The Attorney General v. the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company the Attorney General v. the Chicago, Milwaukee…

Summary

The opinion holds that the Wisconsin Supreme Court may exercise original jurisdiction over an attorney general's information seeking an injunction to prevent corporations from violating public law, but only when the matter is publici juris and injunction is an appropriate remedy. It further holds that equity may restrain corporate excesses or abuses of franchise notwithstanding other legal remedies, and rejects preliminary objections based on jury trial, constructive repeal, corporate misnomer, and the 1871 constitutional amendment. The visible text does not disclose the final disposition of the principal injunction proceedings. The concurrence addresses a territorial railroad charter and concludes that it was not accepted until after statehood, leaving it subject to legislative alteration.