State v. Korich
| Decision Date | 02 February 1945 |
| Docket Number | 33948. |
| Citation | 17 N.W.2d 497,219 Minn. 268 |
| Parties | STATE v. KORICH. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
Mere annoyance is insufficient to support a finding of disorderly conduct. Conduct is disorderly, in the ordinary sense, when it is of such a nature as to affect the peace and quiet of the persons who may witness it and who may be disturbed or provoked to resentment thereby; the probable and natural consequences of the conduct being the important element.
Appeal from Municipal Court, Hennepin County; John A. Weeks Judge.
William Lloyd Sholes, of Minneapolis, Hayden C. Covington, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Roy A. Swayze, of Arlington, Va., for appellant.
R S. Wiggin, City Atty., and Leo P. McHale, Asst. City Atty. both of Minneapolis, for respondent.
Defendant appeals from a judgment and order of the municipal court of Minneapolis finding him guilty of violating the disorderly conduct ordinance.
Defendant, a Jehovah's Witness, certified by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society as 'an ordained minister of Jehovah God to preach the gospel of God's Kingdom under Christ Jesus,' was arrested in Minneapolis on March 3, 1944, while going from one apartment to another in a 20-family apartment building for the uncontradicted purpose of distributing Bible tracts to any tenant who might be interested. He alleged that he was looking in particular for a Bohemian on whom he had called before and who had invited him to return. Defendant carried with him a portable phonograph, equipped with a recorded Bible sermon, and also books and pamphlets furnished by the Watchtower society. No charge was made by him for either the books or the pamphlets but contributions were accepted from those willing to give. The phonograph was played only when he was invited to enter the home to present his message.
About a month prior to the occasion involved in this appeal, defendant had called at the same apartment house and had been told by the caretaker to stop disturbing the tenants and to keep off the premises. In the present case, defendant had, upon entering the building, proceeded to the second floor and was ringing a tenant's doorbell when the caretaker appeared and grabbed him by the shoulder and said: 'Didn't I tell you to * * * get out and stay out?' Defendant told the caretaker to keep his hands off. Thereupon the caretaker asked him if he had not seen at the entrance to the building the sign: 'No Solicitors Allowed.' Defendant declared the sign did not apply to him because he was a minister of the gospel. One of the tenants, upon the request of the caretaker, telephoned for the police. Defendant continued to make calls on the second floor and later on the first floor. When ready to leave the building, he alleges that the caretaker and another man stood in front of the exit door to prevent his departure. In a moment two police officers arrived. The caretaker requested the officers to arrest defendant because he had been soliciting in the building contrary to the rules governing the premises. In a quiet and orderly manner, defendant pointed out that he considered himself a minister of the gospel and that his work was not that of solicitation. When asked his name, he handed the officers his card as a means of identification.
At the police station, defendant was booked on a tab charge for the violation of the disorderly conduct ordinance found on page 760 of Pulling's Compilation of the Minneapolis City Charter and Ordinances, which reads as follows:
'* * * fine not exceeding $100.00 or by imprisonment not exceeding 90 days.'
The trial court adjudged defendant guilty and assessed a fine of $10 and, in default of payment thereof, he was to be imprisoned at hard labor for ten days in the...
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