Taylor v. Beckham
Encyclopedia
Taylor v. Beckham, , was a case heard before the Supreme Court of the United States
on April 30 and May 1, 1900, to decide the outcome of the disputed Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899
. The litigants were Republican
gubernatorial
candidate William S. Taylor
and Democratic
lieutenant gubernatorial
candidate J. C. W. Beckham
. In the gubernatorial election, held on November 7, 1899, Taylor received 193,714 votes to Democrat William Goebel
's 191,331. This result was certified by a 2–1 decision of the state's Board of Elections. Goebel challenged the election results on the basis of alleged voting irregularities
, and the Democratically-controlled Kentucky General Assembly
formed a committee to investigate Goebel's claims. Goebel was shot on January 30, 1900, before the General Assembly approved a report. The next day, the Assembly approved a report that invalidated enough votes to swing the election to Goebel. Goebel was sworn into office on January 31, 1900, even as he lay dying of his wounds. Goebel died on February 3, 1900, and Beckham ascended to the governorship.
Claiming the General Assembly's decision was invalid, Taylor sued to prevent Beckham from exercising the authority of the governor's office. Beckham sued Taylor for possession of the state capitol
and governor's mansion
. The suits were consolidated and heard in Jefferson County
circuit court
. The circuit court found in favor of Beckham, claiming it had no authority to interfere with the method of deciding contested elections prescribed by the state constitution
. The Kentucky Court of Appeals
upheld the circuit court's decision on appeal. The court further rejected Taylor's claim that he had been deprived of property without due process
by stating that an elective office was not property and thus not protected by the Fourteenth Amendment
.
The injection of Taylor's claim under the Fourteenth Amendment gave him grounds to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a majority opinion
delivered by Chief Justice Melville Fuller
, the Supreme Court also rejected Taylor's claim to loss of property without due process and thus refused to intervene on Taylor's behalf, claiming that no federal issues were in question and the court lacked jurisdiction. Justices Gray
, White, Shiras
, and Peckham concurred with the majority opinion. Justice Joseph McKenna
concurred with the decision to dismiss, but expressed reservations about the determination that an elected office was not property. Justice David J. Brewer, joined by Justice Henry B. Brown, contended that the Supreme Court did have jurisdiction, but concurred as to the result in favor of Beckham. Kentuckian
John Marshall Harlan
authored the lone dissent from the majority opinion, claiming that the court did have jurisdiction and should have found in favor of Taylor based on his claim of loss of property without due process. He further argued that elective office fell under the definition of "liberty" as used in the Fourteenth Amendment and was protected by due process.
enacted a law which created a Board of Election Commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly, who were responsible for choosing election commissioners in all of Kentucky's counties. The Board was empowered to examine election returns and certify the results. The power to decide the outcome of disputed elections remained with the General Assembly, pursuant to Section 153 of the state constitution
. The law was commonly referred to as the Goebel Election Law, a reference to its sponsor, President Pro Tempore of the Kentucky Senate
William Goebel
. Because the General Assembly was heavily Democratic
and Goebel was considered a likely Democratic aspirant for the governorship
in the 1899 election
, the law was attacked as blatantly partisan and self-serving. Republicans organized a test case
against the law, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals
found it constitutional.
Goebel secured the Democratic nomination for governor at a contentious nominating convention. Despite the nominations of two minor party candidates – including that of former governor John Y. Brown by a dissident faction of Democrats – the race centered on Goebel and his Republican
opponent, Attorney General
William S. Taylor
. The results of the election were too close to call for several days. Before the official results could be announced, charges of voting irregularities began. In Nelson County
, 1,200 ballots listed the Republican candidate as "W. P. Taylor" instead of "W. S. Taylor"; Democrats claimed these votes should be invalidated. In Knox
and Johnson
counties, voters complained of "thin tissue ballots" that allowed the voter's choices to be seen through them. In the city of Louisville
, Democrats charged that the militia had intimidated voters there and that the entire city's vote should be invalidated.
When the official tally was announced, Taylor had won by a vote of 193,714 to 191,331. Though the Board of Elections was thought to be controlled by Goebel, it voted 2–1 to certify the announced vote tally. The Board's majority opinion claimed that they did not have any judicial power and were thus unable to hear proof or swear witnesses. Taylor was inaugurated on December 12, 1899. Goebel announced his decision to contest the Board's decision to the General Assembly. The Assembly appointed a committee to investigate the allegations contained in the challenges. The members of the committee were drawn at random, though the drawing was likely rigged – only one Republican joined ten Democrats on the committee. (Chance dictated that the committee should have contained four or five Republicans.) The committee recommended that the contest committee report at the pleasure of the General Assembly, that debate be limited once the findings were presented, and that the report be voted on in a joint session of the Assembly. The rules further provided that the speaker of the House would preside over this joint session instead of the lieutenant governor, as was customary. The Republican minority fought these provisions, but the Democratic majority passed them over their opposition.
