Gerry v. Beckwith
Gerry v. Beckwith
Opinion of the Court
This case is brought here from the district court of Arapahoe county, and’ presents a controversy between the petitioners and Hon. Theron Stevens and Samuel G. McMullin, respecting the right to the nomination for the offices of district judge and district attorney, by the Democratic party, within and for the seventh judicial district. The facts upon which the contention arises are in substance as follows:
A convention to nominate candidates for the office of district judge, and district attorney, o.n the Democratic ticket, within and for the seventh judicial district, was called by the regularly and duly authorized officers of the Democratic party, to meet at the town of Montrose, on September 8, 1900. The delegates to be elected to this convention were apportioned to the several counties included in said district as follows: Ouray eleven, San Miguel ten, Montrose six, Delta five, Gunnison nine, Hinsdale three, and Mesa eight. Prior to the meeting of the convention, the credentials of these respective delegations were presented to A. P. Reeves, chairman of the judicial committee; from which it appeared that uncontested delegations were elected from Delta, Gunnison, Montrose and San Miguel. Two sets of delegates were elected from Mesa. A protest was filed with the committee against the seating of the Ouray and Hinsdale delegations. The committee placed upon the preliminary Or temporary roll call these uncontested delegations, and also the Ouray county delegates, who were favorable to Sterens and McMullin, and the Hinsdale delegates, who were favorable to petitioners; but refused to place thereon either delegation from Mesa county. The roll thus prepared contained the names of nineteen delegates favorable to petitioners, and twenty-five favorable to Stevens and McMullin. Mr. Reeves,
The authority of Beeves, as chairman, to prepare, with the co-operation of tlio judicial committee, a preliminary roll call for the temporary organization of the convention, and to act in perfecting such organization, is not disputed; but the petitioners claim that in this instance the committee.
We do, not think that the contention of petitioners is borne out by the testimony. Prior to the meeting of the convention there was submitted to the committee the credentials of but one set of delegates from Ouray county. A protest was presented against the seating of these delegates, signed by certain precinct committeemen and a Mr. York, accompanied by affidavits setting forth irregularities that occurred at certain precinct primaries at which delegates to the Ouray county convention were elected. No other delegation presented credentials to the committee, or contested the right of those presenting credentials to a seat in the convention; and no question as to the regularity of the Ouray county convention or its proceedings was presented to Mr. Beeves or his committee; but, as the court below finds, that: “On the one hand, he had credentials from a county convention, recognized as such, by those protesting, and against these regular credentials he had simply a protest, not a contest carried up by a contesting delegation on any point raised in the convention concerning anything preceding, nor a contest over anything done in that convention concerning its organization, temporary or permanent.” We also think that it correctly found that: “Such facts appeared upon the face of the protest as would and must have excluded it from the serious consideration as a contest by Mr. Beeves and his committee in making up the temporary roll call,”
As above stated, the testimony as to what occurred upon convening the convention, is conflicting. The court below found that during the roll call for temporary chairman, a motion was made to place the White delegates from Mesa county upon the temporary roll call; that the chair decided the motion out of order, from which ruling an appeal was taken, but was not put before the house. We think the chairman properly ruled the motion out of order pending the temporary roll call. He, and his committee, in the exercise of their authority, having • made as we have seen, a proper temporary roll call, it was clearly within his province and authority to organize the convention by the election of a temporary chairman, in pursuance therewith. As we held
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Gerry v. Beckwith, Secretary of State
- Status
- Published