The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1917-08-31
|DOG LAW IS HELD
| UNCONSTITUTIONAL
| BY JUDGE KNIGHT
raMpUs CASE AGAINST w. P. Err
WIN WILL GO TO SUPREME
COURT FOR DECISION.
|0gAL OPINION RENDERED
Thirteen Other Cases Depend Upon
The Findings Of the Last Court OF
Resort-Decision Based Upon Giles
County Case.

Judge ]. T. Mcknight handed down
an exhaustive oral opinion Tuesday
afternoon in the famous dog law case,
in which he held that the law as
passed by the Legislature at its ses-
sion in 1907 as unconstitutional
The case up for trial was that Of
the State VS.. w. p. Erwin indicted at
the last session of the grand jury
along with a number of other owners
of female dogs who had failed to COM
ply with the law by paying the $500
tax. Those indicted with Mr.. Erwin
were Jet owen, Robert Gordon, W..
E, Babb R. H. Dodson, John Ture-
man. Joe Sowell, Edwin Johnson, j..
A. Ketchum, Finis Walters, Rees
Jones, Jim Frierson and R. F. Moore.
All of these men are fox hunters and
have valuable kennels of hounds.
The case was tried at the August
term of the county criminal court,
held the first part of the month, and
Judge Mcknight withheld his decision
for investigation of the law In rem
dering his decision Judge Mcknight
cited the only Tennessee case on rec
ord which was sent up from Giles
county in which the Supreme Court
held the law unconstitutional, the de-
cision based upon the fact that for
one class OF dogs tax of $500 was
levied and upon another class $500
tax was levied
Judge Mcknight also pointed out
that the law as it now applies to
Maury county fixed only a tax upon
female dogs, and that it is more OF
an act of revenue than for the pro-
lection of the sheep breeders of the
country. The judge cited that ii a
dog owner paid the taxes upon his
female dog and then turned her loose
that she could kill just as many sheep
jISt the same as she could if the tax
had not been paid The law does not
protect the public and therefore is
not police power according to the
inion of Judge Mcknight, and as
the law provides for taxes only on
female dogs, it comes Ender the head
Of class legislation.
The case attracted great deal OF
attention in this county and especially
among the lovers of the chasers of
reynard. 1t was understood from the
start that the case against w. P. En-
win, and was agreed that it should be
made a test case OF the law. The
cas- will be carried to the Supreme
Court for final decision.
After the law was passed In 1907
a, J. Nichols was circuit court clerk,
and he was quite active in collecting
same, twenty-five cents of the tax
went to the clerk, so cents to the col
lar and the balance went into the gen.
eral school fund.
lhls spring movement was start
ed to have the law enforced again,
and Major Horace Frierson, who was
attorney general of the district in
S'ructed the grand jury to inquire
mo all cases and cite those who had
lalIel to comply with the law to ap-
pear before the county criminal judge
10 answer to the court for such negli-
sence. Quite a number of owners
u. Iemale dogs promptly paid the $500
and thought nothing more of it, but
"h Il it came to the fox hunters who
o"n possibly from three to a half
uozen females in their kennels, there
was a halk. as a result that about
e'-hieen true bills were found, some,
"'"a'sr. We're settled by the payment
W smaA fine and the costs in the
vase, and two cases against women
were no'le pressed. The others
aS'"ed to fight the case and test the
'''S'it'tionality of the law, with the
above result.