Republicans around the state expected the committee to recommend disqualification of enough ballots to make Goebel governor. Armed men from heavily Republican eastern Kentucky filled the capital. On the morning of January 30, 1900, as Goebel and two friends walked toward the capitol building
, a shot rang out, and Goebel fell wounded. After being denied entrance to the state capitol by armed men, the contest committee met in Frankfort's city hall
and, by a strictly party-line vote, adopted a majority report that claimed Goebel and Beckham had received the most legitimate votes and should be installed in their respective offices. When Democratic legislators attempted to convene to approve the committee's report, they found the doors to the state capitol and other public locations in Frankfort blocked by armed citizens. On January 31, 1900, they convened secretly in a Frankfort hotel, with no Republicans present, and voted to certify the findings of the contest committee, invalidating enough votes to make Goebel governor. Still lying on his sick bed, Goebel took the oath of office.
Goebel died of his wounds on February 3, 1900. Leaders from both parties drafted an agreement whereby Taylor and his Lieutenant Governor
, John Marshall
, would step down from their respective offices, allowing Goebel's lieutenant governor, J. C. W. Beckham
, to assume the governorship; in exchange, Taylor and Marshall would receive immunity from prosecution in any actions they may have taken with regard to Goebel's assassination. The militia would withdraw from Frankfort, and the Goebel Election Law would be repealed and replaced with a fairer election law. Despite the agreement of his allies, Taylor refused to sign the agreement.
, to prevent their removal from office. The case could have been filed in the federal court at Louisville, Kentucky
, but Judge Walter Evans
asked to be excused from adjudicating the case. The Republican officers, represented by ex-Governor William O'Connell Bradley
and future governor Augustus E. Willson
among others, argued that the Goebel Election Law deprived citizens of their right to vote
. The right to vote, they claimed, was inherent in the Fourteenth Amendment
's guarantee of "liberty", and could not be taken from any citizen without due process
.
The case was argued before Judge (and later President
) William Howard Taft
, who opined that the federal court could not prevent the removal of officers by injunction
. He advised the Republicans to seek remedy quo warranto
in the state courts. Taft further opined that, should any federal question be raised in such proceedings, the officers could seek remedy in a federal court on appeal. The Republicans were encouraged by Taft's decision, which cleared the way for an appeal all the way to the federal Supreme Court if a federal question could be raised.
The Republican minor officeholders returned to the state courts with their case. Franklin County
circuit court justice James E. Cantrill
ruled against them, and the Kentucky Court of Appeals
, then the state's court of last resort, sustained Cantrill's ruling by a vote of 4–3. Republican Attorney General Clifton J. Pratt continued with legal challenges and finally was allowed to serve out his term. Though Judge Cantrill's decision was based on the invalidation of Louisville's vote and the votes of four counties in eastern Kentucky
, none of the legislators from those areas were unseated.
Taft's ruling had no bearing on the cases of Governor Taylor and Lieutenant Governor Marshall except to spell out the means for them to take their cases to the federal courts, if necessary. On the same day that Taft's ruling was issued, Taylor filed suit in Jefferson County
circuit court against Beckham and Adjutant General
John Breckinridge Castleman
to prevent them from exercising any authority due the offices they claimed. Unaware of Taylor's suit, Beckham filed suit against Taylor for possession of the capitol and executive building in Franklin County
circuit court – a court believed to be favorable to the Democratic cause. Marshall also filed suit against Beckham and state senator L. H. Carter to prevent them from exercising any authority in the state senate
, where the lieutenant governor was supposed to be the presiding officer.
Republicans claimed that Taylor's suit, by virtue of having been filed two hours before Beckham's, gave the case precedence in Louisville. By mutual consent, the parties consolidated the suits, which were heard before Judge Emmet Field in Jefferson County circuit court. Both sides knew that Field's decision, whatever it might be, would be appealed, but both agreed to abide by the outcome of the final court's decision. The case was heard on March 1 and 2, 1900. Taylor's attorney's contended that the General Assembly had acted in a quasi-judicial manner, violating the principle of separation of powers
. Further, because the contest committee's report did not specify how many votes were invalid, Republicans argued that all 150,000 votes cast in the contested counties had been invalidated by the General Assembly's vote, and consequently, the voters of those counties had been illegally disenfranchised. The most the Assembly should have been able to do, they claimed, was to invalidate the entire election. Finally, they contended that the alleged illegal activities of the General Assembly had deprived Taylor and Marshall of their property rights – the "property" in question being the offices they claimed – and their liberty to hold an elected office. Attorneys for Beckham contended that legislative actions historically had not been subject to judicial review, and indeed were not subject to such under any provision of the state constitution
.
