McVeigh v. Ripley

• Decision Date: 12 August 1904
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: McVEIGH v. RIPLEY.

58 A. 701

77 Conn. 136

McVEIGH

v. RIPLEY.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

Aug. 12, 1904.

Appeal from Superior Court, Hartford County; William S. Case, Judge.

Action by Harriet McVeigh against Edward C. Ripley. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.

The plaintiff was brought before the defendant, a justice of the peace for Tolland county, residing in Coventry, on a grand juror's complaint charging: "That at said town of Coventry, on or about the 10th day of October, Harriet McVeigh, of the town of Glastonbury, with force and arms in and upon Theodore W. Hall, of Coventry, in the peace then and there being, did make an assault, and the said Harriet McVeigh then and there did steal one certain horse, and other wrongs and injuries then and there did, to the great damage of the said Theodore W. Hall, contrary to the form of the statute and against the peace. That at said Coventry, on or about the 10th day of October, 1901, Harriet McVeigh, of the town of Glastonbury, with force and arms, did willfully and feloniously take, steal, and carry away from Theodore W. Hall, and out of the possession of Theodore W. Hall, of Coventry, a horse, in the night season, the property of said Theodore W. Hall, and of the value of ten dollars, against the peace, or evil example, and contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided."

On the file were these minutes of the proceedings:

"State vs.

"Harriet McVeigh. "Plea, Guilty. "Found Guilty. "Ordered to pay a fine of $5.00. "And costs taxed at $23.21. "And in default thereof to stand committed until sentence be performed for —— days.

"Committed by Dep. Shff. A. W. Cowles.

"Mittimus ........$1.00

"Officer ........... 2.50

$3.50 plus $23.21 above.

"Total $26.71. E. C. Ripley, "Justice of the Peace."

The items of cost, amounting to $23.21 were also given.

The defendant issued a mittimus addressed to a proper officer, with these recitals: "Harriet McVeigh was this day brought before the subscriber, a justice of the peace for said county, by virture of a warrant issued upon the complaint of Henry F. Parker a grand juror for said town, and found guilty of larceny, the theft of a horse of the value of $10.00, against the peace and contrary to the statute in such case made and provided. Whereupon it was considered and ordered by me that the said Harriet McVeigh pay a fine of five dollars to the town of Coventry, and pay the costs of prosecution taxed at twenty-three dollars twenty-one cents, and to stand committed to the common jail in the county of Tolland and town of Tolland till this sentence be performed. And whereas the said person so convicted now before me neglects and refuses to comply with and perform said sentence, these are therefore, by authority of the state of Connecticut," etc.

The plaintiff, on the trial, rested after offering the original complaint and the minutes indorsed upon it, and the mittimus, with evidence of her imprisonment for fifteen days under the mittimus. The defendant moved for a nonsuit, on the grounds, first, that the record showed that the conviction was for an offense within the final jurisdiction of a justice of the peace; and, second, that, whether this were so or not, a justice of the peace was not civilly liable for a mere error of judgment in exercising jurisdiction, unless malice were proved. This motion having been denied, he moved that the jury be instructed to return a verdict in his favor, but the court declined so to instruct them, and charged that the defendant had no jurisdiction to impose a punishment on the plaintiff, and that they should return a verdict in her favor.

Arthur L. Shipman and Charles Welles Gross, for appellant.

Herbert O. Bowers, for appellee.

BALDWIN, J. (after stating the facts). A justice of the peace, in disposing of any cause, civil or criminal, which has been properly brought before him, holds a court of record, and acts as a judicial officer. Fox v. Hoyt, 12 Conn. 491, 497, 31 Am. Dec. 760. As such he is entitled to the same immunities from civil liability for his judgments which belong to judges of any higher court. Pratt v. Gardner, 2 Cush. 63, 69, 48 Am. Dec. 652. Like them, he is protected from an action for false imprisonment when the imprisonment was ordered (however erroneously) by a judgment in a proceeding in which he had jurisdiction over the person, the process, and the subject-matter. Tracy v. Williams, 4 Conn. 107, 113, 10 Am. Dec. 102; Holcomb v. Cornish, 8 Conn. 375, 381. In the case at bar the justice of the peace had jurisdiction over the person, the process, and the subject-matter. The plaintiff was charged with an assault upon Theodore W. Hall, and also with stealing his horse. Over the complaint, so far as it charged an assault, the defendant had final jurisdiction. So far as it charged the stealing of a horse, he had only jurisdiction to inquire if it was supported by probable cause, for the purpose of binding her over for trial to a higher court. Gen. St. 1902, § 1204, imperatively requires the imprisonment 6f one who steals a horse, however slight may be its value. Gen. St. 1902, § 1207, provides for the punishment of larceny of any goods or chattels, and, in case the value of what is stolen does not exceed $15, authorizes a sentence to a fine of not over $7 only. These two sections must be read together. The former cannot be given its proper effect without treating it as excepting horse stealing from the operation of the latter. It is a crime of a peculiar character, easily committed, and carrying with it a means of quick escape from pursuit. For a similar offense—the theft of a bicycle worth over $25—a heavier punishment than...