Landis v. The Borough of Vineland

• Citation: 23 A. 357,54 N.J.L. 75
• Decision Date: 15 November 1891
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court
• Parties: MATILDA T. LANDIS v. THE BOROUGH OF VINELAND

23 A. 357

54 N.J.L 75

LANDIS

v. BOROUGH OF VINELAND.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Jan. 15, 1892.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Certiorari at the prosecution of Matilda T. Landis against the borough of Vineland to review a certain ordinance and her conviction thereunder.Ordinance declared void, and the conviction reversed.

Argued June term, 1891, before Depue, Reed, and Dixon, JJ.

Samuel W. Belden, for prosecutrix.

DIXON, J.The prosecutrix was convicted, before the mayor of the borough of Vineland, of violating the second section of a borough ordinance which ordained "that, if any person shall, at any * * * public hall, * * * disturb any assembly convened for religious worship or for any other purpose by unnecessarily making a noise, * * * every person so offending shall on conviction forfeit and pay a fine of not less than three nor more than ten dollars for each offense."The legality of this conviction is the matter now to be passed upon in this court.The charter of the borough is "An act for the formation of borough governments," approved April 5, 1878, (Supp. Revision, p. 44.)This act(section 12) authorizes the mayor and council of the borough to pass ordinances "to restrain or punish indecent or disorderly conduct," and "to provide generally for the peace, quiet, and good order of said borough, and the welfare and protection of persons and property therein."It also (section 8) enacts "that the mayor of said borough * * * shall have power to arrest without warrant, or to issue his warrant for the arrest of, any person guilty, or who he may have reason to believe guilty, of any breach of the peace or the violation of any ordinance of the mayor and council of the said borough, and to try and determine all causes and complaints aforesaid, and to commit any person so offending to the lock-up of said borough for any time, in his discretion, not exceeding ten days, or to impose a fine not exceeding twenty dollars, or...