senatorial district.
In November, 1913, G. G. Speer was elected and he qualified as senator for the 20th senatorial district for a term of four years, beginning January 1, 1914.
On the ...... day of June, 1916, the Governor of the Commonwealth appointed said Speer Banking Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He accepted the office by taking the oath and qualifying, as required by law.
The primary election law of 1912 as amended in 1914, contemplates the selection of all candidates for elective offices to be voted for at any general election, by a primary election held in accordance with the provisions of that act, which is section 1550 of the Kentucky Statutes. Subsection 3 of that act, however, provides in part, as follows:
The 23rd rule governing the Democratic party in Kentucky reads as follows:
"The executive committee in all appellate, senatorial, judicial and legislative districts comprised of more than one county, shall be composed of the chairman of the various county committees of said counties composing said districts, and said committee shall be the governing party authority of said districts, and the chairman of the county executive committee of the county that casts the largest Democratic vote at the last preceding November election shall be the chairman of said committee; and said committee shall have full authority to say and to determine how all nominations are made, and to declare all nominees, not inconsistent with the general primary election law."
Subsection 4 of the primary law provides, in part, as follows:
Since the primary election for this year was held on the 5th day of August, the alleged vacancy in the office of senator occurred within less than seventy days before the day on which the next primary thereafter was held, and, consequently the nomination of Speer's successor, if there is a vacancy, must be made in such manner as may be determined by the governing authority of the Democratic party, which in this instance, is the executive committee of the 20th senatorial district. As above pointed out, that committee by virtue of rule 23, has full authority to determine how the nomination shall be made.
Acting under the authority of that rule, the committee as then constituted, met on September 2, 1916, at the Hotel Harrod, in Harrodsburg, Mercer county, and selected the plaintiff, M. J. Meagher as the Democratic nominee for the office of senator for the 20th senatorial district to fill the vacancy claimed to exist by the appointment of Speer as State Banking Commissioner.
On September 11, 1916, Meagher filed this action in the Franklin circuit court against Howell and Morris, as chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Executive Committee and the Anderson County Democratic Executive Committee, respectively, alleging that said defendants were undertaking to hold a meeting of the 20th senatorial district committee to rescind the plaintiff's nomination, and to make another nomination for the office of senator for said district; and that said committee will thereby cast a cloud upon plaintiff's nomination for said office, and will destroy and take from him said nomination unless they are restrained from meeting and making any other nomination for said office.
The petition prays that the defendants be restrained from holding a meeting of the Democratic committee of the 20th senatorial district for the purpose of rescinding the plaintiff's nomination or making any other nomination other than this plaintiff for the office of senator for the 20th senatorial district.
The defendants filed a special demurrer to the petition, denying the circuit court's jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the action, and, they also demurred generally. The facts stated in the petition being undisputed, the case was tried upon the demurrers.
The circuit judge granted the prayer of the petition, whereupon the defendants applied for a dissolution of the injunction; and, upon that application, the case was orally argued before the eastern division of the court.
1. The special demurrer to the petition raised the question of the circuit court's jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the action. Without elaboration, it is sufficient to say that it is well settled in this state that a court of equity has jurisdiction, not only to preserve the rights which an officer has in his office, but also, that it will protect the rights which a candidate has in his nomination for an office. Poyntz v. Shackelford, 107 Ky. 555; Neal v. Young, 25 Ky. L. R. 184, 75 S. W. 1082.
In Neal v. Young, supra, a primary had been called to be held at the expense of the candidates who had paid their entrance fees and had prosecuted their canvasses. The committee thereafter undertook to call off the primary, whereupon an injunction was asked to prevent the committee from so doing. This injunction was granted by the circuit court, and this court refused to dissolve it. See also Commonwealth v. Combs, 120 Ky. 376; Gilbert v. Smith, 145 Ky. 166.
The circuit court had jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the action, and the special demurrer to the petition was properly overruled.
2. Neither do we find any difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that Speer's...
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