Caufield v. Cravens
Caufield v. Cravens
Opinion of the Court
Defendant prosecutes this appeal from a judgment commanding him to reinscribe plaintiff’s name on the roll of registered voters of the “Wilson” precinct, in the Fourth ward of the parish of East Feliciana, from which he had stricken it on the ground that plaintiff had ceased to be an actual, bona fide, resident of that precinct, ward, and parish, within the meaning of article 197 of the Constitution. The registrar made no appearance in the district court, and issue was joined, between plaintiff, on the one side, and George G. Kelly and Frank M. Norsworthy, Intervening as citizens and
In Estopinal v. Michel, 121 La. 879, 46 South, 907, 19 L. R. A. (N. S.) 759, it was held that defendants, who were bar pilots, living in what may be called barracks, near the mouth of the river, were actual, bona fide, residents of that locality, though .their families resided in homes provided for them in New Orleans.
In State ex rel. Hodges v. Joyce, 128 La. 434, 54 South. 932, it was held that a person living at Ferriday (in this state), in a stationary box car (with an elder brother who was a car inspector), but who had gone to Mississippi under employment there, who “frankly testified that he expected to remain in Mississippi as long as he could hold his present job, but would return to his home at Ferriday if he lost his job, or got sick, or could obtain a better job in Louisiana,” who had left his trunk and part of his clothing in Ferriday, and who had no other abode in this state, was “an actual, bona fide resident of Ferriday, since he had acquired a residence there, and had not changed, or intended to change, it, which ruling is in accordance with the generally accepted doctrine that a domicile once gained remains until another is acquired, and that, where the question is in doubt, the original domicile is to be considered the true one. McCrary on Elections, appendix, p. 462; A. & E. Enc. of Law (2d Ed.) vol. 10, p. 598; State v. Savre, 129 Iowa, 122, 105 N. W. 387, 3 L. R. A. (N. S.) 455, 113 Am. St. Rep. 452; Gravillon v. Richards’ Ex’r, 13 La. 293, 33 Am. Dec. 563.
The judgment appealed from is therefore affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CAUFIELD v. CRAVENS, Registrar (KELLER, Interveners)
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- 17 cases
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- Published
- Syllabus
- /Syllabus by the Court.) 1. Elections The words “bona fide,” as used in the present Constitution, appear to have been added to the word “actual,” as used in the Constitution of 1879, merely, as they themselves indicate, to emphasize the importance of good faith as a factor in the determination of the question of residence, and, by the application of that test, to prevent a person who has one or more residences from calling the one or the other his legal residence, as it may suit his interest or convenience, but to the prejudice'of the rights of others. [Ed. Note. — For other cases; see Elections, Cent. Dig. §§ 67, 68, 70; Dec. Dig. 2. Elections &wkey;>72 — Voters—“Actual Bona Fide Resident” — Temporary Absence. The term “actúa!, bona fide resident,” asused in article 197 of the Constitution 1913 cannot reasonably be interpreted to mean that, in order to acquire, and still less to retain, such status, one must remain continuously in the town, or upon the premises, of the residence, and the status, described, is not, therefore, affected by temporary absences, occasioned by considerations of duty, business, health, or pleasure, unless, being voluntary, they extend beyond prescribed periods, or, are accompanied by the acquisition of residence elsewhere. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see- Elections, Cent. Dig. §§ 67, 68, 70; Dec. Dig. &wkey;72.] 3.Domicile &wkey;>4 — Actual Bona Fide Resident-Matters Determinative. One does not lose his status as an actual bona fide resident of a place, either because he finds it necessary to establish his family elsewhere, or does not, in the absence of his family, maintain a domestic establishment in such place. The question is largely one of intention, and the intention of a person, in that respect, is determined by his expressions thereof, at times not suspicious, and his testimony, when called on considered in connection with his conduct and the circumstances of his life. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Domicile, Cent. Dig. §§ 5-23; Dec. Dig.