On March 10, 1900, Field sided with the Democrats. In his ruling, he opined that legislative actions "must be taken as absolute" and that that court did not have the authority to circumvent the legislative record. Republicans appealed the decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In their appeal, they were careful to attempt to raise a federal issue. If Judge Field's ruling was correct, and the Board of Elections and/or the General Assembly had the right under the state constitution to an absolute review of all elections, then the Assembly had been given absolute arbitrary power over elections, in conflict with the federal constitution.
On April 6, 1900, the Court of Appeals upheld Judge Field's decision by a vote of 6–1. The majority opinion held that an elected office is not property and thus not subject to the protections guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment. As a creation of the Kentucky Constitution
, the court held, any elective office is conferred and held only subject to the provisions of that constitution. This put the matter beyond the reach of any judicial review, according to the court.
The four Democratic judges concurred on the majority opinion
. Two Republican judges, in a separate opinion, concurred with the majority opinion, but declared that Taylor and Marshall had been done an irreparable injustice. The lone dissent, authored by the court's third Republican, held that the contest board had acted outside its legal authority. Republicans turned to the Supreme Court of the United States as their final option.
Bruce was followed by Lawrence N. Maxwell, counsel for Beckham. Maxwell reiterated that the General Assembly had acted within its enumerated powers under the state constitution in deciding the outcome of the disputed election. He claimed that the decision of the state court of appeals made it clear that Taylor had not been legally elected governor, and therefore never possessed the property he was now claiming had been taken from him without due process. Maxwell further asserted that this disposed of any federal questions with regard to the case, and that the Supreme Court could claim no jurisdiction. The decision of the state court of appeals should be allowed to stand, he concluded. Lewis McQuown further argued on behalf of Beckham that, even if Taylor's claim to the governorship were legitimate, the investigation and decision by the General Assembly's contest committee represented sufficient due process. He acknowledged that the Goebel Election Law's provision that the legislature be the arbiter of any contested gubernatorial election differed little if at all from provisions in as many as twenty other states. If the Goebel Election Law was constitutional, as it had before been declared, then the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction regarding how it had been administered.
When Maxwell concluded his argument, ex-Governor Bradley spoke on Taylor's behalf. After reiterating Taylor's legal claim to the office of governor, he answered the question of jurisdiction by citing Thayer v. Boyd, a similar case in which the court had assumed jurisdiction. He further quoted authorities who opined that an elected office was property, using this to contend that Taylor's rights under the Fourteenth Amendment had been violated, thus giving the court jurisdiction. Also, Bradley asserted, the election of some members of the Assembly's contest committee would hinge on the decision of that very committee. At least one member of the committee was known to have wagered on the election's outcome. These facts should have nullified the decision of the committee and the Assembly on the grounds that it had left some members as judges of their own cases. Finally, Bradley cited irregularities in the proceedings of the contest committee, including giving insufficient time for the review of testimony provided in written form by Taylor and Marshall's legal representation.
Following Bradley's argument, the court recessed until May 14, 1900.
Chief Justice Melville Fuller
delivered the opinion of the court on May 21, 1900. This opinion held that there were no federal issues in question in the case, and that the court lacked jurisdiction. The opinion affirmed the state court of appeals' assertion that an elective office was not property. Justices Gray
, White, Shiras
, and Peckham concurred with the majority opinion.
In his 1910 book The Constitutional Law of the United States, Westel W. Willoughby
noted that the court's ruling that an elective office was not property was at odds with previous decisions in which it had assumed jurisdiction in cases between two contestants for an office to determine if due process was granted. By assuming jurisdiction in these cases, Willoughby claimed, the court had given elective offices standing as property. Accordingly, Justice Joseph McKenna
issued a separate concurring opinion in which he stated: "I agree fully with those decisions which are referred to [in the majority opinion], and which hold that as between the State and the office holder there is no contract right either to the term of office or to the amount of salary, and that the legislature may, if not restrained by constitutional provisions, abolish the office or reduce the salary. But when the office is not disturbed, when the salary is not changed, and when, under the Constitution of the State, neither can be by the legislature, and the question is simply whether one shall be deprived of that office and its salary, and both given to another, a different question is presented, and in such a case to hold that the incumbent has no property in the office, with its accompanying salary, does not commend itself to my judgment."
Justice David J. Brewer also issued a separate concurrence stating that he believed that due process had been observed and that the majority opinion should have affirmed the lower court rulings rather than dismissing the case. In his opinion, Brewer stated: "[A]s I understand the law, this court has jurisdiction to review a judgment of the highest court of a State ousting one from his office and giving it to another, and a right to inquire whether that judgment is right or wrong in respect to any federal question such as due process of law, I think the writ of error should not be dismissed, but that the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky should be affirmed." Justice Henry B. Brown concurred with Brewer.
