U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 1926

United States ex rel. Johnson v. First Colored Baptist Church

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · Decided May 3, 1926 · Martin, Orsdel, Robb

13 F.2d 296; 56 App. D.C. 324; 1926 U.S. App. LEXIS 3539 (Federal Reporter, Second Series)

Counsel

E. G. Hubert, of Washington, D. C., for appellant., Edmund Hill, Jr., of Washington, D. C., for appellee.

Cases that cite this one

2 later published cases cite this decision.

Berrien v. Pollitzer (D.C. Cir. 1947)
First English Lutheran Church v. Evangelical Lutheran Synod (10th Cir. 1943)

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

ROBB, Associate Justice.

Appeal from a judgment in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, after hearing on petition and answer, dismissing the petition for a writ of mandamus to reinstate appellant as a member of appellee church and to the office of treasurer thereof.

No temporal rights of appellant are involved. Satterlee v. United States ex rel. Williarps, 20 App. D. C. 393, 417. When appellant became a member of this church, he submitted himself to its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and, if the church was acting within that jurisdiction, its decision was conclusive. No civil court has jurisdiction or power to review it. Satterlee v. United States ex rel. Williams, 20 App. D. C. 393, 414, 416; Taylor v. Jackson et al., 50 App. D. C. 381, 273 F. 345; Bouldin v. Alexander, 15 Wall. 131, 140, 21 L. Ed. 69; State ex rel. v. Cummins, 171 Ind. 112, 85 N. E. 359, 36 L. R. A. (N. S.) 945.

It appearing that the church was acting within the limits of its jurisdiction in removing appellant from membership ajid from the office of treasurer, the judgment must be affirmed, without costs.

Affirmed.

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