Lavalle v. People ex rel. Trottier

Citations

• 68 Ill. 252

Syllabus

<p>1: Quo wabbanto—what the commencement of proceeding by. The filing of an information, in the nature of a guo wa/rranto, without notice or leave, will not be regarded as the commencement of the suit. It will not be considered as commenced until leave of- the court is obtained to file the information.</p> <p>2. Same—of the summons. The Practice act requires that the first process in all actions in courts of record shall be a summons, except when special bail is required, which shall be returnable to the first day of the next term of court, unless ten days shall not intervene, in which case it shall be returnable to the first day of the succeeding term. The practice in quo warranto, in this respect, is the same as in civil cases, and the defendant is entitled to be summoned ten days prior to the first day of the term to which the writ is returnable.</p> <p>3. Same—process and service to authorize default. Where leave was granted to file an information, in the nature of a quo warranto, during term time, and a summons ordered to be issued, returnable to the same term, it was held, that a default taken upon the service of such summons was irregular and erroneous.</p> <p>4. Same—sufficiency of information. Am information, in the nature of a quo warranto, which charged that the defendant “is unlawfully executing the duties and exercising the powers of supervisor of the village of Cahokia, etc., and that he hath since, etc., unlawfully executed the duties and exercised the powers of supervisor, etc., and received and enjoyed the emoluments thereof,” was held entirely too indefinite and general, as it failed to charge the defendant with intruding into or usurping the office, or specify in what way he unlawfully executed the duties and exercised the powers of the office.</p> <p>5. The same certainty that is required in an indictment is necessary in an information in the nature of a quo warranto, and therefore all the material facts constituting the offense must be precisely