People v. Tait (261 Ill. 197, 1913)

Mr. Justice Vickers

delivered the opinion of the court:

At the April term of the circuit court of Edwards county Oscar Tait was indicted for violating a quarantine regulation of the county board of health. The indictment was certified to the county court for process and trial. The defendant filed a motion to quash the indictment, which was sustained. Thereupon the State’s attorney filed an information against Tait charging him with the same offense for which he had been indicted. A motion to quash the information was made and overruled and an exception taken. A trial was then had before a jury, resulting in a verdict finding the defendant guilty on the first and third counts of the information. After overruling motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment the court assessed a fine against the defendant of $50 on each count and rendered judgment thereon. The constitutionality of a statute being involved, a writ of error has been sued out of this court to bring into review the judgment below.

A bill of exceptions has been incorporated into the record, but it does not purport to contain all of the evidence. On the contrary, it affirmatively shows that none of the oral testimony has been incorporated into the bill of exceptions, and the absence of such testimony is explained by the statement that no stenographic notes were taken of the testimony. The sufficiency of the information was challenged by motion to quash, and the overruling of that motion is assigned as error in this court.

The information is in three counts, the first of which, omitting the formal portions, charges that “Oscar Tait, on the 20th day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirteen, at and in the county of Edwards aforesaid, in the State of Illinois aforesaid, and on divers other days as well before as after that date, the board of health of the county of Edwards, in the State of Illinois, having previously established certain rules and regulations for the prevention of the spread of a dangerously communicable disease, to-wit, the scarlet fever, and having directed that the said Oscar Tait, his residence and family be placed under quarantine because a member of his household was infected with a dangerously communicable disease, in pursuance of the said rules and regulations as aforesaid, the said Oscar Tait, not being then and there a resident of any incorporated city or village, did then and there unlawfully, willfully and maliciously violate and refuse to abide by the rules and regulations of thp said board of health of the county of Edwards, in the State of Illinois, by disregarding the aforesaid quarantine and leaving his residence, mingling with other people and returning thereto, thereby endangering the health and lives of other people, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the people of the State of Illinois.”

Plaintiff in error insists that the foregoing count is defective for the following omissions: (a) That there is no positive averment that the board of health of Edwards county.had established rules and regulations; (b) that there is no averment showing with certainty what the rules and regulations were; (c) that there is no charge that said rules and regulations were established before their alleged violation ; that the words “having previously,” in the information, refer to the time of filing the information and not to the time óf the acts complained of; (d) that there is no averment that the alleged quarantine was, in fact, established against plaintiff in error’s residence, the allegation in that regard being that said board “having directed that said Oscar Tait, his residence and' family be placed under quarantine;” (