City of Hopkinsville v. Boyd
City of Hopkinsville v. Boyd
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
Eve or Effie Bacon having been by the police court of Hopkinsville tried and convicted of the offense of keeping a bawdy house, a capias pro fine was duly issued and placed in the hands of the proper officer, directing him to take
Thereupon appellant, city of Hopkinsville, brought this action for a mandamus, requiring the. superintendent to accept from the officer custody of the prisoner, and keep her at labor in the workhouse as directed by the writ. But the lower court sustained a general demurrer to the petition and dismissed the action. Section 2538 provides: “Upon all judgments of fines rendered by the city court, whether in favor of the Commonwealth or for the city, it shall be lawful for the city attorney to cause a fieri facias to be issued,to be levied on the estate of the defendant, or to take a capias pro fme, requiring the imprisonment of defendant in the city workhouse, if there be one, or the county jail, or confined at work upon the streets of said city, or in said workhouse, at the rate of one dollar per day until the fine and costs are paid, unless such rate of wages shall be changed by the board of council, and, when any fine and costs shall be paid by labor, the city shall not be liable to any officer for any j)art of such fine or cost. The defendant may, at any time, replevy said fine for three months by executing a bond, with good security thereon, for amount of fine and costs and six per cent, interest thereon.”
That section is part of chapter 89, title “Municipal Cor
But it may be contended that section 1877, being part of chapter 36, title of which is “Crimes and Punishments,” is. inconsistent with section 2538. The former is as follows" “When punishment for a crime is a fine or imprisonment in the county jail, or both, the jury may in their discretion,, if the defendant is a male, provide in their verdict that the-defendant shall work at hard labor until the fine and costs or imprisonment is satisfied, or until both are ‘Satisfied.” •
That section was manifestly intended to apply to counties where no workhouse has been erected, and imprisonment as punishment for a crime mast necessarily be in the county jail, and wmrk at hard labor be necessarily on a public street or highway, exposure io wdiic-h it seems to be policy of tbe legis
Wherefore, the judgment sustaining the demurrer and dismissing the action is reversed for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.