In Re Diehl
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Hart, J.
The petitioner was arrested by N. E. Boyd, city marshal of the city of Napa, upon a warrant of arrest issued out of the justice’s court of Napa township in the county of Napa.
The complaint upon which said warrant of arrest was issued charges the petitioner with the violation of Ordinance No. 374, as amended by Ordinance No. 400, of said city of Napa, in that said petitioner engaged in carrying on the business of horseshoeing “for profit, for which a license is required, without procuring a license therefor.”
It is claimed by the petitioner that his restraint is illegal and void, and he therefore asks that he be restored to his liberty through the writ of habeas corpus.
The ordinance referred to enumerates a long list of businesses and occupations made, by the provisions thereof, subject to a municipal license tax. In certain instances the amount of the tax required is graduated according to the amount of the business done.
Section 21 of said ordinance provides that “every person engaging in the business of shoeing horses, or who does a general blacksmithing business, shall pay a license tax of $1 per month.”