Maximin Metoyer, a free man of color, seeks annulment of a judgment against him by Louis Trouvat, Justice of the Peace for the Parish of Natchitoches at Ile Brevelle. Metoyer claims that Trouvat's ruling, in a suit against him by Victor Badin, a free man of color, is fraught with legal irregularities; it should therefore be reviewed by a higher court and, in due course of law, thrown out. Metoyer calls the following irregularities to the higher court's attention: first, the citation issued on him by the lower court was written in the English language only, whereas French is his native tongue; second, the amount of demand by the plaintiff was not set forth in the citation; third, he was given less than ten days to answer the petition; and fourth, the judgment proceedings were recorded in the French language only, whereas the Louisiana Constitution mandates that they be written in English, the language of the Constitution of the United States. Metoyer therefore prays for an “order of certoriari” directing Justice of the Peace Trouvat to send a “certified copy of the proceedings” of suit No. 27 to the District Court and to proceed no further until the District Court has ruled on regularity. Finally, he prays that the judgment in Badin’s suit against him be declared null and void.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Natchitoches Parish Courthouse, Natchitoches, Louisiana
