Ogden v. City of Madison

55 L.R.A. 506, 87 N.W. 568, 111 Wis. 413, 1901 Wisc. LEXIS 71
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1901
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 55 L.R.A. 506 (Ogden v. City of Madison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ogden v. City of Madison, 55 L.R.A. 506, 87 N.W. 568, 111 Wis. 413, 1901 Wisc. LEXIS 71 (Wis. 1901).

Opinion

BaRdeeN, J.

Two propositions are presented for our consideration: (1) The city of Madison has no power to enact the ordinance under which the plaintiff in error was convicted ; (2) the provisions of law providing for the summary trial of the accused without a jury are in violation of the constitution, of the state and of the United States.

1. The first proposition must be determined upon a consideration of the powers granted the common council of the city of Madison under its charter (ch. 36, Laws of 1882), with the amendments thereto. ' Sec. 1, subch. I, says:

“The city of Madison shall'have the general powers possessed by municipal corporations at common law and, in addition thereto, shall have the powers hereinafter specifically granted.”
Sec. 3, subchi IY, provides that the common council shall “have full power to make, enact, ordain, establish, publish, enforce, alter, modify, amend and repeal all such ordinances, rules and by-laws for the government and good order of the city, for the suppression of vice and immorality, for the prevention of 'crime, and for the benefit of the trade, commerce and health, as it shall deem expedient; declaring a/nd imposing penalties, and to enforce the same against any -person or persons who may violate any of the provisions of such ordinance, rule or by-law, and such ordinances, rules and by-laws are declared to be and have the force of law: provided they are not repugnant to the constitution of the United States 'and of the state. . .

Subd. 1 grants the power to provide for the abatement and removal of nuisances under the ordinances or at common law. Subd. 3 is as follows:

[417]*417“To prevent any riots, noise, disturbances or disorderly assemblances, suppress cmd restrain disorderly bouses or groceries and houses of ill-fame, and to authorize the destruction of all instruments used for the purpose of gaming.”

Sec. 5 of said subch. IY declares all “ gambling houses, houses of ill-fame, disorderly taverns,” to be public or common nuisances. Sec. 4 of ch. 'T of the city ordinances provides that, if any person shall voluntarily be guilty of keeping or maintaining any disorderly house or house of ill-fame, he shall, on conviction, be fined a sum not exceeding' $100, and the further sum of $100 for each twenty-four hours such house shall be continued after the first conviction, or after such person shall have been ordered “ to suppress, restrain or discontinue the same.”

The argument is that the charter provisions noted give the common council no power to enact an ordinance punish-wig a person for keeping a disorderly house or house of ill-fame ; that its power is limited to suppression and restriction. There can be no doubt of the rule that a municipal corporation possesses and can exercise only such powers as are granted in express words; such as are necessarily or fairly implied in or incident to the powers expressly granted; and those essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation. 1 Dillon, Mun. Corp. § 89. If there is great doubt concerning the existence of the power, the corporation cannot exercise it. The books are full of cases in which this subject has been considered. The field has been explored from all directions. Some of the cases are narrow and technical in their construction of the powers granted, while others adopt a somewhat broader view. Ye get but scanty assistance from adjudged cases, because of the want of uniformity in the language used in granting the powers and the great variety of circumstances deemed proper to be considered in arriving at the legislative intent. Two cases presented for our consideration are deemed decisive of this [418]*418case in favor of the plaintiff in error. In In re Lee Tong, 18 Fed. Rep. 253, the power granted was “ to suppress bawdy-houses, gaming and gambling houses.” The ordinance forbade and declared it to be unlawful for any person to play any one of a long list of games of chance “for or with any thing of value,” and provided that any person violating the ordinance should be punished by imprisonment or by fine or both. Lee Tong was arrested for gaming and convicted, and sought his release on habeas corpus. Judge DEADYheld that the power “ to suppress gaming ” did not carry with it power to define and punish the crime of gaming. He laid some stress on the fact that the legislature had passed a law punishing gaming, and that in frequent amendments to the charter by the legislature power to punish for offenses had only been given in cases where the state law had not prescribed a penalty. This, he believed, showed a legislative intent, and, with the other circumstances, was sufficient to support the conclusion reached. He cites the other case (Mt. Pleasant v. Breeze, 11 Iowa, 399) relied on by counsel here •as supporting his decision. This case holds that where the power granted was “ to suppress ” gambling it gave no power to enact an ordinance making gambling a misdemeanor and prescribing a punishment therefor. The city had no power to pxinish that which it was only authorized to suppress. In a subsequent case (Chariton v. Barber, 54 Iowa, 360) the court, in referring to this case, say:

