United States v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 18 December 1908
• Docket Number: 8,700.
• Citation: 181 F. 429
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. JOHNSON.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

181 F. 429

UNITED STATES v. JOHNSON.

No. 8,700.

United States Circuit Court, D. Kansas, First Division.

December 18, 1908

H. J Bone, U.S. Atty., and Milton M. Dearing, Sp. Asst. U.S. Atty.

Godard & Valentine, for defendant.

PHILLIPS District Judge.

This is a bill to vacate the judgment of the district court of Clay county, state of Kansas, rendered on the 6th day of March 1907, adjudging the defendant a naturalized citizen of the United States. The validity of the judgment is assailed on the ground that at the time the defendant filed his petition for naturalization he was a resident of Riley county, Kan and not of Clay county, both counties, however, being in the same judicial district.

The question, therefore, presented for decision in this and other cases similarly situated submitted at this term of court is whether or not under the naturalization act (Act June 29 1906, c. 3592, 34 Stat. 596 (U.S. Comp. St. Supp. 1907, p. 420; Supp. 1909, p. 477)) an alien residing in one county can be naturalized by the decree of a district court sitting in another county of the same judicial district in the state of Kansas. Under Rev. St. U.S. 1878, tit. 30, p. 378, the only requirement was that:

'An alien may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States in the following manner, and not otherwise: First, he shall declare on oath, before a Circuit or District Court of the United States, or a district or Supreme Court of the Territories, or a court of record of any of the States having common-law jurisdiction, and a seal and clerk, two years, at least, prior to his admission,' etc.

'Second, he shall at the time of his application to be admitted, declare on oath, before some one of the courts above specified, that he will support the Constitution of the United States,' etc.

-- from which it will be observed that there was nothing definite as to the venue of the application.

In view of the many abuses and impositions practiced by which undeservers obtained from the various courts certificates of naturalization, and the difficulty of ascertaining on inquiry the domicile of the applicant and his witnesses, the present act was made more specific. It declares:

'That exclusive jurisdiction to naturalize aliens as citizens of the United States is hereby conferred upon the following specified courts:

'United States Circuit and District courts, * * * also all courts of record in any state or territory now existing, or which may hereafter be created, having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in actions at law or equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in controversy in unlimited.

'That naturalization jurisdiction of all courts herein specified, state, territorial, and federal, shall extend only to such aliens resident within the

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