The only dissent came from Kentuckian John Marshall Harlan
. Harlan opined that not only did the court have jurisdiction, it should have sustained the writ of error
on the grounds that the General Assembly's actions had deprived Taylor and Marshall of property without due process, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Going beyond the claim that an elective office is property, Harlan wrote that the right to hold office fell within the definition of "liberty" as used in the Fourteenth Amendment. Justifying this claim, Harlan wrote: "What more directly involves the liberty of the citizen than to be able to enter upon the discharge of the duties of an office to which he has been lawfully elected by his fellow citizens?"
Whereas the majority opinion wholly ignored the proceedings of the General Assembly as irrelevant (the court lacking jurisdiction) and Brewer and Brown affirmed them, Harlan excoriated the legislature in his dissent. "Looking into the record before us, I find such action taken by the body claiming to be organized as the lawful legislature of Kentucky as was discreditable in the last degree and unworthy of the free people whom it professed to represent. ... Those who composed that body seemed to have shut their eyes against the proof for fear that it would compel them to respect the popular will as expressed at the polls." He also expressed disbelief at the majority opinion: "[T]he overturning of the public will, as expressed at the ballot box, without evidence or against evidence, in order to accomplish partisan ends, is a crime against free government, and deserves the execration of all lovers of liberty. ... I cannot believe that the judiciary is helpless in the presence of such a crime."
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
on April 30 and May 1, 1900, to decide the outcome of the disputed Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899
Kentucky gubernatorial election, 1899
The Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899 was held on November 7, 1899, to choose the 33rd governor of Kentucky. The incumbent, Republican William O'Connell Bradley, was term-limited and unable to seek re-election....
. The litigants were Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
gubernatorial
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
candidate William S. Taylor
William S. Taylor
William Sylvester Taylor was the 33rd Governor of Kentucky. He was initially declared the winner of the disputed gubernatorial election of 1899, but the Kentucky General Assembly reversed the election results, giving the victory to his opponent, William Goebel...
and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
lieutenant gubernatorial
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
candidate J. C. W. Beckham
J. C. W. Beckham
John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham was the 35th Governor of Kentucky and a United States Senator from Kentucky...
. In the gubernatorial election, held on November 7, 1899, Taylor received 193,714 votes to Democrat William Goebel
William Goebel
William Justus Goebel was an American politician who served as the 34th Governor of Kentucky for a few days in 1900 after having been mortally wounded by an assassin the day before he was sworn in...
's 191,331. This result was certified by a 2–1 decision of the state's Board of Elections. Goebel challenged the election results on the basis of alleged voting irregularities
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
, and the Democratically-controlled Kentucky General Assembly
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
formed a committee to investigate Goebel's claims. Goebel was shot on January 30, 1900, before the General Assembly approved a report. The next day, the Assembly approved a report that invalidated enough votes to swing the election to Goebel. Goebel was sworn into office on January 31, 1900, even as he lay dying of his wounds. Goebel died on February 3, 1900, and Beckham ascended to the governorship.
Claiming the General Assembly's decision was invalid, Taylor sued to prevent Beckham from exercising the authority of the governor's office. Beckham sued Taylor for possession of the state capitol
Old State Capitol (Kentucky)
The Old State Capitol , also known as Old Statehouse, was the third Capitol of Kentucky. The building in Frankfort, Kentucky served as the capitol of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1830 to 1910. The building has been restored to its American Civil War era appearance.The Kentucky legislature...
and governor's mansion
Old Governor's Mansion (Frankfort, Kentucky)
The Old Governor's Mansion, also known as Lieutenant Governor's Mansion, is located at 420 High Street, Frankfort, Kentucky. It is reputed to be the oldest official executive residence officially still in use in the United States, as the mansion is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor...
. The suits were consolidated and heard in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...
circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
. The circuit court found in favor of Beckham, claiming it had no authority to interfere with the method of deciding contested elections prescribed by the state constitution
Kentucky Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more...
. The Kentucky Court of Appeals
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....
upheld the circuit court's decision on appeal. The court further rejected Taylor's claim that he had been deprived of property without due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
by stating that an elective office was not property and thus not protected by the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
.
The injection of Taylor's claim under the Fourteenth Amendment gave him grounds to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a majority opinion
Majority opinion
In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision....
delivered by Chief Justice Melville Fuller
Melville Fuller
Melville Weston Fuller was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:...
, the Supreme Court also rejected Taylor's claim to loss of property without due process and thus refused to intervene on Taylor's behalf, claiming that no federal issues were in question and the court lacked jurisdiction. Justices Gray
Horace Gray
Horace Gray was an American jurist who ultimately served on the United States Supreme Court. He was active in public service and a great philanthropist to the City of Boston.-Early life:...
