Action against the defendant for a malicious prosecution in causing the arrest of the plaintiff upon a criminal charge.
At the request of the defendant, the court instructed the jury: “ If the jury believe from the evidence that the defendant had probable cause to believe that the plaintiff was guilty of the offense charged against him, then it is not material whether the defendant was actuated by proper motives or improper motives in instituting the criminal proceedings against the plaintiff. To authorize a recovery in this class of cases, it must appear that the defendant was actuated by malice, but the jury must further believe from the testimony that the defendant had no probable cause or no reasonable ground to believe that the plaintiff was guilty of the offense charged against
■“% instruct you, that to entitle the plaintiff to recover, you must find from the evidence that the prosecution complained of was commenced by the defendant through malice, .and .also that it was without probable cause; and if -the plaintiff has failed to show, by a preponderance of evidence, either of these propositions, the jury should find for the defendant.”
In giving -these instructions, the court committed error, for which a new trial should have been granted. The error was not obviated by the fact that the court, at the request of the plaintiff, instructed the jury that if they should find from the evidence “that the defendant, in swearing out the .warrant and causing the arrest of the plaintiff, did not believe that plaintiff was guilty of any crime, and that he -did -not have sufficient knowledge, as a. cautious and prudent man, acting conscientiously and impartially, to believe the plaintiff guilty of any crime, then, as a matter of law, there was no probable cause for the arrest and prosecution of plaintiff,” and also, that if they should find from the evidence a certain state of facts, which were enumerated, those facts would not constitute a probable cause.
These were not the only facts of which evidence regarding probable cause had been given to the jury, and the above instructions given at the request of the defendant left to the jury the function of determining this question. The court should have told the jury, either that the evidence which was introduced was or was not sufficient to establish a probable cause, or that, as from the evidence they should find the facts which, in the opinion of the court, would or would not be sufficient to show a probable cause., their verdict should be for or against the defendant.
Actions for malicious prosecution have never been favored in law, although they have always been readily upheld when the proper elements therefor have been presented. They are sustained, ho'wever, only when it is shown that the prosecution was in fact actuated by malice, and that the party instigating it had no reasonable ground for causing the prosecution. It is for the best interests of society that those who offend against the laws shall be promptly punished, and that any citizen who has good reason to believe that the law has been violated shall have the right to cause the arrest of the offender. For the purpose of protecting him in so doing, it is the established rule, that if he have reasonable grounds for his belief, and act thereon in good faith in causing the arrest, he shall not be subjected to damages merely because the accused is not convicted. This rule is founded upon grounds of public policy, in order to encourage the exposure of crime, and when the acts of the citizen in
Originally an action of this character was an action on the case in the nature of a writ of conspiracy, in which the plaintiff in the declaration charged the defendant with having falsely and maliciously caused his arrest. The defendant, in his. plea, set forth the grounds of his suspicion under which he caused the arrest, the sufficiency of which was determined by the court upon a demurrer to the plea. (Chambers v. Taylor, Cro. Eliz. 900; Coxe v. Wirrall, Cro. Jac. 193; Com. Dig., tit. Pleader, 2, K; Wear v. Wells, 3 Bulst. 284.) In process of time a change was effected in the manner of pleading the cause of action, by which the plaintiff anticipated this plea by averring in the declaration a want of probable cause (Savil v. Roberts, 1 Salk. 13; 1 Ld. Raym. 374), and the facts were presented under the general issue; “ yet the rule of law that the question belongs to the judge only, and not to the jury, is not, by such alteration in the pleading, in any way impaired.” (Panton v. Williams, 2 Q,. B. 193.) In the argument of Kelly for plaintiff in error in this case will be found an interesting account of the history and development of the rule by which this question is held to be always a matter of law, and never to be determined by the jury. Johnstone v. Sutton, 1 Term Rep. 545, is also a leading case on this subject, having been determined in the court of exchequer chamber, and afterwards affirmed in the house of lords. (1 Brown Parl. C. 76.)
The change in pleading by transferring to the declara
In Bulkeley v. Keteltas, 6 N. Y. 387, the court held that it was error to leave to the jury to determine whether the circumstances proved in evidence did or did not establish a want of probable cause. When this cause was again tried in the superior court, the judge instructed the jury that if they should find that the defendants had reasonable grounds for believing that the plaintiff swore as had been charged (the plaintiff having been arrested upon a charge of perjury), that would establish a want of probable cause; but the court at general term (Bulkeley v. Smith, 2 Duer, 261) held this instruction erroneous, saying that, “ from the terms in which it was expressed, it necessarily involved the submission to the jury of the question of probable cause, and was not limited to the facts upon which the question depended. The judge instructed the jury that they were to consider and determine whether the facts and circumstances known to the defendants were reasonable grounds for their believing that the charge which they made against the plaintiff was true, and we are unable to make a distinction between the existence or non-existence of reasonable grounds of belief, and the existence or want of a probable cause. There is a difference in the form of expression, but none ip the meaning, since the existence
2. The court also, at the request of the defendant, gave the jury the following instruction: “I instruct you that to justify an arrest on a criminal charge, it is not required that a crime shall in fact have been committed. If the facts which come to a person’s knowledge are such as to create a belief that a crime has been committed by the person charged, in the mind of an impartial, reasonable man, this would be sufficient to constitute probable cause for making an arrest, although no crime had in fact been committed.”
