State, ex rel. Mueller v. Meyer
State, ex rel. Mueller v. Meyer
Opinion of the Court
Proceedings in Quo Warranto, by the appellant, against the appellee, to enquire by what right he holds the office of school trustee for the town of Cannelton.
The case was submitted on the following agreed state of facts:
“ That the town of Cannelton is an incorporated town in’ said county and State; that the board of trustees of said town consists of five trustees; that an election of school trustees for the town of Cannelton was held by the said board of trustees on the 12th day of June, 1877, that being the first regular meeting of said board in the month of June; that said five trustees were all present at said election, and participated therein; that the relator, Daniel Mueller, received three votes (being a majority) for school trustee for the town of Cannelton; that, at the date of said election, the defendant, Peter Meyer, held the office
Upon these facts the court found for the defendant below, and rendered judgment accordingly.
It may be noticed, for the purpose- of presenting the point in controversy more clearly, that we are not embarrassed with the question of holding two inconsistent offices by the same party, at the same 'time. The simple question for our consideration is, was Daniel Mueller, while he was a member of the board of trustees of the town of Cannelton, and for that reason, ineligible to the election of the office of school trustee for the town of Cannelton ?
The appellant, at the time of the election being one of the trustees of the town of Cannelton, must be-presumed to be eligible to the office of school trustee for the town of Cannelton; and we know of no constitutional provision or statute, or common-law principle, which would prevent the election, by the trustees of the town of Cannelton, of
In Bouvier’s Dictionary, under the head of “ Election,” we find the following remarks:
“Etymologically, election denotes choice, selection out of the number of those choosing. Thus, the election of a governor would be the choice of some individual from the body of the electors to perform the duties of govenior. In common use, however, it has come to denote such a selection made by a distinctly defined body — as a board of aldermen, a corporation, or State — conducted in such a manner that each individual of the body choosing shall have an equal voice in the choice, but without regard to the question whether the person to be chosen is a member of the body or not. The word occurs in law frequently in such a sense, especially in governmental law and the law of corporations.”
¥e think the court below erred in its decision.
The record is not full, but both parties desire an opinion on the case as presented; and we think it is sufficient, to present the question on an agreed state of facts.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.