, White, Shiras
George Shiras, Jr.
George Shiras, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case...
, and Peckham concurred with the majority opinion. Justice Joseph McKenna
Joseph McKenna
Joseph McKenna was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court...
concurred with the decision to dismiss, but expressed reservations about the determination that an elected office was not property. Justice David J. Brewer, joined by Justice Henry B. Brown, contended that the Supreme Court did have jurisdiction, but concurred as to the result in favor of Beckham. Kentuckian
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan was a Kentucky lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. He is most notable as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases , and Plessy v...
authored the lone dissent from the majority opinion, claiming that the court did have jurisdiction and should have found in favor of Taylor based on his claim of loss of property without due process. He further argued that elective office fell under the definition of "liberty" as used in the Fourteenth Amendment and was protected by due process.
History
In 1898, the Kentucky General AssemblyKentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
enacted a law which created a Board of Election Commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly, who were responsible for choosing election commissioners in all of Kentucky's counties. The Board was empowered to examine election returns and certify the results. The power to decide the outcome of disputed elections remained with the General Assembly, pursuant to Section 153 of the state constitution
Kentucky Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more...
. The law was commonly referred to as the Goebel Election Law, a reference to its sponsor, President Pro Tempore of the Kentucky Senate
President Pro Tempore of the Kentucky Senate
President Pro Tempore of the Kentucky Senate was the title of highest ranking member of the Kentucky Senate prior to enactment of a 1992 amendment to the Constitution of Kentucky....
William Goebel
William Goebel
William Justus Goebel was an American politician who served as the 34th Governor of Kentucky for a few days in 1900 after having been mortally wounded by an assassin the day before he was sworn in...
. Because the General Assembly was heavily Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Goebel was considered a likely Democratic aspirant for the governorship
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
in the 1899 election
Kentucky gubernatorial election, 1899
The Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899 was held on November 7, 1899, to choose the 33rd governor of Kentucky. The incumbent, Republican William O'Connell Bradley, was term-limited and unable to seek re-election....
, the law was attacked as blatantly partisan and self-serving. Republicans organized a test case
Test case (law)
In case law, a test case is a legal action whose purpose is to set a precedent. An example of a test case might be a legal entity who files a lawsuit in order to see if the court considers a certain law or a certain legal precedent applicable in specific circumstances...
against the law, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....
found it constitutional.
Goebel secured the Democratic nomination for governor at a contentious nominating convention. Despite the nominations of two minor party candidates – including that of former governor John Y. Brown by a dissident faction of Democrats – the race centered on Goebel and his Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
opponent, Attorney General
Attorney General of Kentucky
The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. . Under Kentucky law, he serves several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor , the state's chief law enforcement officer , and the state's chief law officer...
William S. Taylor
William S. Taylor
William Sylvester Taylor was the 33rd Governor of Kentucky. He was initially declared the winner of the disputed gubernatorial election of 1899, but the Kentucky General Assembly reversed the election results, giving the victory to his opponent, William Goebel...
. The results of the election were too close to call for several days. Before the official results could be announced, charges of voting irregularities began. In Nelson County
Nelson County, Kentucky
Nelson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 43,437. Its county seat is Bardstown. The county is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, 1,200 ballots listed the Republican candidate as "W. P. Taylor" instead of "W. S. Taylor"; Democrats claimed these votes should be invalidated. In Knox
Knox County, Kentucky
Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 31,795. Its county seat is Barbourville. The county is named for General Henry Knox...
and Johnson
Johnson County, Kentucky
Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1843. As of 2000, the population was 23,445. Its county seat is Paintsville...
counties, voters complained of "thin tissue ballots" that allowed the voter's choices to be seen through them. In the city of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Democrats charged that the militia had intimidated voters there and that the entire city's vote should be invalidated.
When the official tally was announced, Taylor had won by a vote of 193,714 to 191,331. Though the Board of Elections was thought to be controlled by Goebel, it voted 2–1 to certify the announced vote tally. The Board's majority opinion claimed that they did not have any judicial power and were thus unable to hear proof or swear witnesses. Taylor was inaugurated on December 12, 1899. Goebel announced his decision to contest the Board's decision to the General Assembly. The Assembly appointed a committee to investigate the allegations contained in the challenges. The members of the committee were drawn at random, though the drawing was likely rigged – only one Republican joined ten Democrats on the committee. (Chance dictated that the committee should have contained four or five Republicans.) The committee recommended that the contest committee report at the pleasure of the General Assembly, that debate be limited once the findings were presented, and that the report be voted on in a joint session of the Assembly. The rules further provided that the speaker of the House would preside over this joint session instead of the lieutenant governor, as was customary. The Republican minority fought these provisions, but the Democratic majority passed them over their opposition.
