The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-03-23
Opinions Rendered
By Supreme Court

= s-s-s
oates vs.. Bullock. Action to Recover
Damages for False Imprisonment. APP
peal from the Circuit Court of Henry.
1. False Imprisonment; What Necessary
to Impose Lhability.-Any person who
proeures the issuance of a void warrant
is liable in damages to the person named
therein and who is arrested under the
authority it is supposed to import
O. Same; Same When Liable Though
Warrant Procured on Sufficient Com
plaint.-Where a person makes a suf-
ficient complaint before a justice of the
peace charging another with a criminal
offense, If, after making such complaint,
he by any unlawful act, though its I'M
lawfullness lie only in inadvertence or
negligence, causes the magistrate to
issue void warrant such person there
by procures the issuance of such void
warrant by the officer and is liable to
the person who is charged with the Of
Tense and arrested under the warrant.
g. Same; Same; same.-Where person,
though he makes a sufficient complaint
before magistrate, charging another
with criminal offense, by some wrong
full act causes the magistrate TO issue a
void warrant for the arrest of the person
charged with the offense, 1t is not n IS
sary to render him liable for the false
Imprisonment of the person arrested I'M
der the warrant SO issued, that the
wrongful act on his part should be the
sole cause of the issuance of the warrant;
since If the fault of the prosecutor COM
/ bines with the fault of the magistrate in
issuing the warrant the Imprisonment is
caused by the fault of each and both of
them.
4. Same; Same; Same; Sase at Bar.-In
an action to recover damages for false
Imprisonment it was shown that the de-
PENDANT carried to a justice of the peace
sheet of paper on which was partly
written and partly printed an affidavit
charging the plaintiff with a criminal
offense, and below the affidavit there was
a warrant for his arrest upon said charge;
there was no signature to the AFFIDAVIT,
only to the jurat thereof, nor to the war
rant but blank spaces were left for these
signatures. The defendant swore to the
facts stated In the affidavit and when
given the paper to sign by the justice OF
then handed the paper to the justice and
the latter signed only the jurat and
the affidavit. The paper containing the
affidavit and warrant thus signed was
delivered by the justice of the peace to
the constable for the execution of the
supposed warrant; the constable arrested
the plaintiff under the supposed warrant
and committed him to jail. Held; That
It was open to the jury to find that the
nd
in signing his own name to the warrant
caused the justice to sign only the jurat,
because that was the only remaining
blank space and to omit to sign the war
rant, and therefore to issue a void war
rant under which the plaintiff was ar
rested; and upon so finding the jury was
authorized to find that the issuance OF
the void warrant was procured by the
defendant for which he was liable to the
plaintiff for his unlawful arrest.
5. Warrant; Void Unless Signed by Of
fcer Issuing It.-A paper in the form of
an intended to be warrant, and issued
by a magistrate, is void unless 1t Is ac-
tually signed by the magistrate issuing 1t.
G. Action for False Imprisonment; EN-
ployment of Counsel not Ratihcation OF
Plaintiffs Unlawful Arrest; Charge OF
Court to Jury.-In an action to recover
damages for false imprisonment IL the
defendant did not know that the justice
of the peace who had issued the war
rant upon his affidavit had issued a war
rant without signing it, and did not know
that the plaintiff had been arrested under
such void warrant, the defendants en-
ployment of counsel for the purpose of
prosecuting the person charged with the
criminal offense cannot be construed
into ratification of the plaintiffs I'M
lawful arrest by the constable under
the void warrant; and a charge which
SC instructs the jury should be given at
the request of the defendant
Z. Action for False Imprisonment; Adj
instability of Evidence.-In an action to
recover damages for false Imprisonment,
where 1t is shown that the plaintiff was
arrested under supposed warrant charg-
ing him with the offense of removing
property on which there was a mortgage,
and that this warrant was issued upon
an affidavit made by the defendant In
the pending suit and in some of the
counts of the complaint the defendant is
charged with hav NJ
the unlawful arrest of the plaintiff, the
defendant should be permitted to prove
that the plaintiff had given him the
mortgage on certain property and that ne
had probable cause for believing that
plaintiff had removed 1t.
8. Same; Same.-In such a case 1t is per-
mssible for the defendant to show when
the fact that the warrant had been Is
sued without the signature of the justice
came to his knowledge, such fact being
pertinent to the inquiry arising In such
case, as to whether the defendant rati-
fed the unlawful arrest by plaintiff by
employing counsel to prosecute him.
Reversed and remanded. Opinion by
Mcclellan. c. ].