Madjorous v. State

149 N.E. 393, 113 Ohio St. 427, 113 Ohio St. (N.S.) 427, 3 Ohio Law. Abs. 660, 1925 Ohio LEXIS 234
Ohio Supreme Court·Decided October 20, 1925·No. 19118·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinion

Marshall, C. J.

Madjorous was indicted and convicted on a charge of manufacturing intoxicating liquors, sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary, and, in addition thereto, to pay a fine and the costs of prosecution. Error was prosecuted to the Court of Appeals, which court affirmed the judgment, and error was thereafter prosecuted to this, court. No error is predicated upon any of the proceedings of the trial, but it is claimed that Section 6212-17, General Code (110 Ohio Laws, p. 49), is unconstitutional, as an encroachment of the Legislature upon the judiciary, and that no valid sentence can be pronounced upon a conviction in a liquor case.

*428 Section 6212-17 (110 Ohio Laws, p. 49) provides the penalties for violation of the state prohibition laws, and the last paragraph of that section reads as follows:

“No fine or part thereof imposed hereunder shall be remitted nor shall any sentence imposed hereunder be suspended in whole or in part thereof. ’ ’

'' It is the sole claim of plaintiff in error that the power of a trial court to suspend sentence in a criminal prosecution is inherent in the court, and that the Legislature, as a separate branch of the government, has no power to take away such inherent right.

It has been pointed out that in Weber v. State, 58 Ohio St., 616, 51 N. E., 116, 41 L. R. A., 472, this court declared the following syllabus:

“In a criminal case the court has the power to suspend the execution of the sentence, in whole or in part, unless otherwise provided by statute; and has power to set aside such suspension at any time during the term of court at which sentence was passed. Whether such suspension can be set aside at a subsequent term is not decided.”

This syllabus does not use the word “inherent,” but in the per curiam opinion of the court in that case we find:

“The power to stay the execution of a sentence, in whole or in part, in a criminal case, is inherent in every court having final jurisdiction in such cases, unless otherwise provided by statute.”

It is apparent that this decision can give no comfort to plaintiff in error, because of the saving clause in both the syllabus and the per curiam opinion: “Unless otherwise provided by statute.”

*429 It is also pointed ont that in the case of State v. Whiting, 83 Ohio St., 447, 94 N. E., 1116, this court overruled exceptions of the prosecuting attorney to the common pleas court of Summit county, and, while it is an unreported case in this court, it is stated in the brief of counsel that a judgment was suspended by the common pleas court of Summit county, and it was clearly stated in the journal entry that the suspension was not under the authority of “An act to provide for probation of persons convicted of felonies and misdemeanors” (99 Ohio Laws, p. 339), but under the claimed inherent authority on the part of courts to suspend sentences. That case not having been reported, and no reasons having been given for the court’s conclusions, we are, of course, not able to determine what was in the mind of this court in rendering that decision.

It is quite certain that there has been a very extended practice prevailing with trial judges in Ohio to place convicted persons upon probation, and there seems to be a general sentiment in the bench and bar that such authority does exist without statutory warrant. We believe, however, that this case is the first one to present a serious issue that such authority is inherent in the court and that such authority is beyond the power of the Legislature to deny. Surely the case of Weber v. State, supra, conclusively infers, if it does not directly state, that the Legislature does have power over suspensions.

The Supreme Court of the United States in Ex parte United States, 242 U. S., 27, 37 S. Ct., 72, 61 L. Ed., 129, L. R. A., 1917E, 1178, Ann. Cas., *430 1917B, 355, had under consideration a case where the judge of the district court for the northern district of Ohio had pronounced a sentence of imprisonment and then suspended the execution of the sentence during good behavior. Thereupon a suit in mandamus was brought to compel the judge to vacate the order of suspension. The writ was allowed, and Chief Justice White, delivering the opinion of the court, made a searching inquiry into the inherent power of courts in the matter of suspensions of criminal sentences. This decision was rendered in 1916, which was long after the time of the decisions of the Weber and Whiting cases by this court, and, while the federal Constitution and statutes do not define the procedure governing the trial of criminals for violation of state statutes, it must be admitted that the inherent powers of a state court are in no wise different from the inherent powers of a federal court. Whatever declarations may have been made by this court prior to the time of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Ex parte United States, supra, it is certainly not desirable that this court should seek to maintain a position concerning the inherent powers of the court different from that declared by the Supreme Court of the United States. In the trial of offenses against criminal laws the federal courts have such powers only as exist under the Constitution and the laws of Congress, and the state courts: have such powers only as exist under the state Constitutions and the laws enacted by the state Legislatures. The Constitution of Ohio creates courts of common pleas, but does not define their jurisdiction. That sub *431 jeot is cared for in Section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution, as follows: “The jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, and of the judges thereof, shall be fixed by law.” It should require no argument to show that if the jurisdiction can be either conferred or withheld by the Legislature, that jurisdiction can also be limited or controlled by conditions at the will of the legislative power. It seems clear enough that in conferring upon the Legislature the power to fix the jurisdiction of courts of common pleas such power included the further power to establish the practice and procedure, and to make such limitations and impose such conditions upon the jurisdiction as the Legisla,ture might see fit. It is apparent that many mistaken notions have prevailed in the past concerning the so-called inherent powers of courts. All power is inherent in the people, and the courts have such power as has been conferred by the Constitution and statutes. 'Chief Justice White, at page 41 (37 S. Ct, 74) of the case above referred to, has used some very pertinent language:

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Madjorous v. State, 149 N.E. 393, 113 Ohio St. 427, 113 Ohio St. (N.S.) 427, 3 Ohio Law. Abs. 660, 1925 Ohio LEXIS 234 (Ohio 1925).

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