St. Paul daily globe., 1889-04-30
is EMERY RIGHT?
Judge Smith Will Give His De.
ciSiOn TO.Morrow Morning.


cision TO-Morrow Morning.
The habeas corpus case of Ole Ericl-
son, who was sentenced by Judge En-
cry to 800 fine and ninety days i'm the
Workhouse, was resumed yesterday aft
ernoOn in the criminal court room be-
fore Judge Smith. A number of labor
ing men. "Jack" McGaughey among
them, were interested listeners to the
proceedings, for on this decision rests
the fate of some twenty-five men az
rested during the strike excitement,
now confined in the wOrkhOuSe.
City Attorney Russell had turned the
case over to his assistant. A. ii, Hall,
who argued for the state, while Thomas
Canty presented Erickson's case. A
peculiar circumstance of the case is
that Judge Smith argued the same ques-
ton himself, when city attorney. before
Judge Lochren. The question has
the seats were full of attentive listeners
while the attorneys argued it at great
length and vigor,
Inc main argument presented by
Erlckson's attorneys seemed to be that
the whole ordinance was VOID from un-
certainty; in the words of the speaker.
lust as bill of sale Of horse over i'm
barn would be when there were two
horses in the barn" He held that this
case was exactly similar, and the law
applied to the two penalties of the 800
fine and the ninety days Imprisonment,
Doth OF which were given when ONLY
one of them should have been
given, and that it could not be
considered as surplusage of sentence.
he presented authorities to show that
| when the part OF law was uncOnstitu-
tlonal the whole of it was. On the con-
trary. Attorney Hall claimed that
though part of the ordinance was void.
that part not in conflict with the consti-
tatlon was not necessarily void, and
that it would be impossible to release
Erickson without his either serving the
ninety days CT paying the 500 fine.
Judge Smith. when the argument was
concluded, said that as many of the
| points brought up were entirely new he
wanted day to consider them in, and
that he would give his decision We'd
| neSday morning at $50 O'Clock. The
city attorney cited the Minnesota stat
utes as his authority chiefly, while the
opposing side backed their claim on the
numerous citations from the statutes of
| Eastern States
,,Ii1 In ms ms argument for the granting of the
| lne city claims that the penalties imposed by
The city ordinances are only civil debts. and
| The prosecutions under these ordinances in
| the municipal court were only civil proceed
lngs think this point is conclusive answer
| that the prosecution under this ordinance is
| not civil remedy. The charter provides for
| 4hese offences, not ouly by Imprisonment. but
| imprisonment in the workhouse at hard
| labor The constitution of the state prohibits
involuntary servitude, except as a punish-
ment for crime. The thirteenth amendment
TO the United States constitution provides
the same and congress shall have power to
enforce the same by proper legislation. The
fourteenth amendment prohibits any state
from depriving, withola due process cf law,
any person OF lite, liberty or property. and
| glyes congress power to enforce the same bv
| proper legislation. The civil rights bill
| passed by congress soon after the war
provides that if any person under colo
OF any statute or ordinance whatever, shall
| deprive any other person of the rights guar
anteed him by these amendments, he shall be
subject to heavy penalties. and gives the
| United States courts jurisdiction to enforce
these penalties. The United States supreme
court in the civil rights law, lO9 U. S. %
declares that the provisions act in a direct
and primary manner on the state and city
| officers, and make them liable to the United
States laws for the manner in which they adj
| minister law.