City of Buffalo v. Till

192 A.D. 99, 182 N.Y.S. 418, 1920 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7443
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 5, 1920
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 192 A.D. 99 (City of Buffalo v. Till) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Buffalo v. Till, 192 A.D. 99, 182 N.Y.S. 418, 1920 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7443 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1920).

Opinion

De Angelis, J.:

The judgments under review are based upon provisions of the ordinances of the city of Buffalo of which the following are copies:

“No person shall participate in any parade, gathering, assemblage or demonstration upon any street, square, park or other place within the City to which the public are invited or have access, which parade, gathering, assemblage or demonstration has not been authorized by a written permit from the Mayor.” (Chap. 9, § 5, subd. 3.)

“ Except where a different fine or penalty is specifically prescribed, every person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $2 nor more than $50, to be recovered in a civil action, or, upon being convicted thereof in a court of criminal jurisdiction, such person shall be subject to a fine of not less than $2 nor more than $50, and in case the person so convicted does not immediately pay such fine, he or she may be committed to the Erie County Penitentiary for the term of one day for each and every dollar of such fine unpaid. A judgment for any penalty prescribed by any of the sections of this chapter may be enforced by a body execution as provided in Section 25.” (Chap. 9, § 30.)

The facts, amply sustained by the evidence, are these:

On Sunday evening, June 1, 1919, at about fifteen minutes after eight o’clock, at the junction of Main, Genesee and Huron streets, public streets of the city of Buffalo, the defend[102]*102ant, standing upon a wooden structure within the traveled part of Main street, was in the act of addressing a large gathering or assemblage of people who surrounded him and were in the public streets of the city of Buffalo including the traveled part thereof, and when the defendant was in that act he was arrested by the police of the city and charged with a violation of chapter 9, section 5, subdivision 3, of the ordinances of the city in that a permit had not been obtained from the mayor of the city authorizing the gathering and assemblage. On the following day, after a trial in the City Court of Buffalo, that court decided that the defendant had violated that provision of the ordinances and rendered a judgment that he pay a fine of fifty dollars. This judgment having been affirmed at the Erie Special Term of the Supreme Court, the defendant appealed to this court.

There is no doubt of the fact that the defendant violated the provision of the ordinances. He was the central figure in and drew together the gathering or assemblage and, therefore, participated ” therein.

The appellant argues that neither he nor the assemblage occupied the traveled parts of the streets. The evidence is to the contrary. But, assuming that claim to be valid, the appellant admits that he and the other people constituting the assemblage were within the boundaries of the public streets, which fact, in our opinion, is an admission that he was violating the ordinances.

The validity of section 30 of chapter 9 of the ordinances is not challenged.

If any authority for subdivision 3 of section 5 of chapter 9 of the ordinances exists, it must be found in the present charter of the city of Buffalo (Laws of 1914, chap. 217, as amd. by Laws of 1916, chap. 260, and Laws of 1919, chap. 133), and in the General City Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 21 [Laws of 1909, chap. 26], as amd.). The legislation leading to the present charter will be found in Laws of 1832, chapter 179, the original act of incorporation; Laws of 1843, chapter 132, a revision of the charter; Laws of 1853, chapter 230, a revision of the charter; Laws of 1870, chapter 519, a revision of the charter; Laws of 1891, chapter 105, a revision of the charter; and the intervening amendments.

[103]*103(1) In the present charter of the city of Buffalo very extensive authority is delegated to its council by the Legislature to enact ordinances as will appear in the following:

Section 10 contains this provision: The legislative power of the city shall be vested in a board to be known and styled as ‘ The Council of the City of Buffalo.’ ”

Section 13 provides that the council shall, in addition to the authority conferred under general laws, from time to time enact ordinances:

“ (1) To define and prevent disorderly conduct; -to prevent all disorderly assemblages, * * * and to punish * * *

disorderly persons as defined by law, * * *•

“ (7) To prevent * * * the incumbering of streets,

alleys, wharves and public grounds; * * * to regulate the use of them, and to declare in what manner, and for what purpose they shall not be used; * * *.

“ (11) And such other and further ordinances not inconsistent with the laws of the State, as shall be deemed expedient for the good government of the city, the protection of its property, the preservation of peace and good order, * * *

the exercise of its corporate powers, and the performance of its corporate duties.”

This section also provided that the ordinances of the city in force at the time the act creating the charter took effect and which were not inconsistent therewith were. continued in force and effect.

Section 354, as amended by chapter 260 of the Laws of 1916, differs radically from the section as originally adopted and gives the council full authority to discontinue or alter a street or alley or any part of it.

In addition, as indicating the extensive powers designed by the Legislature to be conferred, are section 5, section 19 (added by Laws of 1913, chap. 247), section 20, subdivisions 2, 7 and 13 (added by Laws of 1913, chap. 247, the latter being the “ general welfare” provision), and section 22 (added by Laws of 1913, chap. 247) of the General City Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 21; Laws of 1909, chap. 26).

(2) Much of the argument of the appellant’s brief proceeds upon the claim that subdivision 3 of section 5 of article 9 of the ordinances prohibits gatherings or assemblages in private [104]*104places in the city of Buffalo and that for that reason the whole subdivision is void. This claim is based on the presence in the subdivision of the words or other place within the City to which the public are invited or have access.” In our opinion this claim is unfounded. It may be that the rules of statutory construction are not in all instances applicable to the construction of ordinances, but in reason they have general application. In this provision of the ordinances the words “ or other place within the City to which the public are invited or have access ” follow immediately the words “ any street, square, park,” and were undoubtedly intended to cover other public places over which the municipal authorities exercised control or which were owned by the municipality, like alleys, the approaches to, the corridors of and the grounds surrounding municipal buildings. These general words of description, “ or other place within the City to which the public are invited or have access,” following the designation of particular places, will ordinarily be presumed to be restricted by the particular designation and to include only places of the same kind, class or nature as those specifically enumerated, unless there is a clear manifestation of a contrary purpose. This is an application of the rule of ejusdem generis. (25 R. C. L. 996.)

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Bluebook (online)
192 A.D. 99, 182 N.Y.S. 418, 1920 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7443, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-buffalo-v-till-nyappdiv-1920.