Hogan v. Stophlet

44 L.R.A. 809, 179 Ill. 150
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedApril 17, 1899
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 44 L.R.A. 809 (Hogan v. Stophlet) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hogan v. Stophlet, 44 L.R.A. 809, 179 Ill. 150 (Ill. 1899).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Magruder

delivered the opinion of the court:

The submission by the appellant'to the trial court, to be marked “held” or “refused,” of the proposition, that the finding in this case should be for the defendant, was in the nature of a demurrer to the evidence, and preserved for the court of review the question of law, whether the evidence tended to show a right to recover. (First Nat. Bank v. Northwestern Nat. Bank, 152 Ill. 296; Smith v. Billings, 169 id. 294).

The Appellate Court has found in its finding of facts, as embodied in its judgment, that the Harry Howard, who was arrested, was so arrested for the offense of setting on fire and burning the store building of appellee; and for the apprehension and conviction of the party committing this offense the reward was offered. The finding of facts, thus made by the Appellate Court, is binding upon this court; and whether the Appellate Court found the facts correctly, or not, cannot be considered on appeal in this court. (Hawk v. Chicago, Burlington and Northern Railroad Co. 147 Ill. 399; Everts v. Lawther, 165 id. 487). We deem it immaterial, however, whether Howard was originally arrested by the appellant and imprisoned upon a charge of burglary and larceny, or whether he was arrested for the burning of appellee’s store building, so far as the determination of the questions involved in this case is concerned. The reward was offered for the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons, who burned or caused the building to be burned. It thus appears that the reward was offered, not for the conviction alone, but for the apprehension and conviction of the guilty party. Appellant is entitled to recover for both, or he cannot recover at all. The reward cannot be apportioned, that is to say, there can be no apportionment of it between what is due for the apprehension and what is due for the conviction. The offer must be enforced as an entirety, or not at all In Pool v. City of Boston, 5 Cush. 219, it was said: “The principal object of the reward offered was to obtain the detection of the offender; the conviction was required to ascertain who was the offender. But to entitle the plaintiff to the reward, he must show that he is so entitled, as well for the detection as for the conviction of the offender. The reward cannot be apportioned.” (Jones v. Phœnix Bank, 8 N. Y. 228; Blain v. Pacific Express Co. 69 Tex. 74; Furman v. Parke, 21 N. J. L. 310).

The word “arrest” has been defined as “the apprehension or detaining of the person in order to be forthcoming to answer to an alleged or suspected crime. The word arrest is more properly used in civil cases, and apprehension in criminal.” (County of Montgomery v. Robinson, 85 Ill. 174). Black, in his Law Dictionary, defines the word “apprehension” as follows: “The seizure, taking or arresting of a person on a criminal charge. The term ‘apprehension’ is applied exclusively to criminal cases, and ‘arrest’ to both civil and criminal cases.”

If, therefore, the fact, that Howard was arrested upon a charge of burglary and larceny, should be held to negative the idea that he was arrested upon a charge of burning the building, then appellant did not secure the apprehension of the guilty party; and, in such case, he would not be entitled to the reward, as the reward was offered both for the apprehension and the conviction.

If, however, the appellant is to be regarded as having secured the apprehension of Howard for the offense of burning the building, in that case also he would not be entitled to the reward for the reasons hereinafter stated.

The appellant was the sheriff of Pulaski county. The arrest of Howard was made in Pulaski county, and for a felony committed by Howard in that county, Howard also being a resident of that county. It was, therefore, appellant’s duty to make the arrest. That such was his duty will appear by reference to sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of division 6, and sections 3 and 6 of division 7, of the Criminal Code, and sections 15, 16, 17 and 18 of chapter 125 of the Revised Statutes in regard to sheriffs. (1 Starr & Curt. Ann. Stat.—2d ed.—pp. 1374-1377; 3 id. p. 3769).

In addition to this, section 211 of division 1 of the Criminal Code provides that “if any judge, justice of the peace, sheriff, coroner, constable, police officer, clerk or other officer, State, county, town or municipal, executive, ministerial or judicial, shall willfully or corruptly receive or take any fee or reward to execute or do his duty as such officer, except such as is or shall be allowed by law, or if any such officer shall willfully or corruptly ask or demand as a condition precedent to the performance of bis duty as such officer any fee or reward, except such as shall be allowed by law, every such officer so offending shall be fined not exceeding §200, and may be removed from office.” Section 213 of division 1, provides that “if any officer authorized by law to charge or receive fees, salary or pay, shall charge, claim, demand or take any greater fee, salary, or pay, than such as is by law allowed to him for the service performed, or shall charge, claim, demand, or take any fee, salary or pay, or shall knowingly charge any fee, salary or pay, when no fee, salary or pay is allowed him by law, or when the services for which such fee, salary or pay is charged, have not been performed by him, or by some other person for him, he shall, on conviction under this section for the first offense, be fined in any sum not less than twenty-five dollars (§25.00), nor more than two hundred dollars (§200.00), and upon conviction for a second or any subsequent offense under this section, he shall forfeit his office, and shall be confined in the county jail not less than thirty days, nor more than one year.” (1 Starr & Curt. Ann. Stat.—2d ed.—pp. 1329, 1330).

The constitution provides, that the sheriff and other officers shall “receive, as their only compensation for their services, salaries to be fixed by law, which shall in no case be as much as the lawful compensation of a judge of the circuit court of said county, and shall be paid, respectively, only out of the fees of the office actually collected.” (Const. art. 10, sec. 9). The legislature has fixed a scale of fees, which sheriffs are authorized to charge for services performed by them in the discharge of their official duty. (2 Starr & Curtis’ Ann. Stat.—2d ed.— pp. 1911-1913).

It being true, that it was the official duty of the appellant, as sheriff, to make the arrest of the guilty party, and that the fees, which he is entitled to charge for the performance of his official duties, are fixed by law, it follows, upon well established principles, that the appellant was not entitled to the reward sued for in this. case. It is against public policy to allow a man to recover a reward for doing his duty as a public officer. It is also against public policy, and illegal, for a sheriff to receive for services, for which fixed compensation is prescribed by law, any other or further fees, although extraordinary diligence may have been exercised by him in the discharge of his duty. (Pool v. City of Boston, 5 Cush. 219; Murfree on Sheriffs, sec. 1070). A promise to pay an officer a reward for doing what it 'is his duty to do under the law is a promise without any consideration to support it.

In Matter of Russell's Application, 51 Conn.

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Bluebook (online)
44 L.R.A. 809, 179 Ill. 150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hogan-v-stophlet-ill-1899.