Jackson v. Boyd

Decision Date26 April 1880
Citation53 Iowa 536,5 N.W. 734
PartiesJACKSON v. BOYD, SHERIFF.
CourtIowa Supreme Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

On appeal from an order made by the Hon. James W. McKenzie, judge of the eleventh judicial district. The plaintiff, being in custody of the defendant by virtue of certain “warrants of commitment” issued by a justice of the peace, applied for and obtained a writ of habeas corpus. Upon the hearing before said judge he was discharged from custody under certain warrants and remanded under others. Both parties appeal.Huff & Reed and W. V. Allen, for plaintiff.

John Porter and E. W. Eastman, for defendant.

SEEVERS, J.

It is insisted the order discharging the plaintiff from custody may be sustained on the following grounds:

1. It is said the judgment of the justice of the peace is “void because it did not specify the length of time and number of days the plaintiff should be imprisoned.” The judgment was that the plaintiff “stand committed to the jail of the incorporated town of Eldora until the several fines and costs are paid.” The statute provides that “a judgment that the defendant pay a fine may also direct that he be imprisoned until the fine is satisfied.” Code, § 4689.

“A judgment that the defendant pay a fine may also direct that he be imprisoned until the fine be satisfied, specifying the extent of the imprisonment, which shall not exceed one day for every three and one-third dollars of the fine.” Code, § 4509.

The provision that the justice may direct the time the defendant shall be imprisoned is not mandatory, but is simply directory. If the justice fails to so state or direct in the judgment this would not render it void. The extent of the imprisonment is fixed and declared by the statute, and when the defendant has been imprisoned the required length of time he is entitled to be discharged.

2. The ordinance under which the defendant was convicted provides if any person shall give, barter, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any vinous, spirituous, mixed, malt or other intoxicating liquors, within the limits of the incorporated town of Eldora, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined, etc., and that any number of violations of the ordinance by the same person may be included in one complaint, and a fine shall be imposed for each offence. In one of the complaints or informations there were six different offences charged.

It is urged the town had no authority to enact an ordinance that distinct offences might be charged in the same information. The town had authority to pass “ordinances not inconsistent with the laws of the state.” Code, § 482. Said town also had authority to “regulate or prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors not prohibited by the laws of the state.” Code, § 463. Section 1504 of the Code provides that any number of violations of the prohibitory liquor law may be included in the same information or indictment. The ordinance is not inconsistent with the laws of the state, but is in accord therewith both in letter and spirit.

3. The ordinance provides that a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $50 may be imposed for each offence, and, as any number of violations may be included in the same information, it will be readily seen the aggregate of fines in any case may exceed $100; and therefore it is said the ordinance is in conflict with article 1, § 11, of the Constitution, which provides that “all offences less than felony, and in which the punishment does not exceed a fine of $100, or imprisonment for 30 days, shall be tried summarily before a justice of the peace or other officer authorized by law.”

This provision is not applicable to the case in hand. It does not declare that distinct offences shall be...

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2 cases
  • Jackson v. Boyd
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • 26 Abril 1880
  • Mullin v. State
    • United States
    • Delaware Superior Court
    • 11 Agosto 1937
    ... ... the Statute had done so. It has been determined in such a ... case that no such necessity exists. Jackson v. Boyd, ... Sheriff, 53 Iowa 536, 5 N.W. 734 ... The ... fine and the term of imprisonment constitute the sentence and ... the ... ...

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