Mayor of Monroe v. Cain
Mayor of Monroe v. Cain
Opinion of the Court
It is manifest that there was no such contestation in this case, and that precise contestation is an indispensable prerequisite to our appellate jurisdiction.
The Constitution provides that prosecutions shall be by indictment or information; that the accused shall be entitled to a speedy trial by jury, etc., all of which is, necessarily, inapplicable to proceedings in a police court, to enforce municipal ordinances.
[t is not, however, every infraction by a municipal corporation of the constitutional rights of the citizen that can be reviewed by this court.
The precise requirement of the Constitution is that the legality or constitutionality of a fine, forfeiture or penalty imposed by a municipal corporation shall be in contestation.
Our conclusion is that these cases have not been brought within the jurisdiction of this court, as they might have been, because the legality or constitutionality of the ordinance, imposing a penalty for resisting an officer in the discharge of his duty, was not contested or passed upon in the Recorder’s Court; and the appeal must, therefore, be dismissed, at the costs of appellants.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mayor and Council of Monroe v. James Cain
- Status
- Published