Darst v. People

Illinois Supreme Court
Darst v. People, 62 Ill. 306 (Ill. 1871)
Thornton

Darst v. People

Opinion of the Court

Mr. Justice Thornton

delivered the opinion of the Court:

Appellants were fined for contempt of court for refusing to obey a writ of injunction commanding them, as public officers, not to hold an election.

The case is identical, in the facts, with the case of Walton et al. v. Develing et al., 61 Ill. 201. The principles and reasoning in that case apply to this.

The writ of injunction was void, and a party can not disobey a void writ.

The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded.

Judgment reversed.

Reference

Full Case Name
James P. Darst v. The People of the State of Illinois
Cited By
16 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
1. Injunction—to prevent the holding of an election—contempt. A court of chancery has no jurisdiction to enjoin the holding of an election by the people, and a writ issued for that purpose is void, so that to disregard the writ will not subject a party to punishment as for a contempt of court.