State v. Hall

194 P. 476, 27 Wyo. 224, 1920 Wyo. LEXIS 34
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 6, 1920
DocketNo. 985
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 194 P. 476 (State v. Hall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hall, 194 P. 476, 27 Wyo. 224, 1920 Wyo. LEXIS 34 (Wyo. 1920).

Opinion

PotteR, Chief Justice.

This is a criminal case and is here upon a bill of exceptions filed by the prosecuting attorney, with the permission of the court, under the provisions of sections 6242-6245 Compiled Statutes, 1910. The questions presented by the bill for the decision of this court arose in the district court upon a demurrer to the information, which was sustained and resulted in the discharge of the defendant. The principal question raised by the demurrer and presented here is the constitutionality of the statute upon which the prosecution was based, but the sufficiency of the information is challenged also upon other grounds.

The cause was prosecuted in Natrona county, and the information filed in the district court for that county contains two counts charging or intended' to charge- violations. [231]*231of certain provisions in the statute relating to the prevention and suppression of scab or scabies and other contagious and infectious diseases among sheep. The particular provisions forming the basis for the prosecution and involved in the questions here presented are found in section 1 of chapter 80, Laws of 1917, amending and reenacting section 3 of chapter 107, Laws of 1915, which amended and re-enacted section 2691, Compiled Statutes 1910, and read as follows:

“All sheep which are kept or herded within the limits of the State of Wyoming, shall, between the fifteenth day of April and the first day of November of each year, be dipped under the supervision of an authorized sheep inspector in one of the dips which have been recommended by the State Board of Sheep Commissioners, said dip to be used at a strength sufficient to eradicate scabies. The owner or controller of said sheep so dipped, shall, within twenty days after the completion of such dipping file with the authorized sheep inspector or the State Board of Sheep' Commissioners the affidavit of two persons who were present and assisted in said dipping, which affidavit shall state the number of sheep or bucks dipped, kind of dip used, and the manner, time and place of such dipping. The per diem and expenses of the inspector to be paid by the owner or controller of the sheep so dipped. * * # Any person who is the owner or controller of any sheep within the State of Wyoming violating the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2000.00).”

. It is also provided by the section immediately following the above quoted provision for the payment of the inspector ’s per diem and expenses and immediately preceding the penal provision, as follows:

“The State Board of Sheep Commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered to take charge of and dip as [232]*232soon as possible after the first day of November of each year, all sheep kept or herded within the limits of the State of Wyoming, not previously dipped within the period required by this section, and all the expenses for so doing, including the per diem and expenses of an authorized sheep inspector, shall be paid by the owner of said sheep and the same shall become and be a lien upon such sheep until paid and shall be collected within the time and in the manner heretofore provided in this section for the collection of the expenses and per diem of such' inspector incurred in the dipping or treating of diseased or tick-infested sheep. All loss or damage which results from the enforcement of this section is to be paid by the owner of the sheep. The State Board of Sheep Commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered to make such rules and regulations as they deem necessary relative to the administration of this section.’1

The above quoted provisions include all the changes made in the section by the Act of 1917. The section as originally enacted in 1909 (Laws 1909, Ch. 60, See. 10) and incorporated in the Compiled Statutes of 1910 as section 2691 contained none of these provisions, but as amended and re-enacted in 1915 it contained a provision requiring all sheep in the state to be dipped between the 15th day of April and the 30th day of November of each year with one of the dips recognized by the Bureau of Animal Industry, and a provision prescribing a penalty to be imposed upon the owner of any sheep in the state violating the provisions of the “paragraph” which, as published, comprised the whole section. The remainder of the section as originally enacted and as since amended ■and re-enacted provides for the quarantine and treatment, including dipping, of sheep found to be infected with scab or any other contagious or infectious disease detrimental to sheep or that have been exposed to any such disease.

[233]*233The leading purpose or general subject of the original Act, as shown by its title and provisions, was the prevention and suppression of scab and other contagious and infectious diseases among sheep. And to that end it contained provisions, specially indicated by its title, for the appointment of sheep inspectors and a Board of Sheep Commissioners, for the acceptance by said Board of the rules and regulations prepared under section 3 of the Act of Congress approved May 29, 1884, establishing a Bureau of Animal Industry, and authorizing inspectors of said Bureau to inspect domestic animals infected with contagious or infectious diseases within this state. The several sections of the Act were incorporated in the Compilation of 1910 as chapter 178 and include the compilation sections 2682 to 2706 inclusive; said chapter being one of several under the general title of ‘'Live Stock”, each of said chapters having a separate sub-head or title inserted, by the compiler, that of said chapter 178 being: “Board of Sheep Commissioners.” Each section also is preceded by compiler’s catch-words or phrases in black-faced type intended as some indication of the subject of the provisions thereof. Thus, following the number and preceding the provisions of section 2691 appear the words: ‘ ‘ Duty of Inspector — Scab quarantine.”

The information in this ease charges in the first count that the defendant failed and neglected to dip his sheep between the 15th day of April and the first day of November of the year 1918; and in the second count that he failed and neglected in that year to file an affidavit showing that the sheep had been dipped.- It is stated in the demurrer as grounds therefor, that the facts stated in the information do not constitute an offense punishable by the laws of the state, and that the statute upon which -the information is based is unconstitutional, for the reason that it is repugnant to and in contravention of several provisions of the constitution of the state, specifically re[234]*234ferred to, and tbe Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The provisions of the state constitution .alleged to have been contravened are: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” (Art. 1, See. 6.) “Absolute arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority.” (Art. 1, Sec. 7.) “The penal code shall be framed on the humane principles of reformation and prevention.” (Art. 1, Sec. 15.) “Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation.” (Art. 1, Sec. 38.) “The judicial power of the state shall be vested in the senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, in a supreme court, district courts, justices of the peace, courts of arbitration, and such courts as the legislature may, by general law, establish for incorporated cities and incorporated towns.” (Art.

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Bluebook (online)
194 P. 476, 27 Wyo. 224, 1920 Wyo. LEXIS 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hall-wyo-1920.