Stone v. City of Paducah

• Decision Date: 19 April 1905
• Citation: 120 Ky. 322,86 S.W. 531
• Parties: STONE v. CITY OF PADUCAH.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

86 S.W. 531

120 Ky. 322

STONE v. CITY OF PADUCAH.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

April 19, 1905

Appeal from Circuit Court, McCracken County.

"To be officially reported."

Proceeding by Sam Stone, petitioner, against the city of Paducah. From a judgment in favor of defendant, petitioner appeals. Affirmed.

J. M Worten, for appellant.

E. H Puryear and Campbell & Campbell, for appellee.

NUNN J.

In the month of March, 1902, the city of Paducah was transferred from the third to the second class. While a city of the third class it passed the following ordinances "Ordinance No. 14.

"Section 1. It shall be the duty of the overseer of the chain gang to take charge during the daytime of all prisoners confined in the city prison under judgment of the police court when there is work to do and the weather will admit, and work them on the streets, alleys or other public works of the city of Paducah.

"Sec 2. The keeper of the city prison shall receive and safely keep therein, in close confinement, all persons arrested by the city police officers, and all persons ordered thereto by judgment of the Paducah police court, or other court of competent jurisdiction, until discharged by due course of law, except when such persons may be in charge of the street inspector, or other person duly authorized, at work on the streets or other public works of the city."

"Sec. 12. In all cases of conviction in the police court of Paducah, the defendant shall stand committed to the city prison until the fine and costs in such case shall be paid or replevied, not to exceed however one day for each dollar of such fine and costs, and the defendant in such case, if a male, shall be required to work during such period of confinement on the public streets or alleys or at the gravel pits of the city of Paducah, not exceeding ten hours each day. All male persons sentenced to confinement in said prison shall be worked in the same way during the period of imprisonment, and all such persons when in the city prison, shall be considered in the custody of the keeper of the city prison and when taken out for the purpose of being worked to be in the custody of the marshal, street inspector, overseer of the chain gang or policeman, whichever may have them in charge. And to prevent escapes, such officer having prisoners in charge, may in his discretion, attach a chain and a ball of fifty pounds weight to any prisoner."

"Ordinance No. 19.

"Section 1. The office of street inspector is hereby created. The street inspector shall be elected by the common council in the month of December in each year. He shall hold his office for one year and until his successor is duly elected and qualified.

"Sec. 2. He shall build sewers and bridges, keep same in good repair; see that the streets, alleys and sidewalks are kept clean and in good condition; superintend in person the cleaning thereof; devote his entire time to the duties of his office and under the direction of the mayor employ hands, carts and wagons and other forces necessary to those objects and in working on any of the streets, alleys, wharves, or other public place in the city he shall use the prisoners of the city confined in the city prison.

"Sec. 3. The overseer of the chain gang and the prisoners in his charge in working upon any of the streets, alleys, wharfs or other public place in the city, shall be under and subject to the orders and control of the street inspector. If any such prisoners while on any public work shall behave in a riotous or disorderly manner or refuse to work or obey the orders of the street inspector or other person placed over them, or shall attempt to escape, they shall be placed in solitary confinement or subjected to such slight punishment as may be ordered by the inspector, but in no case shall they be cruelly treated."

The appellant brought this action under section 3063 of the Kentucky Statutes of 1903, claiming that the charter of cities of the second class does not authorize the officials of cities of that class to enact or enforce such ordinances and that they are therefore void. By section 3264 of the statutes, which relates to the transfer of cities from one class to another, it is provided, after providing for the transfer, that "thereafter such city shall be governed by and under the general laws relating to the class to which it has been assigned, but the transfer from one class to another shall not in any wise impair or affect any ordinance or by-law theretofore enacted by such city unless the same is in conflict with the general laws relating to cities of the class to which it has been assigned and to such extent only shall any ordinance or by-law be repealed by the transfer, nor shall the powers, rights, duties or obligations of the city be in any wise affected by the transfer of any officer or employee thereof or any debtor or creditor of the city." The appellant contends that the only provisions contained in charters of cities of the second class with reference to compelling persons to labor are found in section 3148 and section 3151, and that these provisions provide for the work to be done only in the city jail or workhouse, and as the ordinances referred to authorize and require persons to labor upon the streets, alleys, and gravel pits, they are therefore void. We are of the opinion that the sections of the statutes referred to have no application to the question at issue. By section 3148 the Legislature gave to cities of the second class the extraordinary power of giving final trials to persons charged with petit larceny and vagrancy--a power not given to any other class of cities in the commonwealth--and required that persons convicted of such offenses should be sent to labor in the city prison or workhouse. This section is void. The Legislature had no power to grant authority to the police or city court of cities of the second or any class to give a final trial to persons charged with the offenses of petit larceny or vagrancy; the punishment for the one being not less than 30 days' nor more than 12 months' confinement in the county jail. The other, upon conviction, could be bound out to labor for a term not longer than 12 months. Section 143 of the present Constitution provides, "A police court may be established in each city and town in this state, with jurisdiction in cases of violation of municipal ordinances and by-laws occurring within the corporate limits of the city or town in which it is established and such criminal jurisdiction within the said limits as justices of the peace have." We find that justices of the peace have jurisdiction, as provided by section 1093 of the statutes, as follows: ...