57 Iowa 103 | Iowa | 1881
It only remains to be determined whether or not this was a criminal proceeding. It appears to us that where authority is given to a municipal corporation to pass ordinances, the violation of which is punishable with fine, or fines and imprisonment, the proceedings thereunder are necessarily criminal proceedings. See Jaquith v. Royce, 42 Iowa, 406. All of the proceedings in the District Court upon appeal are the same, as upon appeals from the judgments of the justices of the peace under the criminal laws of the State. Now, when the State has delegated authority to a municipal corporation to enact ordinances for the punishment of offenses as crimes, the proceedings are criminal, and an acquittal upon appeal to the District Court is an end of the defendant’s liability. The motion to re-tax costs will be sustained.