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Rundle v. Mayor of Baltimore

Joseph Rundle v. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore

Rundle v. Mayor of Baltimore, 28 Md. 356 (1868)
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Court
Court of Appeals of Maryland · State Highest Courts
Decided
March 13, 1868
Judges
Alvey
Citations
28 Md. 3561868 Md. LEXIS 24
Headnotes
Appeal — Limited Jurisdiction. The right of appeal from the decisions of the Commissioners for Opening Streets, being given to the Criminal Court of Baltimore, it is the exclusive province of that Court to determine whether such an appeal has been regularly and properly taken, and its judgment thereon is final and • conclusive, no right of appeal therefrom having been given by statute. If no appellate power had been conferred on the Criminal Court of Baltimore in such cases, its judgments unwarrantably pronounced in assertion of jurisdiction over the subject, might by appeal be reviewed and reversed in this Court. The Criminal Court of Baltimore, in reference to proceedings had therein, on appeal from the decision of the Commissioners for Opening Streets, is clothed only with a special and limited jurisdiction, to be exercised in a particular manner, and not according to the course of the common law; and from a judgment rendered in the exercise of such special jurisdiction, in the absence of express right given by statute, no appeal will lie to this Court, whether the judgment be pronounced in the exercise of original jurisdiction, or on appeal from some inferior authority.
Summary
Appeal from the Criminal Court of Baltimore. This is an appeal from the judgment of the Criminal Court of Baltimore, dismissing an appeal from the award of the Commissioners for Opening Streets, in the matter of the opening of West street. The Ordinance for condemning and opening West street was approved 25th July, 1857. It was passed by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, in pursuance of the powers granted by the Acts of Assembly of 1838, ch. 226, 1845, ch. 31, and 1856, ch. 164, and in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance approved 9th of March, 1841, and which will be found embraced in Ordinance bio. 15, of the Revised Ordinances of 1858. The Commissioners for Opening Streets, in pursuance of the 8th sec. of Ordinance bio. 15, on the 1st of March, ,1859, made their return, which was duly published. Subsequently they reviewed their work, and having made such corrections and alterations as appeared to them just and proper, on the 28th of March, returned the same to the Register, who on the following day, gave the notice required by the 8th sec. of Ordinance bio. 15, and after thirty days, on the 29th of April, following, handed over the matter as finished and closed, to the -City Collector, who collected a portion of the benefits assessed for the opening of said West street.- On the 3d of May. 1859, the appellant took his appeal to the Criminal Court of Baltimore, and on the 16th of January, 1860, the same was dismissed.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court — Alvey

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Alvey, J.,

delivered the opinion of this Court.

The appeal in this case is taken from a decision of the Criminal Court of Baltimore, dismissing an appeal prosecuted to that Court, from the determination of the Commissioners for the Opening of Streets, and the first question for this Court to decide is, whether this appeal lies? We think it does not. If no appellate power whatever had been conferred On the Criminal Court ‘of Baltimore in such eases, its judgments unwarrantably pronounced in assertion of jurisdiction over the subject, might by appeal be reviewed and reversed in this Court. But the right of appeal was given to the Criminal Court, and it was exclusively for that Court to decide whether the appeal was regularly and properly taken to it. Its judgment upon the subject is final and conclusive, there being no right of appeal given by statute from such judgment. In regard to proceedings taken into the Criminal Court on appeal from the decision of the Street Commissioners, that Court is clothed only with a special and limited jurisdiction, to be exercised in a particular mode, and not according to the course of the common law; and it has been repeatedly decided that from a judgment rendered in the exercise of special jurisdiction, in the absence of express right given by statute, no appeal will lie to this Court, and whether the judgment be pronounced in the exercise of original jurisdiction, or on appeal from some inferior authority, makes no difference. There being no provision of law authorising an *362 appeal to this Court in such a case as this, the appeal from the decision of the Criminal Court must therefore be dismissed; and the cases of Savage Man’g. Co. vs. Owings, 3 Gill, 497 ; Swann vs. Mayor, &c. of Cumberland, 8 Gill, 152; Webster vs. Cockey, 9 Gill, 93 ; and Baltimore and Havre de Grace Turnpike Co. vs. Northern Central R. R. Co., 15 Md. Rep., 193 , may be referred to as conclusive authorities upon the question.

(Decided 13th March, 1868.)

Appeal dismissed.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

1894: 218942026peak 1894 · 2

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Moores v. Bel-Air Water & Light Co.29 A. 1033 (Md. 1894)
  2. Jackson v. Bennett30 A. 612 (Md. 1894)

Most recent

  1. Jackson v. Bennett30 A. 612 (Md. 1894)
  2. Moores v. Bel-Air Water & Light Co.29 A. 1033 (Md. 1894)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 2

DepthCaseCited by
Baltimore & Havre-de-Grace Tpk. Co. v. Northern Cent. Ry. Co., 15 Md. 193 (1860) 19
Savage Mfg. Co. v. Owings, 3 Gill 497 (1846) 12

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