Friedman v. Baxley
Friedman v. Baxley
Opinion of the Court
1. There is no provision of law in this State for more than one bill of exceptions. Code (Ann.) § 6-801 et seq. Only that which precedes the judge’s certificate in order of arrangement may be considered as a part of the bill of exceptions. What follows the certificate, if anything, is merely an exhibit to the bill of exceptions and must be identified as such by reference thereto in the bill of exceptions and by appropriate identification by the signature of the trial judge thereon. Roberts v. City of Cairo, 133 Ga. 642, 644 (66 S. E. 938); Green v. Ford, 72 Ga. App. 681, 682 (1) (34 S. E. 2d 913); Flowers v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 84 Ga. App. 681 (67 S. E. 2d 159); Stewart v. Echols County, 89 Ga. App. 99 (78 S. E. 2d 867).
2. “A bill of exceptions is a formal statement in writing of exceptions taken by a party on the trial to a ruling, decision, charge, or opinion of the trial judge, setting out the proceedings on the trial, the acts of the trial judge alleged to have been erroneous, the objections and exceptions taken thereto, together with the grounds therefor, and authenticated by the trial judge, according to law.” 4 A C. J. S. 696, § 802. Consistent with the foregoing definition of a bill of exceptions, our law provides that it shall specify plainly the decision complained of and the alleged error. Code (Ann.) § 6-901. Strickland v. Strickland, 213 Ga. 588 (100 S. E. 2d 460).
Writ of error dismissed.
070rehearing
On Motion for Rehearing.
In a motion for rehearing, counsel for the plaintiff in error make the contention that the judgment of this court dismissing the writ of error was predicated on the arrangement of the documents sent up as constituting the bill of exceptions, that this arrangement was the act of the clerk of the court, and that the plaintiff in error ought not to be penalized for an error in the performance of a ministerial act on the part of the clerk of the court. From the facts set forth in the original opinion, it is apparent that what happened in this case was that counsel for the plaintiff in error tendered to the trial judge a bill of exceptions, that the judge returned it with his objections, that counsel prepared an amendment to the original bill and then when he submitted that amendment the judge certified that paper instead of the original bill.
The law places on counsel for the plaintiff in error the duty of seeing that his bill of exceptions is in proper form before he tenders it to the trial judge for his signature. It is not the clerk’s duty to arrange the papers or to make up the bill of
Accordingly, the motion for a rehearing is denied.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.