Republicans around the state expected the committee to recommend disqualification of enough ballots to make Goebel governor. Armed men from heavily Republican eastern Kentucky filled the capital. On the morning of January 30, 1900, as Goebel and two friends walked toward the capitol building
Old State Capitol (Kentucky)
The Old State Capitol , also known as Old Statehouse, was the third Capitol of Kentucky. The building in Frankfort, Kentucky served as the capitol of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1830 to 1910. The building has been restored to its American Civil War era appearance.The Kentucky legislature...
, a shot rang out, and Goebel fell wounded. After being denied entrance to the state capitol by armed men, the contest committee met in Frankfort's city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
and, by a strictly party-line vote, adopted a majority report that claimed Goebel and Beckham had received the most legitimate votes and should be installed in their respective offices. When Democratic legislators attempted to convene to approve the committee's report, they found the doors to the state capitol and other public locations in Frankfort blocked by armed citizens. On January 31, 1900, they convened secretly in a Frankfort hotel, with no Republicans present, and voted to certify the findings of the contest committee, invalidating enough votes to make Goebel governor. Still lying on his sick bed, Goebel took the oath of office.
Goebel died of his wounds on February 3, 1900. Leaders from both parties drafted an agreement whereby Taylor and his Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
, John Marshall
John Marshall (Kentucky)
John Marshall served as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky under Governor William S. Taylor from 1899–1900. Both Governor Taylor and Lieutenant Governor Marshall were removed from office by a Supreme Court decision that ruled that William Goebel had rightly been elected governor in the...
, would step down from their respective offices, allowing Goebel's lieutenant governor, J. C. W. Beckham
J. C. W. Beckham
John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham was the 35th Governor of Kentucky and a United States Senator from Kentucky...
, to assume the governorship; in exchange, Taylor and Marshall would receive immunity from prosecution in any actions they may have taken with regard to Goebel's assassination. The militia would withdraw from Frankfort, and the Goebel Election Law would be repealed and replaced with a fairer election law. Despite the agreement of his allies, Taylor refused to sign the agreement.
Lower court decisions
As negotiations for a peaceful resolution of the elections for governor and lieutenant governor were ongoing, the Republican candidates for the state's minor offices filed suit in federal court in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, to prevent their removal from office. The case could have been filed in the federal court at Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, but Judge Walter Evans
Walter Evans (American politician)
Walter Evans was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, nephew of Burwell Clark Ritter.-Early life:Born near Glasgow, Kentucky, Evans attended the public schools near Harrodsburg, Kentucky. He moved to Hopkinsville, Christian County, where he served as deputy county clerk in 1859. He was a captain...
asked to be excused from adjudicating the case. The Republican officers, represented by ex-Governor William O'Connell Bradley
William O'Connell Bradley
William O'Connell Bradley was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as the 32nd Governor of Kentucky and was later elected by the state legislature as a U.S. senator from that state...
and future governor Augustus E. Willson
Augustus E. Willson
Augustus Everett Willson was the 36th Governor of Kentucky. Orphaned at the age of twelve, Willson went to live with relatives in New England...
among others, argued that the Goebel Election Law deprived citizens of their right to vote
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
. The right to vote, they claimed, was inherent in the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
's guarantee of "liberty", and could not be taken from any citizen without due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
.
The case was argued before Judge (and later President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
) William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, who opined that the federal court could not prevent the removal of officers by injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
. He advised the Republicans to seek remedy quo warranto
Quo warranto
Quo warranto is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right or power they claim to hold.-History:...
in the state courts. Taft further opined that, should any federal question be raised in such proceedings, the officers could seek remedy in a federal court on appeal. The Republicans were encouraged by Taft's decision, which cleared the way for an appeal all the way to the federal Supreme Court if a federal question could be raised.
The Republican minor officeholders returned to the state courts with their case. Franklin County
Franklin County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,687 people, 19,907 households, and 12,840 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 21,409 housing units at an average density of...
circuit court justice James E. Cantrill
James E. Cantrill
James Edwards Cantrill was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky. He served as a Captain in the Confederate States Army Cavalry as a portion of Morgan's Men...
ruled against them, and the Kentucky Court of Appeals
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....
, then the state's court of last resort, sustained Cantrill's ruling by a vote of 4–3. Republican Attorney General Clifton J. Pratt continued with legal challenges and finally was allowed to serve out his term. Though Judge Cantrill's decision was based on the invalidation of Louisville's vote and the votes of four counties in eastern Kentucky
Eastern Mountain Coal Fields
The Eastern Mountain Coal Fields is part of the Central Appalachian bituminous coal field, covering all or parts of 30 Kentucky counties and adjoining areas in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. It covers an area from the Allegheny Mountains in the east across the Cumberland Plateau and...
