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6 Va. 452

Mann v. Commonwealth

Supreme Court of Virginia

Decided December 10, 1819

Supreme Court of Virginia · decided 1819-12-10

<p>1. The Superior Courts of ~aw havejuristhction to grant rits of Supersedeas to orders of the County or Corporation Courts, binding persons accused of being the ji~ther~of bastard oMidren. to SUB-port such ~bildren; and the Court of Appeals. in like manner, has jurisdiction to correct errors in the decisions of the Supenor Courts of law on the same subject.</p> <p>2. A person accused of being the father of a bastard child, can not lawfully be bond to support such child, without a written. charge before the magistrate by it's mother; nor unless it appear that the ~var.. rant was issued. by the magistrate upon the application of the One~seers of the poor, or one of th~no, orthat they,, or one of then~, were parties to the cause in the Court making the order against such person.</p>

Decided 1819-12-10

¶1*453TJJ~ case being submitted without argument, Judge BR00KE pronounced the Court's opinion, as follows.

The Court

¶2is of opinion, on the authority of the case of Fall v. the Overseers of the poor, (a) in this Court, that the Superior Court erred in deciding that the th~persetleas was improvidently awarded; and it not appearing, by the proceedings in the County Court, that the charge before the magistrate by the mother of the Bastard child: was i~ writing, nor that the warrant issued by the magistrate was so issued upon the application of the overseers of the poor, or any one of them, according to the ~d section of the Act, entitled, "an Act providing for the poor, and declaring who shall be deemed vagrants," (b) or that the overseers or any of them, were parties in the County Court; the Court is further of opinion that that~udgtnent is also erroneous. Both judgineiits are therefore reversed; the whole proct'edings quashed; and ~judgment is to be entered for the plaintill ~n error.

¶3 3 Munf. 495.

¶4 Edit. of 1794, 1803 & 1814, C. 102.
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