?‘The decision is not without grave objections as to the reasons upon which it is based. But it has been accepted without question or challenge for more than nineteen years.' We ought not, at this late day, disturb it.”

- They accordingly held that the power to suppress and restrain disorderly houses did not authorize the passage of an ordinance declaring the keeping of such a house a misdemeanor and imposing a punishment by fine and imprisonment for the offense. In the case of Centerville v. Miller, 57 [419]*419Iowa', 56, the court say they are not disposed to extend the rule announced in the Mt. Pleasant Case, and remark that they “ know of no more effective way of preventing the commission of an offense than a provision providing for its punishment.” See Centerville v. Miller, 57 Iowa, 225.

We appreciate quite fully the difficulty the court found in following the early decision. It is based upon narrow and technical grounds. It leaves but a mere shadow where substance was necessary. It takes the spirit and the life from the law, and leaves but a feeble and flickering remnant. It must be assumed that the legislature intended ■ that the words of the charter should have their usual and ordinary signification. The following definitions of the words “suppress” and “restrain” are instructive in this connection: Bouvier: “ Suppress: To put a 'stop to when actually existing.” Anderson: “ To prevent; never, therefore, to license or sanction.” Standard: “To put down or put an end to by force; overpower; crush; subdue.” Century: “To overpower; subdue; put down; quell; crush; stamp out.” Webster: “To overpower and crush; to overwhelm; to subdue; to put down; to repress; to destroy.” As to the word “ restrain,” the lexicographers all agree that it means “to curb; to check; to repress; to debar; to prevent; to hinder.” If these words are to be understood to have the meaning here ascribed to them, then it would seem clea.r that, when the power to suppress and restrain an act is given, the power to adopt such measures as are essential and incident to such express grant of power must follow. Without it the grant would be barren and futile.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dane County v. McGrew
2005 WI 130 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2005)
Abrams v. State
563 S.W.2d 610 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1978)
Gandolfo v. Louisiana State Racing Commission
78 So. 2d 504 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1954)
Commonwealth v. Wesley
91 A.2d 298 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1952)
City of Oshkosh v. Lloyd
39 N.W.2d 772 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1949)
State Ex Rel. McStroul v. Lucas
29 N.W.2d 73 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1947)
State Ex Rel. Keefe v. Schmiege
28 N.W.2d 345 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1947)
City of Milwaukee v. Milbrew, Inc.
3 N.W.2d 386 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1942)
Winters v. Bisaillon
54 P.2d 1169 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1936)
Guinther v. City of Milwaukee
258 N.W. 865 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1935)
Hack v. City of Mineral Point
233 N.W. 82 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1931)
City of Milwaukee v. Johnson
213 N.W. 335 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1927)
State v. Tucker
246 P. 758 (Washington Supreme Court, 1926)
Stewart v. Olson
206 N.W. 909 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1926)
City of Milwaukee v. Stachelski
200 N.W. 769 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1924)
State v. Mustachia
94 So. 408 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1922)
Kuder v. State
178 N.W. 249 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1920)
City of Baraboo v. Dwyer
165 N.W. 297 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1917)
City of Milwaukee v. Filer & Stowell Co.
154 N.W. 625 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1915)
Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Co. v. City of Sparta
147 N.W. 635 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 L.R.A. 506, 87 N.W. 568, 111 Wis. 413, 1901 Wisc. LEXIS 71, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ogden-v-city-of-madison-wis-1901.