Ellis v. Town of Covington

Citations

• 122 Va. 821
• 94 S.E. 154
• 1917 Va. LEXIS 98

Syllabus

<p>Í. Sunday—Acts 1916, page 751, Amending Section 3799 of the■ Code of 1904—Violation a Misdemeanor.—The act of Assembly, Acts 1916, page 751, re-enacting and amending section 3799, Code of 1904, makes the violation of the Sabbath day, as prohibited by the act, a misdemeanor, thereby changing the rule announced'in Wells v. Commonwealth, 107 Va. 834, 57 S„ E. 588, where it was held that under the former statute the transgression was not a misdemeanor, and the forfeiture thereby imposed could only be recovered by a civil warrant.</p> <p>2. Statutes—Time of Taking Effect—Repeal—Abolition of Bill of Exceptions.—The act of March 21; 1916 (Acts 1916, page 722), preserving bills of exception, was made an emergency act, and went into effect immediately and contained no repealing clausé, whereas the act of March 21, 1916 (Acts 1916, page 708), abolishing bills of exception, was not an emergency act, and, by constitutional provision (Constitution 1902, section 53, article IV), did not take effect until ninety days after the adjournment of the legislature; and it expressly repealed all statutes in conflict with it. Consequently, there was no antagonism between the two statutes. The emergency act was operative at once, and continued in force during the interval between its passage and the time at which the act abolishing bills of exceptions took effect, when it was immediately repealed.</p> <p>8. Bill of Exceptions—Construction of Act Abolishing.—The act abolishing bills of exception, now in force (Acts 1916, page 708), was intended to simplify the procedure, and is very liberal in its provisions as to what shall constitute a sufficient certificate. While forms of certificates are prescribed by section 4 of the act, the next succeeding section declares, “that in all cases * * * it shall be sufficient that the trial judge, on the application of any party, shall certify the same simply and substantially in accordance with the provisions of this act.” Other ■ provisions of the ac