United States v. Hill
Decision Date | 31 January 1887 |
Citation | 120 U.S. 169,7 S.Ct. 510,30 L.Ed. 627 |
Parties | UNITED STATES v. HILL and another. 1 |
Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
John Lowell, for Hill and another.
On the fifth of February, 1879, Clement Hugh Hill was duly appointed clerk of the district court of the United States for the district of Massachusetts, by the judge of that court. On the same day he and William Goodwin Russell and another person executed a joint and several bond to the United States in the penal sum of $20,000, conditioned that Hill, 'by himself and by his deputies,' should 'faithfully discharge the duties of his office, and seasonably record the decrees, judgments, and determinations of the said court, and properly account for all moneys coming into his hands, as required by law.' The statute requiring a bond, in force at the time, was section 3 of the act of February 22, 1875, c. 95, (18 St. 333,) which required the clerk to give a bond, with sureties, 'faithfully to discharge the duties of his office, and seasonably to record the decrees, judgments, and determinations of the court of which he is clerk.' This suit was brought by the United States against Hill and Russell on said bond by a writ, dated December 4, 1884, claiming $22,000 damages. The declaration alleges, as a breach of the bond, that Hill 'has not properly accounted for all moneys coming into his hands, as required by law, according to the condition of said bond.' The answer of the defendants denies that allegation, and avers that Hill 'has made full and sufficient returns of all moneys received by him, as required by law, and that he owes no sum of money to the said United States.'
The following agreed statement of facts was filed July 1, 1885, signed by the attorneys for the respective parties, and upon it the case was, by written agreement, submitted to the decision of the court:
Section 833 of the Revised Statutes provides that every clerk of a district court shall, Section 839 of the Revised Statutes provides that 'no clerk of a district court * * * shall be allowed by the attorney general * * * to retain the fees and emoluments of his office * * * for his personal compensation, over and above his necessary office expenses, including necessary clerk hire, to be audited and allowed by the proper accounting officers of the treasury, a sum exceeding three thousand five hundred dollars a year for any such district clerk, * * * or exceeding that rate for any time less than a year.' Section 844 provides that every clerk shall, 'at the time of making his half-yearly return to the attorney general, pay into the treasury, or deposit to the credit of the treasurer, as he may he directed by the attorney general, any surplus of the fees and emoluments of his office, which said return shows to exist over and above the compensation and allowances authorized by law to be retained by him.' Section 845 provides that, in every case where the return of a clerk 'shows that a surplus may exist, the attorney general shall cause such returns to be carefully examined, and the accounts of disbursements to be regularly audited by the proper officer of his department, and an account to be opened with such officer in proper books to be provided for that purpose.' The foregoing provisions of sections 833, 839, 844, and 845 were taken from section 3 of the act of February 26, 1853, c. 80, (10 St. 165, 166,) the supervision being changed from the secretary of the interior to the attorney general by section 15 of the act of June 22, 1870, c. 150, establishing the department of justice, (16 St. 164.) Section 846 provides that the accounts of clerks This provision was taken from section 1 of the act of August 16, 1856, c. 124, (11 St. 49.)
The blank used for the report of clerks' fees and emoluments, and the oath appended to the report, and the certificate of the judge upon it, were in the following form, as contained in the record:
Return of fees and emoluments of _____, clerk of the _____ court of the United States for the _____ district of _____, from _____ to _____, and of moneys paid out by him during the same period for the expenses of his office; also of the receipt or non-receipt of fees and emoluments previously returned to him as 'not received.'
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DISTRICT COURT. Dollars. Cents.
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Fees and emoluments earned from the United States, received
do. do. do . do.. do. not received......
Fees and emoluments earned from individuals, received
do. do. do. do.. not received...........
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District Court.
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District Court.
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Total amount of earnings, received and not received, brought down
Deduct amount paid for necessary office expenses
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Net amount of emoluments earned.....
Deduct maximum personal compensation.
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Balance...
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