Dehan v. Fullilove

64 So. 124, 134 La. 313, 1914 La. LEXIS 1587
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 5, 1914
DocketNo. 19,907
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 64 So. 124 (Dehan v. Fullilove) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dehan v. Fullilove, 64 So. 124, 134 La. 313, 1914 La. LEXIS 1587 (La. 1914).

Opinion

SOMMERVILLE, J.

This civil suit for an injunction was argued at the same time and submitted with the criminal case, numbered No. 19,936, and entitled City of Shreveport v. Philip Maroun, 134 La. 490, 64 South. 388, decided this day.

Petitioner, alleging himself to be a citizen of the state of Louisiana, living with his family, and engaged in business at 511 Louisiana street, Shreveport, and therefore with property interests to protect, and that S. C. Fullilove, commissioner of public safety of the city of Shreveport, and officers under him, have entered upon the said premises, and are now demanding and attempting to forcibly search such premises, declares: That said attempt to search is unreasonable, and in violation of his rights, and that he is protected from such search by articles 2, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of the Constitution of the state of Louisiana, and amendments 4 and 5 of the Constitution of the United States. (He abandoned the protection claimed under the amendments to the Constitution of the United States.) That defendants claim the right to enter his premises under the authority of a search warrant issued by the city court of the city of Shreveport, which is invalid, null, and void for the reasons: (a) That the ordinance of the city council, in which is directed the issuance of said search warrant, is ultra vires the power and authority of said council, in that the ordinance attempts to create a crime; (b) that it attempts to create and make rules of evidence in criminal cases; (c) that it directs the issuance of search warrants in certain cases; (d) that the Constitution of the state, articles 7 and 11, specially prohibits the issuance of a search warrant against the party charged with a crime in order to obtain evidence against him; (e) that said ordinance has for its purpose and object the search of premises for obtaining evidence upon which to base a prosecution where it is not shown that a crime has been committed; (f) and that the affidavit authorized to be made by said ordinance fails to show the exact [315]*315premises to be searched; (g) that no object is designated to be seized in the warrant; (h) that said ordinance directs, upon affidavit being made, that a warrant, directed to the chief of police, shall issue for him—

“to go into such place or places and ascertain the truth, and if the said officers shall find evidence of such illicit business, he shall arrest all persons found in charge of said house or place, and the owner, keeper, clerk or lessee of said place and the owners of said liquors found, and carry them before the city judge,” etc.

Plaintiff makes the ordinance complained of a part of his petition, and prays that—

“a writ of injunction issue herein as above, enjoining and prohibiting the said S. C. Fullilove, commissioner of public safety, and F. H. Lucar, chief of police, from entering plaintiff’s premises under said warrant of search, on plaintiff’s complying with the forms and essentials of law, and for service and citation hereon according to law and, after due proceedings had, for judgment perpetuating the injunction prayed for, and for costs. Further prays for all orders and decrees necessary, and for- general relief.”

. After answer and trial, there was judgment dismissing plaintiff’s suit, and he has appealed.

With the record in several cases on appeal from the city court of the city of Shreveport before us, wherein defendants were prosecuted for violating the ordinance herein sought to be enjoined, which declares “blind tigers” in the city of Shreveport to be public nuisanees, and provides for their suppression by fine and imprisonment, which cases were submitted at the same time and on the same arguments presented in this case, and, after an examination of this record, we are of the opinion that it is a made-up ease for the purpose of having the district court pass upon the validity of the ordinance in question.

In support of the allegation that defendants “are now demanding and attempting to forcibly search said premises, by entering upon same, and searching the said room in which the petitioner conducts his commercial business, as well as the apartment and furnishing in said room in which he and his family live,” there was offered in evidence an order reading as follows:

“To F. H. Lucar, Chief of Police — Greeting: You are hereby commanded in the name of the City Court of the city of Shreveport, Louisiana, to go into the place described in the above affidavit and ascertain the truth of the allegation therein made.
“Thus done and signed on the 5th day of March, 1913. L. C. Blanchard, City Judge.”

This order, although 24 hours had elapsed since it was issued, was not executed, and apparently there was no intention or attempt to execute it at any time, for the injunction was not sued out until the next day (March 6, 1913) after said order had been issued. It is quite clear from the evidence that said order was useless, and not intended to be executed.

Plaintiff testifies that his business is that of the keeper of a pool room at the place hereinbefore indicated, for which he pays a license; that he keeps no intoxicating liquors for sale; that the officers have been in his place six or seven times; that he had a few bottles of' beer for his own use.

On the trial of the case the following admission was made:

“It is admitted that prohibition was voted in the parish of Caddo, including the city of Shreveport, and that prohibition ordinances were passed by the police jury, and by the city council. The ordinance by the city council prohibits the sale of intoxicating liquors in the city of Shreveport with a license, and imposes a penalty of a fine of not over $100, or not over ten days in jail, or both,-in the discretion of the court.”

Mr. Fullilove, defendant, testified that he was commissioner of public safety for the city of Shreveport, in charge of the police department ; that it had been practically impossible to enforce the prohibition laws of Shreveport until the ordinance in question was-adopted; that practically every fruit stand, near-beer stand, soda and Coca-Cola stand, pool room, and house of prostitution was a “blind tiger”; [317]

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Related

Frierson v. Cooper
196 So. 75 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1940)
City of Shreveport v. Maroun
64 So. 388 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
64 So. 124, 134 La. 313, 1914 La. LEXIS 1587, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dehan-v-fullilove-la-1914.