United States v. Pena, 175 U.S. 500 (1899)

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United States v. Pena


No. 72


Submitted October 27, 1899
Decided December 18, 1899
175 U.S. 500

APPEAL FROM THE COURT
OF PRIVATE LAND CLAIMS

Syllabus

The appeal in this case having been allowed within six months after the receipt by the Attorney General of the statement of the case by the trial attorney, and the action of the trial attorney having been approved by one of the justices of the trial court, there is no sufficient reason for the motion to dismiss, this Court having the power under its rules to notice plain errors, even when not assigned.

An appeal from the Court of Private Land Claims can be allowed by one of the Associate Justices of the court.

The grant of lands, in this case, set forth at length in the opinion of the court, was a grant in severalty, and not one of a single large tract to several persons, to be by them held in common or distributed among each other.

This grant, having been made after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, it was not within the power of the alcalde to change it by directing grants to additional persons not included in the original grant, and the whole proceeding may be ignored except so far as it indicates those who took title under the original grant or discloses those who were their successors in interest.

The statement of the case is in the opinion of the Court.