Christensen v. People

114 Ill. App. 40, 1904 Ill. App. LEXIS 386
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 12, 1904
DocketGen. No. 11,404; Gen. No. 11,405; Gen. No. 11,406; Gen. No. 11,407; Gen. No. 11,408; Gen. No. 11.409; Gen. No. 11,410; Gen. No. 11,411; Gen. No. 11,412; Gen. No. 11,413; Gen. No. 11,414; Gen. No. 11,415; Gen. No. 11,416; Gen. No. 11,417
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 114 Ill. App. 40 (Christensen v. People) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Christensen v. People, 114 Ill. App. 40, 1904 Ill. App. LEXIS 386 (Ill. Ct. App. 1904).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Adams

delivered the opinion of the court.

The lengthy statement preceding this opinion has been made for the reason that other appeals from the judgments mentioned in the statement are pending here, and so that this opinion may, in part at least, apply to such other appeals. The appellants, Jacob Christensen (sued as George Christensen), Charles ITeinig -(sued as Heine), Andrew Emerson, Fred Wagner, A. Mashek and Jjee S. Fisher, are defendants to the bill, and all the appellants, except Fisher and John Brent, admit knowledge of the injunction, and the last mentioned two do not deny such knowledge, nor do their counsel, although such knowledge is averred in the petitions to which they are respondents; and they having been prominent in the strike and its prosecution, as admitted by their counsel, and the greatest possible publicity of the injunction being shown by the evidence, it is next to impossible that they were ignorant of it.

Counsel object that the bill is insufficient on which tobase an injunction. Christensen v. Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Co., 110 Ill. App. 61, was an appeal from the order granting the injunction, and appears to have been thoroughly considered. The court in that case considered the sufficiency of the bill to warrant an injunction, and held it sufficient and the injunction valid. All questions decided in that case, and also all questions which might have been decided, if properly presented, are res adjudieata as to all parties to the bill. As to appellants not parties to the bill, we perceive no good reason for dissenting from the opinion that the bill is sufficient and the injunction valid. On the contrary, we concur in the decision.

It is also contended that the informations on which the several contempt proceedings were based are and each of them is insufficient, in not more particularly alleging facts, and counsel urge that these objections go to the jurisdiction of the court. The court had jurisdiction of the persons of the defendants to the bill, and of the subject-matter of the bill, and had power to issue an injunction, and, in proceedings for contempt, in violating the injunction, no defense can be made on the ground of irregularity, or that there was error in the proceedings. Dickey v. Reed, 78 Ill. 261, 279; Leopold v. The People, 140 Ill. 552, 557; People v. Weigley, 155 Ill. 491, 501; Clark v. Burke, 163 Ill. 334, 337. In Dickey v. Reed, the court say : “ Where the court has power over the subject-matter, and authority to take such jurisdiction, and the court acts, its process must be obeyed,” etc. In Leopold v. The People, the court say: “If the court has jurisdiction of the parties and legal authority to enter the order, then a party cannot stand in defiance of it, however improvidently or erroneously made.” In Clark v. Burke, the court say : “ It is well settled that in a proceeding for contempt, in failing to obey an order of the court, the respondent may question the order which he is charged with refusing to obey only in so far as he can show it to be absolutely void, and cannot be heard to say that it is merely erroneous, however flagrantly it may appear to be so.” See, also, Glay v. The People, 94 Ill. App. 598, 600, and Ex parte Richards, 117 Fed. R., p. 668.

In the present case we think the petitions amply sufficient; that it is not necessary that one shall be a party to the bill, or officially served with the writ, in order for him to be bound by the injunction, but only that he shall have actual notice of it; see High on Injunctions, 3rd ed., sec. 17, and Ex parte Richards, 117 Fed. R. 658, 662, and cases cited. It is contended that the contempts are criminal, and therefore appellants should have been discharged on their answers. The relief sought is a permanent injunction, and preliminary thereto a temporary one of the same character as the permanent one prayed. Manifestly, the preliminary injunction is for the benefit of complainant, and therefore its enforcement is for its benefit.

As counsel for appellants say in their argument in Hopkins v. The People, general number 12,275, which is error to reverse two of the judgments in question, “ An injunction without contempt proceedings would be of no value;” which is true on the hypothesis that the persons enjoined should seek to violate the injunction. The injunction and its enforcement being for the complainant’s benefit, the proceedings must be regarded as civil. We regard the case of Loven v. The People, 158 Ill. 159, as conclusive of the question. In that case Loven, a former employee of the complainant in the bill, had learned, while in complainant’s employ, about certain medicines known by certain names, which the complainant had the exclusive right to manufacture and sell under those names, and was fraudulently selling medicines under the names of complainant’s medicines, and practically stealing the complainant’s business. A permanent injunction was granted, enjoining Loven in the premises. Subsequently, contempt proceedings were instituted against Loven, and the court adjudged him guilty and that he be committed to jail for ten days. It ivas urged, on appeal, that Loven should be discharged on his answer, but the court held the contrary, saying : “There is a well-recognized distinction between the practice in contempts, properly so-called, when the proceeding is to vindicate the majesty of the law, or the dignity of the court, and cases involving acts treated as contempts, for the enforcements of orders and decrees,” etc. See, also, Barclay v. Barclay, 184 Ill. 471, 475, and cases cited; Rapalje on Contempt, sec. 21;. People v. Court of O. & T., 101 N. Y. 245; Thompson v. Penn. R. R. Co.,. 48 N. J. Eq. 105; and Clark v. Burke, 163 Ill. 334.

Appellants’ counsel object to the overruling by the court of motions for bills of particulars, and to a hearing on affidavits, instead of calling witnesses and examining them in open court. It was clearly a matter within the discretion of the court as to whether or not a bill of particulars should be ordered. This is true even in indictments for conspiracy. 1 Bishop on Crim. Procedure, section 643. We are also of opinion that bills of particulars were unnecessary to enable appellants to prepare their defense, as the affidavits setting forth the facts are made a part of the informations, respectively. It is not the practice to furnish bills of particulars in contempt cases. In Loven v. The People, supra, the information charging contempt was heard on affidavits, and whether such information shall be so heard is a matter within the court’s discretion.

It is admitted in the answers of appellants Christensen, Doty, Heinig, Emerson, Wagner and Mashek, to the petition filed June 3, 1903, and the supplemental petition filed June 5, 1903, in substance, that they were picketing complainant’s place of business, and interfering with its employees and with persons seeking employment with it, notifying them of the strike and persuading the former to leave its employ and the latter not to enter it, and that each of them occupied a position near to said place of business for the purpose of so doing. The evidence is that a number of other persons were engaged as the above named appellants were, after the issuing of the injunction and prior to June 3, 1903.

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Bluebook (online)
114 Ill. App. 40, 1904 Ill. App. LEXIS 386, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/christensen-v-people-illappct-1904.