Robbins v. Robbins
| Decision Date | 26 April 1892 |
| Citation | 133 N.Y. 597,30 N.E. 977 |
| Parties | ROBBINS v. ROBBINS. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from supreme court, general term, first department.
Action by Charlotte P. Robbins against Eliza T. Robbins. From a judgment of the general term affirming a judgment of the circuit court of New York county in favor of plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.
Norman A. Lawlor, for appellant.
William H. Reid, (Alfred A. Gardner and Ezra P. Mills, of counsel,) for respondent.
This is an action for malicious prosecution against the defendant for causing the arrest and imprisonment of the plaintiff upon a criminal charge. It cannot well be disputed that the evidence given by the plaintiff as to want of probable cause and malice in instituting the criminal proceeding by the defendant was conflicting, and was therefore properly submitted to the jury. The only serious question is whether the criminal proceeding was sufficiently terminated to enable the plaintiff to maintain this action. Upon that question there was a difference of opinion in the court below. The plaintiff was arrested in the city of New York upon a warrant issued by a police justice, and, after being detained over night at the station house, she was taken before the police justice, and it is undisputed that, after hearing the evidence adduced against her, he finally discharged her; and, if that were all, it is entirely clear that there was such a termination of the criminal proceeding as enabled her to maintain this action. It is, however, claimed on the part of the defendant that the evidence shows that the police justice was inclined to hold the plaintiff to bail, but that upon her representation that she had no friends, and could not give bail, and upon her promise not to further molest the complainant, he discharged her; and the defendant contends that a discharge under such circumstances is not sufficient to authorize the maintenance of this action. While there is a vast preponderance of evidence that the discharge was made under the circumstances mentioned, yet we think that there was some evidence tending to show that the discharge by the police justice was made because he did not find sufficient evidence to hold the plaintiff. There is some oral evidence to that effect, and the police justice indorsed upon the warrant and papers annexed thereto, ‘Discharged on examination.’ The trial of this action took place about four years after the discharge, and the memory of the police justice was evidently imperfect and uncertain as to what took place at the time of the discharge. Upon the whole evidence, whether the discharge was absolute, and made after an examination into the case by the police justice, as claimed by the plaintiff, or whether it was due to favor to her, because she could not get bail, and upon her promise of good behavior, was a...
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Ying v. City of N.Y.
...compromise with the accused; and charges being dismissed out of mercy requested or accepted by the accused (citing Robbins v. Robbins, 133 N.Y. 597, 599 (1892))). Notably, Smith-Hunter also distinguished McFawn on the basis that it involved a dismissal without prejudice, which also distingu......
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Loeb v. Teitelbaum
...of two conflicting resolutions of the identical transaction (see Hauser v. Bartow, 273 N.Y. 370, 375, 7 N.E.2d 268; Robbins v. Robbins, 133 N.Y. 597, 599, 30 N.E. 977; Fisher v. Bristow, 1 Dougl. 215, 99 Eng.Rep. 140 (1779)). Our own ultimate question on this issue is whether a dismissal br......
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Gallagher v. State
...was sufficient to support the action for malicious prosecution and permit proof on the issue of probable cause (Robbins v. Robbins, 133 N.Y. 597, 599, 600, 30 N.E. 977). The Court of Appeals [W]here the criminal proceeding is terminated favorably to the accused or without his conviction, so......
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Berry v. Marchinkowski
...proceeding upon the complaint or indictment, and no further prosecution of the alleged offense.’ " Id. (quoting Robbins v. Robbins, 133 N.Y. 597, 30 N.E. 977, 978 (1892) ). "Indeed, it is well settled that any disposition of the criminal action which does not terminate it but permits it to ......