89 P. 576 | Wyo. | 1907
Lead Opinion
The plaintiffs in error, who were defendants below and who will be so designated here, were charged by information, tried, found guilty of a misdemeanor as defined by Section 2572, R. S-, and each sentenced to pay a fine of $200, and one-half the costs taxed at $145.85, and to be confined in jail until such fine and costs be paid or until otherwise discharged by due course of law.
1. It is assigned as error that the court erred in over 7 ruling defendant’s motion for a new trial.
This assignment brings before this court all of the grounds set up in the motion, and they are entitled to consideration unless from a defective record the jurisdiction to do SO' has not been conferred. The grounds of the motion are as follows:
“First, that the verdict of the jury is not sustained by the evidence; second, that the verdict of the jury is contrary to the evidence; third, for errors of law occurring at the trial of the said cause, in this * * The alleged errors are voluminous and relate to the admission of evidence over the objection of the defendants, with the exception of the objection to the giving of the.following instruction, viz.: “The court instructs the jury that under the laws of the State of Wyoming, any miner, workman or other person who shall intentionally enter any place of a mine against caution, or in disobedience to any order given in carrying out the provisions of law relative to coal mining, or who does any other act whereby the lives or the health of persons or security of a coal mine or the machinery employed therein is endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor; if, therefore, ypu find from the evidence in this case, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendants, Neis Koppala and Isaac Lampe, were miners employed in the Hanna Coal Mine No. 1 at Hanna, Carbon County, State of Wyoming, that the said defendants against caution and in disobedience of orders given in carrying out the provisions of law relating to coal mining, and that the said defendants entered portions of*409 said Hanna Coal Mine No. 1 and did thereby endanger the lives and health of persons employed in said mine, and the machinery employed therein, you should find the defendants guilty.”
“Fourth, that the verdict of the jury is contrary to the law; wherefore the said defendants, Neis Koppala and Isaac Lampe, pray the court that the said verdict heretofore rendered in the above and foregoing entitled cause be set aside and that the defendants be granted a new trial in said, cause.”
It is apparent that the consideration of each or either of the first, second and fourth grounds of the motion requires all of the evidence taken upon the trial to be included in the bill of exceptions. This being a criminal case is governed by the rules prescribed by the code of criminal procedure. Section 5377, R. S., provides that “if, exceptions be taken to the decision of the court on overruling a motion for a new trial because the verdict is not sustained by sufficient evidence, or is contrary to law, the bill of exceptions must contain all of the evidence, and the taking of all bills of exceptions shall be governed by the rules established in civil cases.” The third ground must be based upon an exception taken at the time the decision or ruling complained of was made. (Sec. 3740, R. S.) And such exception should be preserved and brought into the record by the bill. (Sec. 3743, R. S.) Attached to the bill of exceptions, but not preceding the authentication by the judge and not, therefore, included in the bill, is what purports to be a transcript of the evidence certified to by the stenographer as being “full, true and correct copy of all shorthand notes and testimony taken by me in the case of The State of Wyoming v. Nels Koppala and Isaac Lampe.” This transcript is not referred to in the bill, nor is it in any way identified or authenticated so as to make it a part thereof. The case is, therefore, here upon a record which does not include the evidence given upon the trial and this court under the statutes cannot review those ques
The motion for a new trial is based upon exceptions to alleged erroneous rulings of the court, and, although such motion is required to be incorporated in the bill of exceptions, it is not evidence of such rulings. The bill, properly allowed and signed, in so far as the motion is concerned, conveys the motion with the ruling upon it and the exception thereto into the record. The grounds stated therein are not of themselves evidence of error, but the court must look to other parts of the record of what occurred upon the trial, to determine whether a party has just cause for complaint and when the errors complained of should be, but are not, incorporated in the bill, other than by a mere recital in the motion, they cannot be here considered. The motion cannot stand as and for other material parts of the bill which have been omitted, nor can an exception to the ruling thereto be a substitute for an exception to a ruling-taken at the time and in the course of the trial and upon which the'motion is predicated. It is upon the exception taken at the time of the ruling complained of that the motion is based and upon which the right to a review is given after the same-has been brought to the attention of the trial court by such motion and then only when the exception has been properly brought into the record.
