Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1883

Commonwealth v. Mosher

Commonwealth v. Mosher
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Decided February 5, 1883 · Field
134 Mass. 226; 1883 Mass. LEXIS 271
Commonwealth v. Mosher

Cases that cite this one

2 later published cases cite this decision.

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

Field, J.

The jurisdiction of an inferior magistrate to issue warrants must clearly appear on the papers. Commonwealth v. Fay, 126 Mass. 235. No one but a justice of the peace can be a trial justice; Pub. Sts. c. 155, § 7; and a justice of the peace duly appointed trial justice ceases to be such if his commission as justice of the peace expires before his commission as trial justice. Pub. Sts. c. 155, § 9.

It follows that a signature as trial justice involves a signature as justice of the peace, and no separate designation of the *227inferior office is necessary. The signature as trial justice means that the signer is the legal holder of that office, that is, that he is a justice of the peace holding a commission as a trial justice.

The entry must be, Judgment on the verdict.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.