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73 N.J.L. 362

Spencer v. Bartine

Supreme Court of New Jersey

Decided June 11, 1906

Supreme Court of New Jersey · decided 1906-06-11

<p>1. The Court of Common Pleas upon the trial of an appeal is not authorized to seal bills of exceptions, and in returning the judgment rendered upon such an appeal, in obedience to a writ of certiorari, a voluntary statement of facts not part of the record, though signed and sealed by the judge of the pleas, forms no part of such return.</p> <p>2. The proper practice stated.</p>

Decided 1906-06-11

¶1The opinion of the court was delivered by

Garrison, J.

¶2This certiorari is brought to reverse a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas rendered upon an appeal from the court for the trial of small causes. A statement of certain facts, under the seal of the pleas, accompanied the return.

¶3The pleas, when acting in this statutory capacity, has no authority to certify, the proceedings at the trial by sealing bills of exceptions. Moore v. Hamilton, 4 Zab. 532.

¶4A v-oluntary return of such proceedings under the seal by the judge of the pleas is, in effect, a bill of exceptions, and hence unauthorized. When the pleas has certified its record to this court the mandate of the certiorari has been complied with. If more than this is required to be certified, the party desiring such additional return must obtain from this court a rule upon the pleas, specifying the particulars in respect to which its further certificate is required. Conover v. Bird, 27 Vroom 228.

¶5In the present case, if we were to treat the voluntary statements annexed to the return as part thereof, the result would be the same, for such statement does not contain the material necessary to a review of the judgment in the light of the reasons filed for its reversal. It is to obviate just such inadequate practice that a specific rule upon the court below is required.

¶6The judgment of the pleas is affirmed.

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