Happel v. Brethauer

Citation70 Ill. 166,22 Am.Rep. 70,1873 WL 8570
PartiesCHARLES F. HAPPEL et al.v.GEORGE W. BRETHAUER.
Decision Date30 September 1873
CourtSupreme Court of Illinois

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

APPEAL from the Circuit Court of Cook county; the Hon. JOHN G. ROGERS, Judge, presiding.

This was a suit brought by George W. Brethauer against Charles F. Happel and Frederic Happel, before a justice of the peace. The demand indorsed on the justice's summons was $200. The other facts of the case appear in the opinion of the court.

Mr. ADOLPH MOSES, for the appellants.

Mr. M. W. ROBINSON, for the appellee.

Mr. JUSTICE THORNTON delivered the opinion of the Court:

The parties in this case stipulated that the Act to increase the jurisdiction of justices of the peace and police magistrates,” (Sess. Laws 1871-2, p. 548,) and in force July 1, 1871, had not been passed in conformity with the requirements of the constitution. No other proof was submitted, as to the admitted fact.

The court can not act upon such evidence, in determining the constitutionality of a law. If such a rule was adopted, the entire statute might be abrogated by agreement. We must take the law as we find it written in the statute. If the constitution has not been complied with in its passage, this fact must be shown either by the printed journals, or the certificate of the Secretary of State, the custodian of legislative proceedings. In no other mode can we be properly advised. The mode adopted in this case would be unsafe and ruinous to the stability of the statutes.

The judgment is affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

The foregoing opinion was filed as of the September term, 1872. On a rehearing, the following additional opinion was filed as of the September term, 1873:

Mr. JUSTICE SCHOLFIELD delivered the opinion of the Court:

The demand indorsed upon the summons issued by the justice of the peace in this case, was $200. The account proved by the plaintiff was $164, but the defendant introduced evidence of off-sets which reduced the amount due the plaintiff to $87.50, for which amount the justice of the peace rendered judgment. The defendant appealed to the circuit court, and there moved to dismiss the case for the want of jurisdiction in the justice of the peace. The plaintiff then entered credits upon his bill of particulars, leaving the amount then claimed to be due, $84.66. The court overruled the motion to dismiss, and, after hearing evidence, rendered judgment for the plaintiff, for $84.66. Defendant took proper exceptions, and now insists that the court erred in overruling his motion to dismiss the suit for the want of...

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  • Amos v. Gunn
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • 7 Abril 1922
    ... ... Ohio St. 348, 7 N.E. 447, 12 N.E. 829. Nor will the ... invalidity of the statute be proved by the admissions of the ... parties. Happel et al. v. Brethauer, 70 Ill. 167, 22 ... Am. Rep. 70; Attorney General v. Rice, 64 Mich. 385, ... 31 N.W. 203 ... In ... Stevenson ... ...
  • State ex rel. Hynds v. Cahill
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • 18 Febrero 1904
    ...89 Mich. 593; Attorney General v. Rice, 64 Mich. 385; Sackrider v. Supervisors, 79 Mich. 59; R. Co. v. Hughes, 38 Ill. 186; Shappel v. Brethauer, 70 Ill. 166; McCullough v. State, 11 Ind. 427; Wise Bigger, 79 Va. 269; State v. Moffatt, 5 O., 359; Fordyce v. Godman, 20 O. St., 1; State v. Fr......
  • West v. Bank of Commerce & Trusts
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • 26 Abril 1948
    ...Colo. 156, 111 P. 69; Tuttle v. Pockert, 147 Iowa 41, 125 N.W. 841; Attorney General v. Rice, 64 Mich. 385, 31 N.W. 203; Happel v. Brethauer, 70 Ill. 166, 22 Am.Rep. 70; Legg v. Annapolis, 42 Md. 203. See Chicago & G. T. R. Co. v. Wellman, 143 U.S. 339, 12 S.Ct. 400, 36 L.Ed. 176; E. Fouger......
  • Board of Commissioners of Wilkes County v. Coler Company
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • 18 Marzo 1901
    ...case the best and only proof is by the record. Our opinion on this point is supported by a recent decision in Illinois. Happel v. Brethauer, 70 Ill. 166, 22 Am. Rep. 70. If any weight were allowed to admissions of this sort, the law might change as each case was presented. Our opinion on th......
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