, none of the legislators from those areas were unseated.
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...
circuit court against Beckham and Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
John Breckinridge Castleman
John Breckinridge Castleman
John Breckinridge Castleman was a brigadier general and prominent landowner and businessman in Louisville, Kentucky...
to prevent them from exercising any authority due the offices they claimed. Unaware of Taylor's suit, Beckham filed suit against Taylor for possession of the capitol and executive building in Franklin County
Franklin County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,687 people, 19,907 households, and 12,840 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 21,409 housing units at an average density of...
circuit court – a court believed to be favorable to the Democratic cause. Marshall also filed suit against Beckham and state senator L. H. Carter to prevent them from exercising any authority in the state senate
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
, where the lieutenant governor was supposed to be the presiding officer.
Republicans claimed that Taylor's suit, by virtue of having been filed two hours before Beckham's, gave the case precedence in Louisville. By mutual consent, the parties consolidated the suits, which were heard before Judge Emmet Field in Jefferson County circuit court. Both sides knew that Field's decision, whatever it might be, would be appealed, but both agreed to abide by the outcome of the final court's decision. The case was heard on March 1 and 2, 1900. Taylor's attorney's contended that the General Assembly had acted in a quasi-judicial manner, violating the principle of separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
. Further, because the contest committee's report did not specify how many votes were invalid, Republicans argued that all 150,000 votes cast in the contested counties had been invalidated by the General Assembly's vote, and consequently, the voters of those counties had been illegally disenfranchised. The most the Assembly should have been able to do, they claimed, was to invalidate the entire election. Finally, they contended that the alleged illegal activities of the General Assembly had deprived Taylor and Marshall of their property rights – the "property" in question being the offices they claimed – and their liberty to hold an elected office. Attorneys for Beckham contended that legislative actions historically had not been subject to judicial review, and indeed were not subject to such under any provision of the state constitution
Kentucky Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more...
.
On March 10, 1900, Field sided with the Democrats. In his ruling, he opined that legislative actions "must be taken as absolute" and that that court did not have the authority to circumvent the legislative record. Republicans appealed the decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In their appeal, they were careful to attempt to raise a federal issue. If Judge Field's ruling was correct, and the Board of Elections and/or the General Assembly had the right under the state constitution to an absolute review of all elections, then the Assembly had been given absolute arbitrary power over elections, in conflict with the federal constitution.
On April 6, 1900, the Court of Appeals upheld Judge Field's decision by a vote of 6–1. The majority opinion held that an elected office is not property and thus not subject to the protections guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment. As a creation of the Kentucky Constitution
Kentucky Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more...
, the court held, any elective office is conferred and held only subject to the provisions of that constitution. This put the matter beyond the reach of any judicial review, according to the court.
The four Democratic judges concurred on the majority opinion
Majority opinion
In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision....
. Two Republican judges, in a separate opinion, concurred with the majority opinion, but declared that Taylor and Marshall had been done an irreparable injustice. The lone dissent, authored by the court's third Republican, held that the contest board had acted outside its legal authority. Republicans turned to the Supreme Court of the United States as their final option.
Arguments
Louisville attorney Helm Bruce opened the Republicans' case before the Supreme Court on April 1, 1900. He maintained that after Taylor's election had been certified by the Board of Elections, that he was legally the governor of Kentucky, and the attempt by the legislature to oust him from office amounted to an arbitrary and despotic use of power, not a due process, as the federal constitution required. In addressing the complaints upon which the dismissal of ballots was justified – namely, the intimidation of voters in Jefferson County by the state militia and the use of "thin ballots" in forty Kentucky counties – Bruce maintained that even if the allegations were true, both were the fault of the state, not Taylor and Marshall, and were not sufficient grounds upon which to deny them their right to the offices they claimed.Bruce was followed by Lawrence N. Maxwell, counsel for Beckham. Maxwell reiterated that the General Assembly had acted within its enumerated powers under the state constitution in deciding the outcome of the disputed election. He claimed that the decision of the state court of appeals made it clear that Taylor had not been legally elected governor, and therefore never possessed the property he was now claiming had been taken from him without due process. Maxwell further asserted that this disposed of any federal questions with regard to the case, and that the Supreme Court could claim no jurisdiction. The decision of the state court of appeals should be allowed to stand, he concluded. Lewis McQuown further argued on behalf of Beckham that, even if Taylor's claim to the governorship were legitimate, the investigation and decision by the General Assembly's contest committee represented sufficient due process. He acknowledged that the Goebel Election Law's provision that the legislature be the arbiter of any contested gubernatorial election differed little if at all from provisions in as many as twenty other states. If the Goebel Election Law was constitutional, as it had before been declared, then the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction regarding how it had been administered.
