Hanson v. Krehbiel

Citations

• 68 Kan. 670
• 75 P. 1041
• 64 L.R.A. 790
• 1904 Kan. LEXIS 160

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE, COURT.</p> <p>1. Constitutional Law — Libel—Void Statute. Chapter 249,. Laws of 1901 (Gen. Stat. 1901, ch. 576), relating to libel, is unconstitutional and void, being in conflict with section 18 of the bill of' rights, in that it denies the right in certain cases to one injured, in his reputation to have a remedy therefor by due course of law.</p> <p>2. - “Remedy by Due Course of Law ” — Definition. “Remedy by due course of law,” as used in section 18 of the bill of rights, means the reparation for injury, ordered by a tribunal having jurisdiction, in due course of procedure and after a fair hearing,</p> <p>3. - Constitutional Bight Not Satisfied by Statute. The right to a remedy by due course of law is not satisfied by the requirement contained in a statute to make specific reparation for the injury done, which reparation is the same in all cases, bears no relation to the injury suffered, and has not been decreed by a tribunal after ascertainment of the extent of such injury.</p> <p>4. -- Statute, if Separable, May be Void in Part. While one part of a statute may be unconstitutional and void and another p.art good, this is the case only where the portions are plearly separable and susceptible of separate enforcement; but when it is apparent that the entire faulty enactment is designed to constitute a complete whole, and that one part would not have been enacted except in connection with the other, if a part is found to-be bad, the entire statute must fall.</p> <p>5. Libel — Sufficient Publication — General Damages Becovera- ■ ble. A false publication, charging that one had been arrested under an accusation of assault and threatened violence with a. pistol, in an attempt to collect a bill, is libelous per se, and the libeled one may have general damages, without alleging or proving specific injury.</p>