Inasmuch as the question of probable cause is always to be determined by the court from the facts in each particular case, it would seem unnecessary to give to the jury any definition of the term, or any instruction upon abstract propositions relating to this subject. These abstract rules will guide the court in determining the question, but are apt to lead the jury away from their function
As a principle of law, this instruction was erroneous in omitting to include therein the further element that the defendant did in fact believe that a crime had been committed by the plaintiff. The circumstances in themselves might be such as ordinarily to create such belief in the mind of a person, yet the defendant might not have that belief, for the reason that he had knowledge of other facts or circumstances which would destroy such belief. While it is not necessary to show that the crime has in fact been committed, it is necessary to show, not only that the defendant had reasonable ground to believe, but that he did in fact believe, that the crime had been committed, and that the plaintiff had committed the crime. Although the question of probable cause, as we have seen above, is a question of law, yet the belief of the defendant in a state of facts is itself a fact which it is proper to submit to the jury for its consideration; and whenever the good faith of the defendant, or his knowledge or belief in an existing state of facts, is an element in determining whether there was probable cause, the court should submit that question to the jury, as well as the other facts which, in its opinion, bear upon that issue. “ The prevailing law of reasonable and probable cause is, that the jury are to ascertain certain facts, and the judge is to decide whether those facts amount to such cause; but among the facts to be ascertained is the knowledge of the defendant of the existence of those which tend tó show reasonable and probable cause, because without knowing them he could not act upon them, and also the defendant's belief that the facts amounted to the offense which he charged, because otherwise he will have made them the pretext for prosecution, without even entertaining the opinion that he had a right to prosecute. In other words, the reasonable and probable cause must appear, not only to be
3. It was not error for the court to instruct the jury that the plaintiff could not maintain the action if the defendant, before instituting the prosecution, fully and fairly stated the facts and circumstances to the justice of the peace, and was advised by him that they constituted reasonable cause for the arrest of the plaintiff, and he honestly and in good faith acted under such advice. Whatever may be the rule in other states, it was held in this state, in Hahn v. Schmidt, 64 Cal. 284, that the advice of a justice of the peace, upon the facts stated to him by the complainant that a crime had been committed, and upon which he issued a warrant of arrest, is sufficient to exonerate the complainant from liability for the arrest. Similar rulings have also been made in Sisk v. Hurst, 1 W. Va. 53; Teal v. Fishel, 28 Fed. Rep. 351; Newman v. Davis, 58 Iowa, 447; and, in England, in the cases cited in Hahn v. Schmidt, 64 Cal. 284.
4. The court properly excluded from evidence the lease from the defendant to Hunt. It was not relevant to any issue before -the jury, and could not be considered by them for the purpose of determining the motive of the defendant in causing the arrest of the plaintiff. For the same reason the court properly excluded the offer on the part of the plaintiff to show that the defendant was anxious to have the lease annulled. The reason which the plaintiff urges as grounds for its admission, viz., that the defendant was anxious to have the lease forfeited, and instituted this action for the purpose of ascertaining whether there were any grounds upon which such forfeiture could be shown, is only a conjee
5. The demurrer to the second count in the complaint was properly sustained. There can be no action for injury to character when the publication by which the injury is claimed to have been sustained is privileged. Section 47 of the Civil Code declares that “ a privileged communication is one made .... 2. In any legislative or judicial proceeding, or in any other official proceeding authorized by law.”
The effect of this provision is to make a_complaint in a court of justice which has jurisdiction of the offense charged an absolute privilege, for which the complainant is not liable in a civil action. (Hollis v. Meux, 69 Cal. 625; 58 Am. Rep. 574.) If the complainant in such proceeding makes a false accusation, the remedy therefor is to procure his indictment for perjury, but he cannot be made liable for damages in a civil action.
The publication charged in this count of the complaint was a criminal complaint made by the defendant before a justice of the peace, and presented in the justice’s court of Anderson township, county of Mendocino. If the matters set forth in that complaint constituted a crime, the justice’s court had jurisdiction to entertain the complaint (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 115); and it is only upon the theory that such facts did constitute a crime that the complaint can be held to be an injury to the plaintiff’s character.
The judgment and order denying a new trial are reversed.
Paterson, J., and Garoutte, J., concurred.