The exception to giving the instruction complained of is, however, .in the bill. The instruction sets forth all the elements of the offense as defined by the statute. While the word intentionally is used in the statute, such word only imports knowledge of the nature of the act at the time it was done by the accused — that it was done knowingly. While the statute requires that the act be done intentionally, and the word is omitted in the latter part of the instruction, jret words of similar import are used. If the defendants were employed in the mine and committed the-act charged
The exception to the instruction brings before this court defendants’ contention that the statute under which the prosecution was had is unconstitutional. Section 2572, Revised Statutes, was originally enacted by the first state legislative assembly as Section 7, Chapter 80, 'Session Laws, 1890-91. The act is entitled, “An act creating the office of State Inspector of Coal Mines, fixing said inspector’s salary and prescribing his duties; also providing for the proper ventilation of coal mines and for other purposes; and providing for appropriating moneys for a contingent fund for said office.” Section 7 of the act under which the information is filed provides that: “Any miner, workman or other person who shall intentionally injure any shaft, lamp, instrument, air course or brattise, or obstruct or throw open air ways, or carry lighted pipes or matches into places that are worked by safety lamps, or handle or disturb any part of the machinery, or open a door and not close it again, or enter any place of the mine against caution, or disobey any order given in carrying out the provisions of this chapter, or do any other act whereby the lives or health of persons or security of the mines or machinery is endangered, shall be
In discussing this question it is unnecessary to decide whether other parts of the act are unconstitutional, for by the constitution parts of an act which do come within the provision and scope of the title will not be disturbed unless the whole act is void as embracing and relating to more than one subject and so expressed in the title. In reading the various sections and provisions of the act it is apparent that the object of the Legislature was to provide for the safety of coal mines and employes therein. That is the main subject of the act, and the details and methods provided are in furtherance'of that object. Provisions are made as to how a mine shall be ventilated to avoid danger, and it is made the duty of the owner or agent to maintain ample means for ventilation; as to the amount of pure air necessary to be admitted to the mine for each person actually engaged therein; as to air passages to rid the mine of dangerous and noxious gases; that ever) place where gas is known to exist shall be examined,-and it shall be unlawful for any miner to enter any mine or part of a mine generating fire-damp until it has been examined and reported safe, except when permitted to do so for the purpose of making it safe. In furtherance of this general purpose of keeping the mine in a safe condition, it is also provided that a State Inspector of Coal Mines shall be appointed, whose duty is to examine coal mines, to see that the provisions of this chapter are carried
It is unnecessary to enlarge further upon the provisions of the act. Enough has already been said to show its object and purpose. The provision for the appointment of the coal mine inspector and providing his duties were all in aid of and in furtherance of the same general purpose by securing the services of one competent to see that the mines were kept in proper condition, so as to preserve the health and lives of those who are employed therein. The section under which the defendants were prosecuted was in aid of and in furtherance of this general purpose, and to prevent any interference with the performance of the duties exacted of the mine owners or their agents and the State Coal Mine Inspector with reference thereto. In construing án act the constitutionality of which was assailed upon the same ground this court, Groesbeck, C. J., delivering the opinion, said: “The act is not invalidated * * * so long as the subjects of the Legislature are congruous, cognate or germane and in furtherance of the general subject of the enactment, even though the act may authorize many things of a diverse nature to -be done. The constitutional provision must bé reasonably construed, for a narrow construction would impede legislation to such a degree that none but a precisian could successfully draft a valid enactment. If the unities of legislation are preserved, and the distinct provisions are but parts of a whole and essential to the whole, the constitutional requirement is met, as the integers of statutory law are not enumerated by the constitution, and, therefore, the Legislature is at liberty to make such divisions of the general subject
It is urged that the act is unconstitutional as being a delegation of power. The act aims to secure the safety and prescribe rules for the guidance and conduct of those engaged in coal mining and which is known to be attended with much danger. While it would be lawful for an employe to enter a part of the mine at one time, it would be unlawful to do so at another. The law cannot nor could the Legislature determine the existence of gas or fire-damp- in any room of a mine or its unsafe condition at any particular time. The law is not suspended nor enforced at the whims of the mine superintendent or the mine-boss. It is continually in force and it is a combination of conditions and the intentional acts of one with reference thereto that constitutes the statutory offense. It is in the nature of quarantine or health laws, where the health officer determines certain questions of fact and upon which he is authorized, if necessary for the public safety, to establish a quarantine. So in the case before us the law enjoins those in authority' upon the actual or supposed unsafe condition of any part of a mine to stop all mining in and close the mine in part or in whole as may be necessary until it is rendered safe and secure against danger. The law recognizes that to enter it under such circumstances is dangerous to the one so entering, as it is to the security of the mine and machinery and
2. It is urged that the information fails to allege the ownership of the mine or give the names of those employed in the mine whose lives and health were endangered by the acts of the defendants. While the information might have been more specific in some respects, we do not think it insufficient for that reason. The gist of the offense is the intentional entering a coal mine by one under such circumstances as to endanger the health and lives of those employed .therein, and the security of the mine and machinery of the same. It is, of course, necessary to designate or state what coal mine, but the ownership thereof is not necessarily the only way of describing it. If it was owned by the defendants, proof thereof would not as in larceny entitle them to acquittal, for the gist of the crime is the violation of a statutory rule which is in the nature of a police regulation. Nor was it necessary to give the names of all of those whose lives and health were endangered. It appears from the information that'the defendants themselves were employed in the mine at the time and the names of these two at least of those employed therein are given whose lives were endangered by their own act, and it is also alleged that by such act they endangered the security of said mine and the machinery used therein. It is sufficient in such case to allege such descriptive matter as will inform the accused of the nature of the offense charged and enable him to prepare to meet the same, and this rule is satisfied when upon conviction or acquittal one is able to plead the same in bar of a future prosecution for the same offense. This right is certainly secured to the defendants under this information. The objection goes to the form and manner of charging
The other assignments of error as already stated are predicated upon matter which should be, but is not, incorporated in the bill of exceptions, and in the absence of which this court has no jurisdiction to review.
