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8 Mich. 78

People v. Jackson

Michigan Supreme Court

Decided April 12, 1860

Michigan Supreme Court · decided 1860-04-12

The defendant Avas convicted in the Recorder’s Court of Detroit, on a complaint under an ordinance of said city, for obstructing a public alley. On motion being made for a new trial, based upon certain exceptions taken to the rulings of the court, the Recorder reserved the questions arising on such motion for the opinion of this court.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1860-04-12

How this case has been cited

Cited by 8 later decisions — most recently May 1973

8 state decisions

40186018701880189019001910192019301940195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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The Chibe Justice :

¶1Although the Recorder of Detroit may have power to reserve for our opinion questions which arise upon the trial of offenses against the general laws of the state, he has none to reserve such as arise upon the trial of complaints for the breach of city ordinances.

¶2In the last instance, he acts in the capacity of a municipal officer simply, and in the enforcement of laws of which we can not take judicial cognizance; while in the first instance he acts under general laws, and exercises the power of a Circuit Judge. It is only then, when he acts in this latter capacity, that he can reserve questions — the statute only conferring that power upon Circuit Judges.

¶3The charter, in prescribing the manner in which trials shall be conducted in his court, merely regulated the practice therein. It conferred no power independent of this. Although causes may be removed into this court from the Recorder’s Court, as they may be from the Circuit Court, yet the reservation of questions for our opinion is in no sense a removal of the cause. It remains below. We can *81render no judgment, nor can vre make any order in it. Our powers are merely advisory.

¶4The case must be dismissed.

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