Case Name: STATE v. MACK
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1954-02-15
Citations: 224 La. 886
Docket Number: No. 41276
Parties: STATE v. MACK.
Judges: 
Reporter: Louisiana Reports
Volume: 224
Pages: 886–902

Head Matter:
71 So.2d 315
STATE v. MACK.
No. 41276.
Feb. 15, 1954.
Watts & Rich, Franklinton, for defendant-appellant.
Fred S. LeBlanc, Atty. Gen., M. E. Culligan, Asst. Atty. Gen., Walton O. Seal, State’s Asst. Atty., Bogalusa, James T. Burns, Dist. Atty., Covington, for appellee.

Opinion:
MOISE, Justice.
This matter now comes before us after reargument was ordained by this Court. Wilton Mack, the accused, was charged,, tried and convicted of criminal neglect of family under LSA-Revised Statutes 14:74, Act 368 of 1952. He was sentenced to-serve one year in the parish prison. This sentence was suspended upon the condition that the defendant pay $20 per week for the support of four alleged minor illegitimate-children. From the sentence and conviction, the defendant appeals suspensively.
The record discloses that the defendant has annexed to this appeal all of the evidence taken in the lower court. There are sixteen bills of exception. The amendatory provisions of Act 368 of 1952, under which the accused is charged, is the lamp' in the light of which the whole decision should be read. That amendatory provision states:
"In the case of an illegitimate child, evidence may be introduced in the proceedings hereunder to prove paternity or maternity. This proof shall be made in accordance with the rules established by the Revised Civil Code of 1870, as amended, as for proof of paternity or maternity for civil purposes. Such proof, however, shall be used solely as the basis for the duty to support an illegitimate child established by this article, and shall not be construed as establishing any civil obligation."
The State contends that the amendment hereinabove recited was passed, to overcome the rule of law enunciated in the cases of State v. Jones, 220 La. 381, 56 So.2d 724, and State v. Sims, 220 La. 532, 57 So.2d 177. In these cases, the guiding asserted principle of law is that in order to obtain a conviction there must be established the existence of a civil obligation to support, and this obligation must be expressed by either a notarial acknowledgment or a civil judgment of paternity. In other words, a prerequisite for conviction was proof of paternity by legal acknowledgment or civil judgment.
Article 242 of the LSA-Civil Code reads:
"But in order that they may have a right to sue for this alimony, they must:
"1. Have been legally acknowledged by both their father and mother, or by either of them fr#m whom they claim alimony; or they must have been declared to be their children by a judgment duly pronounced, in cases in which they may be admitted to prove their paternal or maternal descent".
The above article has to be read in connection with Articles 208 and 209 of the LSA-Civil Code. Article 242 sets forth the right of children who have conformed with one or the other requirements — legal acknowledgment or civil judgment — to claim alimony. Article 209 prescribes the manner of proof required and authorized for the purpose of obtaining a judgment of paternity against an alleged father. This judgment is necessary for the prosecution of the crime charged.
The issue before this Court is not a new question. The effect of the amendatory provision of Act 368 of 1952 was presented to this Court in the case of State of Louisiana v. Henry Holmes, No. 41,076 of the docket of this Court. The State of Louisiana applied for writs of mandamus, prohibition and certiorari. Henry Holmes, the defendant was charged under Article 74 of the Criminal Code, LSA-R.S. 14:74, with the desertion and willful neglect to provide for the support of his alleged illegitimate minor twins, Donald and Ronald. The judge of the Juvenile Court refused to convict, and writs were filed on December 4, 1952. The endorsement on the writs was as follows:
"Writ refused. The accused was properly discharged."
In his per curiam in that case, the able Juvenile Judge stated:
"The Supreme Court in State v. Sims, 220 La. 532, 57 So.2d 177, clearly outlined the only procedure possible under the law for establishing the paternity of illegitimate children. This decision (State v. Sims) developed from a case filed under Act 164 of 1950, amending and re-enacting R.S. 14:74 which sought to confer upon the Juvenile Court jurisdiction of non-support charges against the father of illegitimate children and providing for proof of paternity of such children in Juvenile Court. The Louisiana Supreme Court did not question the right of illegitimate children to secure support under this statute but denied the right of said children to prove their paternity unless proof was first made in accordance with the rules established by the Civil Code of 1870."
In the Holmes case, supra, the complaining witness for the State, as here, testified that the defendant had never acknowledged paternity of the children before a notary and two witnesses, nor had the children been declared to be the children of the defendant by judgment of court. Therefore, in this matter, as in the Holmes case, the defendant has not: been established as the natural father of the illegitimate children by notarial acknowledgment, nor has he been pronounced as such by judgment of court. It is therefore self-evident that the condition precedent to sustain a conviction under the law has not been observed.
It is a duty of this Court to be watchful of the legal and constitutional rights of its citizens and guard them against any stealthy encroachment. Our motto should be ' "Obsta Principiis" — resist the first beginning. Do not let the tyranny of an erroneous legal concept get a start.
The Court is only construing the statute and in duty bound is to construe the words according to their natural meaning. State v. Vallery, 212 La. 1095, 34 So.2d 329; State v. Gardner, 151 La. 874, 92 So. 368; State v. Penniman, 224 La. 95, 68 So.2d 770. In a criminal case, we are admonished that penal statutes must be strictly construed. State v. Truby, 211 La. 178, 29 So.2d 758; Louisiana Code of Criminal Law and Procedure, Articles 3 and 7; LSA-R.S. 14:3, 14:7; State v. Jones, 220 La. 381, 56 So.2d 724. No appreciable change has been made in the statutory requirements. They are the same jiow as they were before the amendment was enacted.
For these reasons, the judgment of sentence and conviction is reversed and set aside, and the charge is dismissed.