Commonwealth v. Everson
Commonwealth v. Everson
Opinion of the Court
1. Duly certified copies of the complaint and warrant were sent by the trial justice to the Superior Court. Copies of the officer’s return, certificates of witnesses, memorandum of recognizance, conviction or judgment, costs and proceeding of appeal, were upon one piece of paper, purporting to be a true copy of record, attested by the signature of the trial justice. The defendant contended in the Superior Court that
2. One of the questions raised -at the trial was whether the building or place of the defendant was on Monroe Street, upon which it was conceded that there was a building used as a public school within four hundred feet of an alleged entrance to the defendant’s premises. The bill of exceptions shows that the front of the defendant’s house was on Liberty Street; and that between Monroe Street and the defendant’s premises was land of one Thayer, bounding the defendant’s premises upon the entire easterly side. About twenty feet west of Monroe Street, and nearly parallel therewith, a fence had been erected throughout the entire length of the Thayer lot, leaving that part upon Monroe Street unfenced. In this fence was a picket gate, to which a footpath proceeded from a door on the east side of the licensed tenement across land of the defendant and of Thayer to the gate, and thence across the other land of Thayer to Monroe Street. The government contended that the premises of Thayer west of the fence were used and occupied by the defendant ; and that his lot east of the fence had been used by the public to pass over on foot and with horses and carriages, so as to become practically a part of Monroe Street.
The presiding judge instructed the jury, that, if they were satisfied that Monroe Street, as used and occupied by the public, adjoined these premises, and there was an entrance thereto from Monroe Street, they should find that the defendant had no license; that it made no difference as to the legal title to the land adjoining the street; “ if it adjoins the street as used by the public, and as used by school children going to and from school, the defendant ought to have no license.”
The latter part of the instructions given make no reference to any access to the defendant’s premises from Monroe Street, and, for the reason before given, are in this respect defective.
Exceptions sustained.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Commonwealth v. Andrew J. Everson
- Status
- Published