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Conyers v. Luther Williams Banking Company

Supreme Court of Georgia1926-06-18No. No. 5388
162 Ga. 350

Summary

Holding. Because the constitutional questions were not raised or addressed in the trial court, they are not properly before the reviewing court. The case is transferred to the Court of Appeals, as the remaining issue falls within that court's jurisdiction rather than the Supreme Court's.

Conyers sought to review a municipal court judgment through certiorari. The defendant moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that a 1925 legislative act had abolished certiorari review from municipal courts. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the petition. Conyers challenged this dismissal, raising both a retroactivity argument and three separate constitutional challenges to the 1925 act.

The court found that Conyers had not properly preserved the constitutional issues for review because they were not raised or decided in the trial court below. Additionally, the court determined that the non-constitutional question regarding retroactive application fell within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals rather than the Supreme Court. Accordingly, the case was transferred to the appellate court for proper consideration.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether a 1925 legislative act abolishing certiorari from municipal courts applied retroactively to cases tried before its passage
  • Whether constitutional issues not raised in the trial court can be considered on appeal
  • Proper jurisdictional allocation between the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals

Procedural posture

The trial court dismissed a petition for certiorari seeking review of a municipal court judgment, and the petitioner appealed by exception in the bill of exceptions.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Beck, P. J.

This was a petition for certiorari, which had been sanctioned by the judge of the superior court, in which petition plaintiff in certiorari sought to have reviewed a final judgment rendered in the municipal court in the City of Macon. When the case was called for hearing, counsel for defendant in certiorari made a motion to dismiss the petition for certiorari, upon the ground that “the writ of certiorari from the municipal court, City of Macon, had been abolished by the acts of the legislature in 1925 (page 465).” This motion was sustained, and final judgment against plaintiff in certiorari was entered. To this judgment dismissing the petition the plaintiff in certiorari excepted; and in the bill of exceptions it is recited that the plaintiff in error “does here and now except and assigns the dismissal of the petition for certiorari as error, because the procedure provided for in the acts of 1925, page 465, did not govern the case at bar, for the reason that said claim case was tried on July 14th, 1925, prior to the passage of the above act, and to do so would make said law retroactive in its effect.” And then follows the statement of three other grounds upon which plaintiff in error contends that the judgment of dismissal was erroneous, to wit: That so much of the act in question as relates to the method of review of erroneous judgments, contained in sections 1 and 2, is uneonstitutional and void because in conflict with article 6, section 4, paragraph 5, of the constitution (Code of 1910, § 6514) ; that sections 1 and 2 of the act are unconstitutional and void because in conflict with article 6, section 2, paragraph 9, of the constitution, for reasons stated; and that subhead (d) of section 1 and section 2 ofJdie act are unconstitutional because violative of section 4, article 1, paragraph 1, of the constitution of this State, for the reason stated in these grounds. There is no recital in the bill of exceptions to show that the questions as to the constitutionality of the law of 1925 referred to above were raised before the court below, or passed upon by that court. Held, that inasmuch as the constitutional questions were not raised in the court below or passed upon by that court, the constitutional questions are not properly before the reviewing court for decision. And that being true, inasmuch as the other question raised by the assignment of error is within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of this State, and not within the jurisdiction of this court, the case must be transferred to the Court of Appeals. Savannah &c. Ry. Co. v. Hardin, 110 Ga. 433 (35 S. E. 681) ; Bolton v. City of Newman, 147 Ga. 400 (94 S. E. 236) ; Patterson v. Bank of Alapaha, 148 Ga. 356 (96 S. E. 863); Edwards v. McNair, 152 Ga. 486 (110 S. E. 280). So ordered.

No. 5388.

June 18, 1926.

Certiorari. Before Judge Malcolm D. Jones. Bibb superior court. March 3, 1926.

L. U. Bloodworth, for plaintiff.

D. L. Olmrchwell, for defendant.

All the Justices concur.