When Maxwell concluded his argument, ex-Governor Bradley spoke on Taylor's behalf. After reiterating Taylor's legal claim to the office of governor, he answered the question of jurisdiction by citing Thayer v. Boyd, a similar case in which the court had assumed jurisdiction. He further quoted authorities who opined that an elected office was property, using this to contend that Taylor's rights under the Fourteenth Amendment had been violated, thus giving the court jurisdiction. Also, Bradley asserted, the election of some members of the Assembly's contest committee would hinge on the decision of that very committee. At least one member of the committee was known to have wagered on the election's outcome. These facts should have nullified the decision of the committee and the Assembly on the grounds that it had left some members as judges of their own cases. Finally, Bradley cited irregularities in the proceedings of the contest committee, including giving insufficient time for the review of testimony provided in written form by Taylor and Marshall's legal representation.
Following Bradley's argument, the court recessed until May 14, 1900.
Opinion, concurrences and dissent
Melville Fuller
Melville Weston Fuller was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:...
delivered the opinion of the court on May 21, 1900. This opinion held that there were no federal issues in question in the case, and that the court lacked jurisdiction. The opinion affirmed the state court of appeals' assertion that an elective office was not property. Justices Gray
Horace Gray
Horace Gray was an American jurist who ultimately served on the United States Supreme Court. He was active in public service and a great philanthropist to the City of Boston.-Early life:...
, White, Shiras
George Shiras, Jr.
George Shiras, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case...
, and Peckham concurred with the majority opinion.
In his 1910 book The Constitutional Law of the United States, Westel W. Willoughby
Westel W. Willoughby
Westel Woodbury Willoughby , was an American academic.He was the twin brother to William F. Willoughby. They were the sons of Westel Willoughby and Jennie Rebecca Willoughby, their father having been a Major in the Union Army with the New York Volunteers, injured at the Battle of Chancellorsville...
noted that the court's ruling that an elective office was not property was at odds with previous decisions in which it had assumed jurisdiction in cases between two contestants for an office to determine if due process was granted. By assuming jurisdiction in these cases, Willoughby claimed, the court had given elective offices standing as property. Accordingly, Justice Joseph McKenna
Joseph McKenna
Joseph McKenna was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court...
issued a separate concurring opinion in which he stated: "I agree fully with those decisions which are referred to [in the majority opinion], and which hold that as between the State and the office holder there is no contract right either to the term of office or to the amount of salary, and that the legislature may, if not restrained by constitutional provisions, abolish the office or reduce the salary. But when the office is not disturbed, when the salary is not changed, and when, under the Constitution of the State, neither can be by the legislature, and the question is simply whether one shall be deprived of that office and its salary, and both given to another, a different question is presented, and in such a case to hold that the incumbent has no property in the office, with its accompanying salary, does not commend itself to my judgment."
Justice David J. Brewer also issued a separate concurrence stating that he believed that due process had been observed and that the majority opinion should have affirmed the lower court rulings rather than dismissing the case. In his opinion, Brewer stated: "[A]s I understand the law, this court has jurisdiction to review a judgment of the highest court of a State ousting one from his office and giving it to another, and a right to inquire whether that judgment is right or wrong in respect to any federal question such as due process of law, I think the writ of error should not be dismissed, but that the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky should be affirmed." Justice Henry B. Brown concurred with Brewer.
The only dissent came from Kentuckian John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan
John Marshall Harlan was a Kentucky lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. He is most notable as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases , and Plessy v...
. Harlan opined that not only did the court have jurisdiction, it should have sustained the writ of error
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
on the grounds that the General Assembly's actions had deprived Taylor and Marshall of property without due process, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Going beyond the claim that an elective office is property, Harlan wrote that the right to hold office fell within the definition of "liberty" as used in the Fourteenth Amendment. Justifying this claim, Harlan wrote: "What more directly involves the liberty of the citizen than to be able to enter upon the discharge of the duties of an office to which he has been lawfully elected by his fellow citizens?"
Whereas the majority opinion wholly ignored the proceedings of the General Assembly as irrelevant (the court lacking jurisdiction) and Brewer and Brown affirmed them, Harlan excoriated the legislature in his dissent. "Looking into the record before us, I find such action taken by the body claiming to be organized as the lawful legislature of Kentucky as was discreditable in the last degree and unworthy of the free people whom it professed to represent. ... Those who composed that body seemed to have shut their eyes against the proof for fear that it would compel them to respect the popular will as expressed at the polls." He also expressed disbelief at the majority opinion: "[T]he overturning of the public will, as expressed at the ballot box, without evidence or against evidence, in order to accomplish partisan ends, is a crime against free government, and deserves the execration of all lovers of liberty. ... I cannot believe that the judiciary is helpless in the presence of such a crime."