State v. Atwood
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL PROM CIRCUIT COURT, POND DU LAC COUNTY. This action was commenced in the name of the state, before a justice of the peace, to recover a penalty for an obstruction to a highway, and taken thence by appeal to the circuit court. On the trial the plaintiff introduced evidence tending to show that the highway had been worked through the lands of the defendant for several years previous, and that it had been laid out, and the survey recorded.
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APPEAL PROM CIRCUIT COURT, POND DU LAC COUNTY. This action was commenced in the name of the state, before a justice of the peace, to recover a penalty for an obstruction to a highway, and taken thence by appeal to the circuit court. On the trial the plaintiff introduced evidence tending to show that the highway had been worked through the lands of the defendant for several years previous, and that it had been laid out, and the survey recorded. Considerable testimony was given on this point. The laying out was done in 1849, and it had been used and travelled on as a highway since 1850. The…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Dixon, C. J.
Chapter 19 of the General Laws of 1857, is prospective, and not retro-active in its operation. The language, “ which shall have been opened and worked,” plainly points to the future and not the past. It is a well settled rule of construction, that statutes are not to be construed retrospectively, or to have a retro-active effect, unless it shall clearly appear that it was so intended by the legislature, and not even then, if such construction would impair vested or constitutional rights. If this act were capable *424of being so construed, it would, as is suggested by the…
2Cited by4 opinions
- Chicago Title & Trust Co. v. BashfordWisconsin Supreme Court · 1904
- Klaus v. City of Greek BayWisconsin Supreme Court · 1874
- Austin v. BurgessWisconsin Supreme Court · 1874
- Tomlinson v. WallaceWisconsin Supreme Court · 1862