Martin v. Dorton, 37805
| Decision Date | 05 February 1951 |
| Docket Number | No. 37805,37805 |
| Parties | MARTIN v. DORTON. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Windham & Cunningham, Booneville, for appellant.
Donald Franks, Booneville, for appellee.
The primary question presented for decision on this appeal is whether or not a public officer has the legal right to commit an assault and battery on a newspaper photographer for taking his picture for publication without the consent of such official. Or, to state the point differently, does the taking of the photograph of a public official, for publication in a newspaper, without his consent, amount to an assault or trespass by the photographer, such as to constitute the first blow, and so as to justify an assault and battery in return?
The photographer in the instant case, Harold Dorton, recovered a judgment for the sum of $200 as actual and punitive damages against the defendant, Sale Martin, who was sheriff of Prentiss County on the occasion of the assault and battery complained of. The defendant sheriff admitted both in his answer and on the trial that he struck and kicked the plaintiff for taking his photograph, but contends that he did not do so until the same had been taken over his protest, and that, therefore, the trial court was in error (1) in peremptorily instructing the jury to find for the plaintiff on the question of liability; and (2) in refusing an instruction on behalf of the defendant that 'if the jury believes the defendant struck the plaintiff with his open hand (the instruction making no reference to the admitted fact that he also kicked the photographer) and that the plaintiff suffered no substantial injury, then the plaintiff can recover only nominal damages'.
Shortly prior to the occasion complained of, a number of citizens had jointly complained to the sheriff that a building then under construction in their community was intended for use in the sale of beer in violation of law, and suggested that for this reason he should prevent the completion of such structure. The sheriff denied his authority to do so and referred these citizens to the county prosecuting attorney for advice in the premises. The latter official, of course, stated to them that the sheriff had no authority to prevent the completion of the building, but is alleged to have suggested another and complete remedy, but one which they did not have the legal right to invoke.
After the building had been completed, a considerable group of both men and women of the community appeared at the courthouse to again talk with the sheriff about the matter. In the meantime, the county prosecuting attorney had informed the sheriff of the purpose of their assembling to interview him at the courthouse, and with the result that the sheriff declined to talk further with them, except to state that he knew what they had come for, and promised that if either of them would make an affidavit of any violation of the law he would go and get the alleged offender. He thereupon retired to his office.
The local newspaper had learned of the presence of the crowd at the courthouse and requested the plaintiff Dorton to accompany the newspaper representative over there for the purpose of taking some photographs. The plaintiff was not a member of the group of protesting citizens who by their presence were intimating that the sheriff had been engaged in strenuous inactivity in the matter of law enforcement, but he went to the courthouse only as a photographer and at the instance of the local newspaper as aforesaid. He made a photograph of this assembled group of citizens, who had remained there to sign petitions for better law enforcement; and when the sheriff came out of his office to leave the courthouse for lunch the plaintiff then took the picture of the said officer, and with the result that the latter struck and kicked him.
The plaintiff and some of his witnesses testified that he was struck on the back of the head with a blackjack drawn from the pocket of the sheriff, who then kicked him once or twice. Whereas the sheriff testified that he only hit him with his hand and then kicked him. The plaintiff claims that he suffered much physical pain, humiliation, embarrassment, etc., whereas the sheriff contends that the assault and battery was not of sufficient severity to cause any injury whatsoever to the plaintiff.
The only other conflict in the testimony is that the plaintiff testified that he took the picture before the sheriff made any protest, whereas the latter testified that he asked the plaintiff not to take his picture, and that he did not strike and kick him until he had disregarded the protest.
The sheriff having admitted the assault and battery both in his answer and testimony, the action of the trial court in peremptorily instructing the jury to find for the plaintiff on liability was not error, unless the sheriff was justified as a matter of law in doing what he did, since in no event was the sheriff entitled to have the jury return a verdict for only nominal damages; such a verdict would have been against the great weight of the evidence. Moreover, a verdict for only nominal damages would have been contrary to the admitted facts, and would have been supported alone by a conclusion or opinion of the...
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Watkins v. United Parcel Service, Inc.
...of Privacy Claim In the case of Deaton v. Delta Democrat Publishing Co., 326 So.2d 471, 473 (Miss.1976) (citing Martin v. Dorton, 210 Miss. 668, 50 So.2d 391 (1951)), the Mississippi Supreme Court stated that Mississippi "has by implication judicially recognized the common law right to priv......
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Time, Inc v. Hill, 22
...v. Herald Post Co., 230 Ky. 227, 18 S.W.2d 972 (1929); Kelley v. Post Pub. Co., 327 Mass. 275, 98 N.E.2d 286 (1951); Martin v. Dorton, 210 Miss. 668, 50 So.2d 391 (1951); Hubbard v. Journal Pub. Co., 69 N.M. 473, 368 P.2d 147 (1962); Schnabel v. Meredith, 378 Pa. 609, 107 A.2d 860 (1954); M......
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Dantzler v. State
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Wilson v. Retail Credit Company, Civ. A. No. 3847.
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