The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-20
Petty Criminal Cases.

HE ARGUS mas much to answer Tor. IL
asserted last night that our justices and |
police magistrates had no power to mete
,ut punishment 10 petty criminal cases, but
must bind offenders over to be tried by a
higher court Union, Sunday morning.
And THE ARGUS reasserts that no JUS
tice of the peace has any power to infiict
any sort of punishment for any erime-no
power to fine anybody for larceny; no
power to sentence anybody for single
moment in prison as punishment for
In cases where a magistrate is
authorized to infict fine (such as misde-
meanors etc., the magistrate may send
the person to jail until the fine shall be
paid
The Union, in order to sustain itself in
its learned censure of THE ARGUS, quotes
the following:
In all cases where the value of the
property stolen shall be less than SIS the
person convicted shall be punished by con-
finement in the county Jail for any term
not exceeding one year and by fine not ex-
ceeding 500. -LG,os of 1867, Gross Sta
tutes, Vol. /, p Ut.
And in case the value of property al
fected by larceny -,
shall not amount to S., then the offender
shall be punished by imprisonment 10 the
county Jail for term not exceeding three
months and fined not exceeding $50
Haines' Treatise, Sec. 35.
That is all right-but no justice OF the
peace has any jurisdiction whatever in adj
Indicating such cases. Not even a circuit
Judge or supreme judge can do it, The
guilt of person charged with larceny car
only be ascertained by petit jury, after
indictment by grand jury-unless the
person pleads guilty.
The Union makes final effort to sus-
tain itself by quoting from the following
r. s. 3 POI, 100, P. 407, S. AEON
SENATORS OF THE PEACE.-The Judge:
of the supreme and circuit courts, in theil
respective circuits, and justices of the peace
in their respective counties, shall Jointly
and severally be conservators of the peac,
within their respective jurisdiction, a
herein designated, and shall have full pow
er to enforce, or cause to be enforced, al
laws that now exist, or that shall hereafte
be made, for the prevention and punish
ment of offenses, or for the preservation
and observance of the peace. Gross Sta
t'ttes, Vol /, p. 20S.
This gives ajustice of the peace no powe
to punish, in cases of larceny-it only make
him peace officer to enforce the laws, a
it does a supreme or circuit judge-bu
there is no law for justice to enforce i
case of larceny, except as court of inqui
ry as to the probable guilt of the accused
and to fix his bail if there is probable gull
and to send the prisoner to Jail if he doe
not procure bail
The case we alluded to on Saturday, wa
not before Esq Pinkley at all We copie
the item from the Gazette for two reason.
], to show that the Gazette itemizer wa
mistaken,and ?, to call the attention of GU
new magistrate (Mr. Norris) to his error
attempting to punish person for Grim
over which he has no more jurisdiction tina
the foreman of a hose cart. Mr.. Ostel
was sent to Jail contrary to law, and is ther
to-day, in defiance of law, and somebod
is liable for it. The magistrate had powe
to fix his bail, but no power to send him I
Jail at all unless he failed to procure bal
The legal editor of the Union needs I
study law little. Not long ago he repor
Ped Judge Peasants as hearing a hdbea
corpus case with the prisoner then in tn
Jail of another county. This was the r,
port in the Unioa-but it was not true,
course, because most people know that
habeaS corpus case is only for the purpos
of bringing the body (corpus) into court t
inquire into the case and see if it is prope
to admit the prisoner to bail They mus
have the corpus in court,-but the legal re
porter of the Union, Of course, did nc
know any better than to say that Judg
Peasants heard habeas corpus case i
this city with the prisoner in Jail at Aed
Since writing the above, Esq. Pinkle
has handed US the following:
Rock ISLAND, April 30, 1874.
To the Editors of The Rock Island Argus:
l notice statement, In your last ISSUE
taken from the Davenport Gazette, that
man by the name of Osters was sentence
to jail for larceny, by me. | wish to sa
that no such man aoas before me under an
charge whatever. Nor was there ever an
man fined or imprisoned by me, for La
ceny for the statutes Of this State do nc
confer such jurisdiction on any justice {
the peace. As to the case in question,
know nothing about it; if some officer hs
made this blunder, let him be accountab
for it do not wish the public to under
stand that do business in that way.
As to the case of Brinkley, reported i
your paper, will only say that the CON
plant was An assault with poker an
pistol. But the eCjdence showed it to
an assault and battery only, under very a.
gravated circumstances on the part of til
defendant, hence the lenity of the court
fixing the fine So low Yours Resp'ly, ct
NJ. L. PINKLEY, j. Z.