Shea v. City of Muncie

46 N.E. 138, 148 Ind. 14, 1897 Ind. LEXIS 169
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 23, 1897
DocketNo. 18,008
StatusPublished
Cited by55 cases

This text of 46 N.E. 138 (Shea v. City of Muncie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shea v. City of Muncie, 46 N.E. 138, 148 Ind. 14, 1897 Ind. LEXIS 169 (Ind. 1897).

Opinion

McCabe, J.

The appellee sued the appellant before the mayor of the city of Muncie to recover the penalty provided for the violation of a certain ordinance of said city with which appellant was charged in the complaint.

The plaintiff recovered judgment before the mayor, and the defendant appealed to the circuit court, where another trial resulted in a verdict and judgment of one dollar against the defendant over his motion for a new trial. The circuit court also overruled a demurrer for want of sufficient facts to the complaint, and overruled a motion in arrest of judgment by the appellant.

The errors assigned call in question the above-named rulings.

The ordinance, with a violation of which the complaint charges the appellant,, reads as follows:

“Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the common council of the city of Muncie that it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to sell any intoxicating liquors to be used in and upon the premises in the residence portions of the said city of Muncie, but all such sales shall be excluded from such portions of such city, and all places where such sales may be made shall be confined to the business portion thereof.

“Sec. 2. This ordinance shall apply to all sales within the said residence portions of said city whether the seller or sellers, or either of them, has taken out a license from said city or from Delaware county or the State of Indiana, and said license shall constitute no defense to any action founded on this ordinance.

[18]*18“Sec, 3. Any person or persons violating any provision or provisions of this ordinance shall, on conviction, be fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars.

“Sec. 4. This ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after its passage and publication for two weeks in the Muncie Daily Times.

“Passed August 26, 1895.

George W. Oromer, Mayor.

“Attest: F. A. Elrod, Clerk.”

The complaint, in substance, charged the appellant with having, on the 24th day of January, 1896, at said city and Delaware county, Indiana, unlawfully violated said ordinance, giving the number of the sections charged to have been violated, with the date of its adoption, by then and there selling to John Max and David Spangler, at and for the price of ten cents, in and upon certain premises particularly described, within the residence portion of said city, and not within the business portion thereof, certain intoxicating liquor, to-wit, beer to be used and drunk in and upon said premises. But the complaint did not set out a copy of the ordinance as it only need recite the number of section or sections charged to have been violated, with the date of its adoption. Section 3501, Burns’ R. S. 1894 (3066, R. S. 1881); City of Huntington v. Pease, 56 Ind. 305.

It is contended by the appellee that, inasmuch as the ordinance does not appear in the complaint, that its validity cannot be presented by the demurrer to the complaint. There is no other objection to the complaint pointed out in the appellant’s brief. But as the validity of such ordinance is conceded by the appellee to be necessarily involved by the evidence on the motion for a new trial, we will proceed to determine its validity without deciding whether the ques[19]*19tion of its validity was raised by the demurrer or not. Indeed, that question, once settled, is decisive of about every question presented on this appeal.

But, preliminary to that question, we are confronted by another question raised by the appellee’s counsel. They contend that the evidence is not in the record, because there is no certificate by the trial judge that the bill of exceptions contains all the evidence. The longhand manuscript purported to contain the evidence, and immediately following such evidence is the statement that “this was all the evidence given in the cause,” and then follows the shorthand reporter’s certificate, and then follows what purports to be instructions, and then the judge’s certificate and signature. The case of Rosenbower v. Schuetz, 141 Ind 44, cited by appellee’s counsel in support of their contention, was a case where the only statement that the bill contained all the evidence was in the reporter’s certificate. But the ease of McCormick v. Gray, 114 Ind. 340, was just such a case as this, as to the point now in question, and adhering to that case, we hold that it sufficiently appears that the bill contained all the evidence. The objection to the oath administered to the stenographer, as to whether it was to him, as official reporter, or to truly report that case, is without substantial merit.

It is conceded by appellant’s learned counsel that if the legislature could delegate authority and power to the city to pass or enact such an ordinance, that it has done so by an act approved March 9, 1895, to amend section 3106, R. S. 1881, providing for the incorporation of cities and prescribing their powers in the following language: “Thirteenth. To license, regulate, and restrain all shops, inns, taverns, or other places where intoxicating liquors are kept for sale, to be used in and upon the premises, and in regulating, restrain[20]*20ing, and licensing such inns, taverns, shops, or places aforesaid, they shall have the power to designate the room, building or structure where such liquors may be sold, and may exclude such sales from the suburban or residence portion of such city, and confine the places where such sales may be made, to the business portion of such city, and may direct the arrangement and construction of the doors, windows, and openings of the particular room in such building where such sales may be had, or such intoxicating liquors be drunk.” Acts of 1895, p. 182.

The first objecton to the ordinance is,-that it is too uncertain and indefinite as to the boundaries of the localities designated “business portion” and “residence portion” of said city. It will be observed that the ordinance is as definite and certain as the statute.

It is not insisted that the statute is void or inoperative for uncertainty or indefiniteness, and we do not think it is. But it is strenuously insisted that the ordinance is void for such uncertainty. It is insisted that the ordinance, or some ordinance, should have first defined and prescribed the boundaries of the residence portion of said city. We do not decide that that might not have been properly done. The only difference between that course and the course pursued is, that the question of fact involved as to the true boundaries of such residence portion of said city was left to be determined in a court of justice, where the parties interested pro and con could be heard by testimony instead of the legislative department of the city hearing the evidence where no parties could have been heard to controvert the facts before the common council.

“An ordinance is not void for want of clearness of expression or on account of a difficulty in construing or applying its provisions.” Horr & Bemis Munic. [21]*21Ordinances, section 193. To the same effect is Nealis v. Hayward, 48 Ind. 19.

“An ordinance is sufficient which follows the words of an express power; for instance, under a power to license the sale of ‘small ware,’ an ordinance forbidding the sale of ‘small ware’ on the streets, and not defining what constitutes ‘small ware’ is definite enough.” Horr & Bemis Munic. Ordinances, section 78.

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Bluebook (online)
46 N.E. 138, 148 Ind. 14, 1897 Ind. LEXIS 169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shea-v-city-of-muncie-ind-1897.