Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1851

State v. Warren

State v. Warren
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine · Decided July 1, 1851
33 Me. 30

State v. Warren

Opinion of the Court

The inquiry should not have been, what the house was designed for, or was capable of being, but whether it was then a dwellinghouse.

To constitute a building a dwellinghouse, it must be a habitation for man, and usually occupied by some person lodging in it at night, though such occupant may for a time be absent, leaving furniture therein, with a,n intention of returning. 4 Black. Com. 224; 1 Leech, 185; 2 Russell, 914, 922.

Under an intimation from the Court that the instructions were erroneous, and could not be sustained, the Attorney General entered a nol. pros., and the defendant was discharged.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.