Village of Northville v. Westfall

42 N.W. 1068, 75 Mich. 603, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 1099
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 11, 1889
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 42 N.W. 1068 (Village of Northville v. Westfall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Village of Northville v. Westfall, 42 N.W. 1068, 75 Mich. 603, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 1099 (Mich. 1889).

Opinion

Long, J.

The defendant was arre.sted, tried, and convicted on September 20, 1887, before a justice of the peace and a jury, upon a complaint and warrant charging him with unlawfully keeping and maintaining a saloon in said village of Northville, and with having, on August 10, 1887, sold intoxicating liquors to divers persons there, in violation- of ordinance No. 29, relating to the suppression of saloons^. The ordinance referred to provides—

[604]*604“That on and after the first day of May, A. D. 1887, all saloons for the sale of spirituous and intoxicating liquors in the village of Northville shall be prohibited and suppressed; that any person who shall keep or open a saloon for the sale of spirituous or intoxicating liquors shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars, nop more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment of notle; s than ten days, nor more than ninety days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court, togetln-r with the costs of prosecution for sucli violation of the ordinance:
Provided, that, should any offender fail to pay such fine or penalty as maybe imposed, such person may be imprisoned for any time, not to exceed ninety days, unless payment thereof sooner be made.”

Upon conviction the justice adjudged the defendant should pay a fine of $3o and the costs of prosecution, by four o’clock in the afternoon of September 2L, 1887, and in default thereof be imprisoned in the Detroit House of Correction for the term of 30 days, unless such fine and costs were sooner paid. From this conviction and judgment the defendant appealed to the circuit court for Wayne county.

On the trial in the circuit court it appeared that the defendant kept and maintained a saloon in said village on the day set out in the complaint and warrant, and that he did on that day sell spirituóus and intoxicating liquors to various persons.

On the part of defendant it was claimed, and the court permitted the facts to be shown, that the defendant, before the time of such sales, made and executed the bond required by the statutes of the State of persons engaging in the sale of intoxicating liquors, in the penalty of $6,000, with two sufficient sureties, and presented the same to the village council for approval, but that the council refused to approve such bond for the sole reason that the ordinance prohibited the sale of liquors in the village. Upon the bond being presented ■ to the council for approval, the village clerk was directed to and did indorse thereon the following:

[605]*605“At a regular meeting of the village council held Tuesday evening, May 2-1, 1887, a motion prevailed that the within bond be rejected, on the ground that there is an ordinance that prohibits and suppresses the sale of liquors in saloons in said village,” etc.

It also appeared that on May 2, 1887, the defendant paid to the county treasurer of Wayne county $300, the amount of the tax required under the provisions of the statute, of all persons engaging in the sale of spirituous and intoxicating liquors, and that thereafter such moneys were paid by the county treasurer over to the village of Northville.

Upon the close of the testimony the village, by its counsel, requested the court to instruct the jury as follows: »

“If the jury believe the.evidence on behalf of the prosecution, they must find the defendant guilty.”

This request the court refused to give, but stated to the jury that he left the whole case to them, under the circumstances, as a question of fact, to say whether the defendant was guilty or not, but stating to counsel, in presence of the jury, that, if he had been requested by counsel for the defendant, he would not let the case go to the jurv.

The contention of the counsel for the defendant, first, is that the ordinance is invalid, as its effect is to suspend the operation of the State law, giving every person the right to sell liquors upon payment of the tax and giving the requisite bond. From the view we take of the case upon the acquittal, this question does not become important, and we therefore express no opinion upon that branch of the case.

Under the general act for the incorporation of villages, however, as amended in 1883 (Act No. 52, Laws of 1883), every village subject to the provisions of the act, in addition to the other powers conferred, is empowered—

“ To suppress saloons for the sale of spirituous and intoxicating liquors.”

This is an amendment of Act No. 62 of the Laws of 1875, [606]*606granting and defining the powers and duties of incorporated villages. This act was amended by Act No. 245, Laws of 1879. Section 2, chap. 6, of this act, provides:

“When, by the provisions of this act, the council of any village has authority to pass ordinances for any purpose, they may prescribe fines, penalties, and forfeitures not exceeding -one hundred dollars, unless a greater fine or penalty is herein authorized, or imprisonment not exceeding ninety days, or both, in the discretion of the court, together with the costs of the prosecution, for each violation of any of said ordinances, and may provide that the offender, on failing to pay such fine, penalty, or forfeiture, and the costs of prosecution, may be imprisoned for any time not exceeding ninety days, unless payment thereof be sooner made, and also that the offender be kept at labor during such imprisonment. Such fine, penalty, or forfeiture and imprisonment, for the violation of any ordinance, shall be prescribed in the ordinance; and, if imprisonment be adjudged in any case, it may be in the village prison, or in the county jail of the county in which the village is located, or in any other place of confinement provided by the village for such purpose, in the discretion of the court.”

Section 7 of the act provides:

“Whenever a penalty shall be incurred for the violation of ■any ordinance, and no provision shall be made for the imprisonment of the offender upon conviction thereof, such penalty may be recovered in an action of debt or in assumpsit.”

It is also provided by this section that prosecutions, except as against corporations, be commenced by warrant, and that proceedings relating to the arrest and custody of the accused during the pendency of the suit, and the pleadings and all proceedings upon the trial of the cause, and in procuring the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and in the rendition of judgments, and the execution thereof, except as otherwise provided by the act, be governed by and conform as nearly as may be to the provisions of law regulating the proceedings in criminal causes cognizable by justices of the peace.

It is provided that in suits commenced by warrant the jury, which is provided for in the act, shall be selected and [607]*607summoned as in criminal cases cognizable by justices of the peace. The warrant shall be in the name of the people of the State of Michigan, and set forth the substance of the ■offense complained of, and be substantially of the form, and be issued upon complaint made, as provided by law in criminal cases cognizable by justices of the peace.

The proceedings in this case were had in substantial compliance with the provisions of these acts.

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Bluebook (online)
42 N.W. 1068, 75 Mich. 603, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 1099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/village-of-northville-v-westfall-mich-1889.