No prejudicial error appearing in the record, the judgment will be affirmed. • Affirmed.
Rehearing
ON PETITION FOR REHEARING.
This case was decided at the April, 1907, term of this court. A petition for a rehearing- was filed, and, as the case had been submitted on briefs' without oral argument, the court requested oral arguments on the petition for rehearing, and the case has been argued orally and at length.
The petition is based upon two grounds, viz.: that the information is insufficient and charges no offense; and that the statute is unconstitutional. The charge contained in 'the information is as follows: That the defendants “on the 24th day of July, A. D. 1905, at the County of Carbon and State of Wyoming, did then and there, against the caution and in disobedience of the mining boss of Hanna Coal Mine No. 1, at Hanna, Wyoming, unlawfully, wrongfully and wilfully enter said Hanna Coal Mine No. 1, and did then and there, against the caution and in disobedience of the said mining boss, unlawfully, wrongfully and wilfully enter mine entry No. 28, of said Hanna Coal Mine No. 1, an unsafe portion of said mine, and did thereby endanger the lives and health of persons employed in said mine, and did then and there
It is contended that the information is not sufficient, because it does not state the names of the persons whose lives were endangered. But, as stated in the opinion, the information also charges that the security of the mine was endangered, which would constitute the offense' without the allegation that the life or health of anyone was endangered. The intent to endanger or injure life or property is not an element of the offense; but it consists of the intentional doing of an act with the knowledge that in so doing life or property will be thereby endangered;' and the information in this case charges that the defendants, against the caution of the mining boss, entered an unsafe place in the mine and did thereby endanger the life and health of those in the mine and the security of the mine and the machinery therein. To caution means to give notice of danger — to warn against danger — and a fair and reasonable construction of the language of the information is that the defendants did, after being notified and warned of the danger in so doing, intentionally enter an unsafe portion of the mine and did thereby endanger the lives and health of those in the mine and the security'of the mine and machinery. Accurate pleading might require a more definite statement in some respects than is contained in the information; but it contains all of the essential elements of the crime, and the charge is substantially in the language of the statute. The offense is purely statutory and the statute fully defines the offense, and in such case it .is usually sufficient to charge the offense in'the language of the statute. This is especially so
It has been very earnestly urged in argument that the statute is unconstitutional in that it is a delegation of legislative power, and in the language of the brief of counsel for plaintiffs in error, gives “a mining boss or other person the right to make his word equivalent to a law the disobedience of which would make them criminals.” We do not so construe the statute. It simply makes it a misdemeanor to enter a mine or some part thereof under certain defined conditions among which is, to intentionally enter any part of the mine against caution whereby life or property is endangered. It is not the entering of some safe place of the mine in disobedience of aii arbitratry order of the mining boss when neither life or property would be endangered in so doing; but it is the intentional act of wilfully and knowingly doing that which exposes life or property to danger that the law condemns. The statute makes it the duty of the mining boss to ascertain and know the condition of the mine and it imposes a penalty upon him for permitting anyone to work in an unsafe place except for the purpose of making it safe; and the provisions of the statute we are here considering makes the caution of the mining boss sufficient notice of the danger to render the act of intentionally entering after such caution, and thereby exposing life or property to danger, criminal. The Legislature certainly had the right to say that it should be a misdemeanor for one to intentionally do an act which would endanger life or property after being cautioned by one on whom the law imposed the duty of ascertaining the danger. In other words, the provision is a protection against unreasonable criminal accusations rather than the reverse, since it exposes one to prosecution only