State v. Brown
State v. Brown
Opinion of the Court
This is a prosecution in two counts for a nuisance. The defendants were convicted before the
The failure of defendants to file a motion for new trial relieves us from considering the assignment of ■error based on the alleged insufficiency of the evidence to support the finding, and restricts our inquiry to ■errors arising upon the record proper. As to these, defendants allege that the count of the information under which they were convicted does not charge any ■offense. The count in question is framed under section ■3851 of the Revised Statutes of 1889, which is to wit: “Every person who shall erect or maintain any public nuisance not specified in the four next preceding sections, to the annoyance or injury of any portion of the inhabitants of this state, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.”
It is objected to this count that it does not aver that the persons alleged to have been damaged were inhabitants of the state, and also that it uses the words “great damage and common nuisance,” instead of “annoyance or injury,” in describing the effect of the acts complained of. The count in question, omitting formal parts and the allegations of venue, is as follows: “That the said Thornton L. Brown and William S.
These averments show there is no merit-in either of the points made as to the insufficiency of the count. While the term “inhabitants” is not employed, yet it is alleged that the injury complained of was suffered by certain named parties and 11 all the people there lawfully being and residing. ” This latter phrase is fully equivalent to the term “inhabitants,” when restricted to the locality in question.
The second contention is equally untenable. The expression “to the great damage and common nuisance” is certainly equivalent to the term “annoyance,” which is one of the statutory disjunctives employed in the
The only remaining point made by defendants is as to the refusal of the trial court to sustain a motion to dismiss, based on the fact that in the justice’s court a general judgment was rendered on both counts, and only a single fine assessed. It is well settled in criminal, as well as civil cases, that a general finding for the plaintiff is improper where several distinct causes of action are united in the indictment or petition. State v. Bedell, 35 Mo. App. 551. As two distinct nuisances were charged in two counts of the present information, the general judgment of the justice was invalid, but the defendants did not see proper to stand upon the invalidity of the judgment of-the justice and resort to other means than an appeal to prevent its enforcement. By taking their appeal to the circuit court the prosecution was transferred to that tribunal to be tried anew and upon its merits. Revised Statutes, 1889, sections 4362-4366. Hence, all the errors in the proceeding before the justice were immaterial.
The judgment herein is affirmed. All concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.