Alexander V. Lindsey

In order for us to determine the correctness of the ruling below granting the motion for judgment as of nonsuit, on the cause of action for false arrest and false imprisonment, it is necessary to consider certain preliminary questions. (1) Was the purported warrant, copy of which appears in the record, sufficient to authorize a constable or other lawful officer in Buncombe County to arrest the plaintiff?  (2) Conceding such warrant to be valid, was the arrest made by defendant Carl W. Smith, a policeman of the town of Black Mountain, by direction of Sheriff Brown, illegal, when the sheriff retained the possession of the warrant in Asheville?