Hood v. Sennett
Hood v. Sennett
Opinion of the Court
— This suit was commenced before a justice of the peace of Warren County, by Martin P. Sennett and Benjamin F. Marple, against James W. Hood.
The complaint stated that on a certain day in August, 1876, one James H. Hood was a justice of the peace in and for Kent township, in said county, and that he, on that day, as such justice, rendered a judgment against one John IT,Heald in favor of Aaron Y. Taylor and others; that, at the inception of the proceedings resulting in such judgment, said justice appointed James W. Hood, the defendant, a special constable in said cause, and noted such appointment on his docket; that afterward, in ■ the same month, said justice issued an execution on such judgment, together with executions on several other judgments on his docket against the said Heald, all of which were delivered to the defendant as such special constable; that the defendant, acting solely by authority of his said appointment as special constable, and under the first named execution, levied said execution on a stock of drugs, groceries and fixtures, situate in a certain building in State Line
Judgment having been rendered against the defendant before the justice, he appealed to the circuit court, where he demurred to the complaint for want of sufficient facts to sustain the action, but his demurrer was overruled. The defendant refusing to answer further, judgment was rendered against him for $184.
Error is assigned only upon the overruling of the demurrer to the complaint.
Section 110 of the justices’ act, 2 R. S. 1876, p. 638, authorizes a justice of the peace, in certain emergencies, to “appoint a special constable to act in a^particular cause;” such appointment to be noted oh the docket in such cause; and such special constable, when so appointed, shall discharge all duties in said cause, pertaining to the office of a constable.
Section 111 of the same act provides that “ The justice appointing such constable shall, wfith his sureties, be liable on his official bond, for any neglect of duty, or illegal proceedings by such constable in such cause.”
It is objected that the appointment of the appellant as special constable, averred in the complaint, did not authorize him to do more than serve the summons in the cause in 'which he was appointed, but we cannot sustain that objection. We think that, when a special constable has been once appointed in a cause, he is authorized to perform all the subsequent duties required of a constable in that cause.
The complaint appears to us to have made a good prima fade case against the appellant, and to have been sufficient upon demurrer.
The judgment is affirmed, at the appellant’s costs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.