Polonsky v. Pennsylvania R. Co.

184 F. 561, 106 C.C.A. 541, 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 3887
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJanuary 9, 1911
DocketNo. 97
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 184 F. 561 (Polonsky v. Pennsylvania R. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Polonsky v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 184 F. 561, 106 C.C.A. 541, 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 3887 (2d Cir. 1911).

Opinions

COXE, Circuit Judge.

The facts as they appear from the testimony offered by the plaintiff are in brief as follows :

The plaintiff has resided in the city of New York for 19 years and is engaged in the wholesale manufacture of cloaks and suits. On the night of the 14th day of July, 1906, he left Pittsburg at about 10 o’clock, destined for New York, on a train of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Before starting he had purchased a ticket for his [562]*562ti'ajisportation and also for a berth, lower No. 8, in one of the Pullman cars. Previous to taking- the train he exhibited his passage ticket to the baggage master and, after paying an excess in weight of $1.40, received a check for his trunk. Again, when passing through the gate he presented his ticket to the man in charge there, who examined and returned it, permitting the plaintiff to pass through.. On reaching the train the Pullman conductor was standing in front of the car in which the plaintiff’s berth was located. He handed the ticket for his berth to this official, who examined it and handed it back to the plaintiff. The Pullman porter took his bag and the. plaintiff went into the car. A short time afterwards the plaintiff went to the smoking compartment and remained there in company with friends until some time after the train started. About half past 10 the Pullman conductor and the railroad conductor entered the smoking compartment and asked for the tickets of the passengers there assembled. The plaintiff gave both his transportation ticket and his voucher for the sleeping car berth to the Pullman conductor. Thereafter the plaintiff .retired to his bex-th in lower 8 and fell asleep. At about half past 12 he was awakened by the Pullman conductor, who asked for his transportation ticket. While the plaintiff was looking for the ticket the conductor said, “You don’t belong here.” .Being asked what he meant by such a statement, the' conductor replied, “You are a thief aixd belong in jail.” The conductor said further, “You get dressed; we will soon get to Altoona.” The plaintiff said, “Whá*t are you going to do?” The conductor replied, “I will show you what I am going to do.” The plaintiff said, “All right, I will get dijessed.” When the train arrived at Altoona, the conductor took the plaintiff to the front of the car, a policeman was waiting there and. the conductor said to him,- “This is the man I want you to lock up.” • '

It was then about half past 12 at night. The plaintiff was taken to an office at the station where he remained about five minutes. Pie was then taken to the jail in Altoona, walking with the officer through the public streets. Arriving at the jail he was placed in a cell where other prisoners were also confined. Pie- remained' there about 20 minutes and was afterwards removed to another cell, which he occupied alone. He was kept in the latter cell until about half past 11 o’clock in the morning. ' The cell was without accommodations and he was given nothing to eat. On the way to the station' house he asked •to be permitted to telegraph to his home and also to visit a friend in one of the hotels which he passed on the way. Both' of these requests were refused. At half' past 11 o’clock he was liberated from ¡the jail and later in the afternoon took afii-ain-for New York, which he reached on Monday morning. Pie was in' Altoona in all about 11 hours. ’ ’ ■’

This, in brief, is the statement of the plaintiff, corroborated in its essential particulars by three disinterested witnesses. Upon the'.evidence as thus presented it appears that the plaintiff was the subject of a wanton outrage without palliation or excuse. Á respectable ■business man, having paid for his transportation' and a berth, was rudely, awakened from his sleep, at midnight, told he was a thief'who [563]*563belonged in jail and was handed over to a police officer at Altoona by an agent of the Pullman Company with instructions to lock him up. Obeying these instructions the officer took him to the common jail where he was locked in a cell without food or accommodations and detained until half-past 11 the next morning, when he was released without apology or explanation. During all this time there was not even the semblance of legal proceedings; no complaint was lodged against the plaintiff, no hearing was hail before a magistrate, no judgment was rendered, no discharge was granted. To assert that no redress is possible for so wanton a trespass upon tlie. rights of a citizen is to impeach the jurisprudence of our country. It is argued that the proper remedy is an action for malicious prosecution. We think no such action will lie. The indispensable elements of such an action are, first, a prosecution ; second, malice; and, third, a termination of the prosecution favorable to the plaintiff. The difficult}" here is that there was no prosecution of any kind, no process, no complaint, no trial, no judgment, no dismissal, and of course, no termination favorable to the plaintiff. There was,- in fact, nothing to terminate. An action for malicious prosecution, in such circumstances, would never survive a demurrer. If the action for false imprisonment is not well brought, the plaintiff is remediless.

It is argued by the counsel for the defendant, the Pullman Company, that the arrest was justified by the statute of Pennsylvania which provides that it shall he an offense for any person to travel upon a railroad within the commonwealth without pajúng his fare. Section 120 is as follows:

■‘¡See. 120. Proceedings on Arrest. Any constable or police officer, haying knowledge or being notified of any violation of this act. shall forthwith arrest such offender and take him before any magistrate, alderman or justice of the peace, or any such magistrate, alderman or justice of the peace shall issue a warrant or capias for the arrest of any such offender, upon information duly made on, oatli or affirmation; and said magistrate, alderman or justice, upon the person charged being produced before him,- shall forthwith proceed to hear and determine the matter in issue, and if he shall convict the person so charged with the violation of the provisions of tills act. lie shall proceed to pronounce the forfeiture of the penalty which he shall adjudge against tlie person so convicted, and shall commit the person so convicted to the county jail of the proper county for tlie period aforesaid; and if the person so convicted refuse or neglect to pay such penalty and costs immediately, then the said magistrate, alderman or justice shall commit the person so convicted to the jail of the county wherein tlie offence was committed, for a further period not exceeding ten days." Pepper & Lewis’ Dig. p. 3930.

This statute permits an arrest without process only when the arrest is followed forthwith by a hearing before the magistrate. In other words, it gives tlie accused person a right to be heard before he is convicted and sentenced. Assuming that the testimony sufficiently shows that the Altoona policeman was notified that the plaintiff was traveling without paying his fare, the policeman was justified in taking him before a magistrate, who alone was authorized, after hearing what he had to say in his defense, to pronounce judgment of imprisonment. The policeman, obeying the conductor’s direction, arbitrarily usurped the powers of the magistrate and imprisoned the plain-' tiff without the pretense of a hearing. In order to justify their ac* [564]*564tion under the Pennsylvania law, the defendants must show that the policeman acted under its provisions.

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Bluebook (online)
184 F. 561, 106 C.C.A. 541, 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 3887, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/polonsky-v-pennsylvania-r-co-ca2-1911.