In re Dougherty
In re Dougherty
Opinion of the Court
By the court:
Many of the questions arising in this ease have already been determined in the case of the State v. Conlin. By the rule laid down there, these minor offences, affecting merely the police of the state, do not come within the tenth article of the bill of rights, and no complaint is in fact necessary. A parol accusation is enough, if the legislature so provides, and the conviction, being set forth in the record, is all that is required, to sustain the commitment. All questions raised in regard to the manner of this prosecution, are there disposed of. The questions peculiar to this case are, that the wife is convicted of an offence, which it is charged by the testimony of the person originally making the complaint, and by the warrant issued by the justice, she committed jointly with her husband. It must be borne in
The objection that it appears that there was no legal warrant for imposing a penalty of $20, inasmuch as the record does not set forth a former conviction of a similar offence, but of the very same offence, is too refined to be sustained. If this were to receive this rigid and literal construction, it would show the respondent should have been acquitted, on the ground of the former conviction for the same offence. But we think such a construction would be absurd, and would justly expose any court adopting it, to severe and just criticism. We should regret to make any decision upon such narrow ground, even in a matter affecting life, much less in one of such insignificance. This record is in the very words of the statute, “ But upon proof of one or more former “convictions of the same offence, the respondent shall be sen- “ tenced,” &c. And we should not certainly feel justified in giving this statute any such literal construction, and we do not feel called upon to give any such construction to the record.
These are all the objections to the proceedings in this case, not virtually disposed of in the former case.
The respondent is remanded to her former custody and the petition dismissed without costs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re Ellen Dougherty, by her husband Joseph Dougherty
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- minor offences affecting merely tlie police of the state are not within the tenth article of the hill of frights; and in prosecutions for them, a complaint may he entirely dispensed with if the legislature so provide. mere matter of error, or that which would he a good ground for a new trial, is not sufficient for discharging a respondent on habeas corpus* '[Chat the wife alone was arrested, tried and convicted, upon a complaint charging her and her husband jointly with the offence of furnishing intoxicating liquor contrary to law, and a warrant issued against both of them, is not sufficient ground for discharging her from her commitment, under such a conviction, on habeas corpus. By the i 1 same offence,77 as that term is used in the 18th section of the act of 1852, to prevent the traffic in intoxicating liquor, and in the record of proceedings in pursuance of that section, is meant a similar or like offence.