| Show Important Court euling in illinois WITNESS NOT IN for refusing to testify before I 1 A commissioner form an oilier state other newa feb 1 special the judiciary of the states and territories and mem berat of the legal fraternity throughout the country will be interested in an important developement dev elopement that under a recent decision of the state supreme courland Cour tand which until now has been overlooked commissioners assigned by the courts of other states to take testimony in illinois have no locus standi in this state nor can euch power or authority be conferred upon them by any court of record this condition of affairs baa been emphasized in the decision of a judge of the circuit court in a case wherein a from kentucky appointed to take testimony concerning an insolvent fire insurance company reported to the court that an important imper tant witness and by whose evidence it was sought to establish that the insolvency had bean brought about by criminal aci eions refused to be examined and was therefore liable for contempt in accordance cor dance with established law and precedent the court however before rendering a decision looked up recent authorities and as a result discovered that under the decision in question the commissioner had no authority to take testimony and the coart no authority to compel a witness to testify this decision makes a break in tho committee f universal recognition between tha states in matters of law and is only paralleled by the refusal of the high court of probate in london to recognize american divorces inasmuch aa there is scarcely a week in the year that chicago is not visited by a commissioner from another state for the purpose of taking testimony while chicago commissioners are continuously going into other states for the same purpose the ruling f the illinois supreme court and now for the first time made public promises to become of national importance |
