The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-06-18
The Sunday law Injunction.

On Friday of last week District Judge
Cheeyers rendered the following judg-
mcnt, which will be read with general
interest:
The Town of Donaldsonville e. No. 81,
Tic Police jury Of Ascension, ct III.
Exceptions fled III this case werc reg
nlarly fixed for trial on the 9TH day of
April, 1881, and taken up accordingly,
present K. n. Sims, Esq, for defendant
in exception, the town of Donaldsonville,
and f. b. Earhart, Esq, Dist. Atty, L.
N. Pugh, Esq, and Frederick DuffeI, Esq,
for the Police Jury, and +. Il. Earhart,
Esq, as District Attorney and also rs
legal adviser of tho Police Jury.
There are three exceptions filed Of no
cause Of action by each of said parties.
These exceptions admit all tho allega-
tons in the petition Of the town Of Dom
jacksonville to be trne. Tho said town
claims, for various reasons there alleged
in their petition, that the ordinance of
the Police jury known as the Sunday
law ordinance, annexed to and made q
part of said petition, and that Act "a of
session acts of 1873 is unconstitutional,
null and void; and, among other alleya
tions, that the same can not be enforced
within the corporate limits of the town
of Donaldsonville against the store and
saloon keepers of said town. The town
of Dolaldsonvillc having filed the usual
petition, affidavit and bond, obtained an
injunction cnjoining the Police Jury,
District Attorney. and District Attorney
as legal adviser Of the Police Jury from
enforcing said Act No "a of 1878 and
said ordinance of May IL, 1880, within
| 10 r. r. Il
1t is only necessary to pass upon one
Of action. The enforcement of the act of
ferred to is a criminal matter, and the
only remedy known to the law to test
their legality or constitutionality is the
one adopted in the three criminal cases
of the State rs. Bott, 81 A. page 63, and
State rs. Mrs. Susan Baum, and State 49,
J. J. Capdeville, not yet reported, but
recently decided by the Supreme Court.
The statutory injunction provided by
the Code Of Practice relates to ciriI and
not criminal proceedings. 1t is no longer
an open question that the provisions of
the Code of Practice do not apply to
criminal proceedings. 81 A. sos; 80 A.
I'LL 81 A. 483. Criminal proceedings
are conducted according to the common
law of England, unless otherwise pro-
vided for by statute. r. S. 976.
1t would not for Il moment be cOntendcd
that any merchant of the town of Don
aldsonville would be entitled to an in
junction to prevent the enforcement of
said law and ordinance Oh allegations of
illegafity and nncOnstitntionality. This
practice is foreign to criminal pleadings.
If the violator of the law and ordinance
had no such right, certainly the town of
Donaldsonvilc, in its alleged represent
tativc capacity, could not invoke it. The
Hon. Robert Henley Eden, Of Lincoln
Inn, barristcr of law, in his work on in
functions, page 81, qnotins the case of
Halderstatft rs. Saunders, says, that it
is all established rule that an injunction,
or an order in the nature of an injunction
will not be granted to restrain proceed
ings III u criminal matter" In the case
Of Montague rs. Du,linaE, Lord Hard
wicke allowed q demurrer to !. bill for
an injunction on the ground that the
court had no jurisdiction to an indct
mcpt nor to an information. In his note
10, same page, Atty. General rs. Utica
Insurance Co, 2 John Oh. Rep. page $40,
the court held, that equity had 40 .juris-
diction of an otfcnse against u public
noI vi u CIllliliiil IiaLtlIc.
For these reasons, and the law and the
evidence being in favor Of the Police |
Jury and District Attorney and against
the said town Of Donal'sonvIlc, it is
ordered, adjudged and slccrced that the |
exceptions herein fled be maintained,
that the said cause of the said town of
DonaI.lsonville be dismissed and that the
injunction herein granted be dissolved,
and that the said town do pay all costs.
Judgment rendered and signed at cham
bcrs, as per consent Of all parties, parish |
of Ascension, La, this 10th day of June,
A. ID. 1881.
JNO. A. CHEENERS, Judge.
BY direction Of the Judge this decision
has been spread upon the minute book
Of the District Court. The ground taken
District Attorney and counsel for the
Police jury from the inception of the
famous Sunday law litigation, and vim
dicatcs the action of District Attorney
Earhart in proceeding with criminal
under the Sunday statute
despite the attempt to restrain him by
Injunction.
The legal and moral force Of the judg-
ment, howcvcr-if any it might be said
to possess after the decision of the Su-
premc Court declaring Act "a Of ls7s mn
was destined to, be short
lived, for on Wednesday last Judge
Chccvcrs granted motion for a new
trial and an order resembling and annull-
ing his decision on the exceptions as
above quoted, and directing that the
case be reopened for decision of the
in open court. This order
was granted on the application Of X. n
Sims, Esq, counsel for the town, on the
grounds that there was no agreement
that the decision should be given at
chambers that it was rendered without
notice to counsel for the town or the
Police Jury, and that it is contrary to
the law and evidence.
The resembling order leaves tho case
in sfntu q"o until the next term of court,
in September In view of the Supreme
Courts decree and of the repeal of the
Sunday ordinance by the Police Jury,
little interest will be felt in the further
progress of this litigation, excepting
among the attorneys engaged i'll the case.
List of Letters
in the Post-oiIce at Donald
sonville, Ascension parish, La,
June Is, 1881.
Adams, Josephine Noel, Fanny