Finch v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court October 15, 1886

Finch v. State, 64 Miss. 461 (Miss. 1886)

Arnold

Opinion of the Court

ARNOLD, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The motion to quash the indictment should have been sustained. It was not enough to allege in the words of the statute that the disturbance was caused by offensive conduct. As a general rule, it is sufficient to charge a statuary offense in the words of the statute, but this rule does not apply where there are in the language of the statute no sufficient words to define any offense. What constituted the offensive conduct, or the nature or character of the offensive conduct, should have been stated in the indictment. Harrington v. The State, 54 Miss. 490; Jesse v. The State, 28 Miss. 100; Sarah v. The State, 28 Miss. 267.

Reversed.

Reference

Full Case Name: S. W. Finch v. State
Cited By: 6 cases
Status: Published
Syllabus: Indictment. Statutory offense. Offensive conduct. How set out. Section 2769, Code of 1880, considered. Under § 2769, Code of 1880, which makes it a misdemeanor for any one to disturb the peace of another “ by offensive conduct,” the indictment for such offense must set out the particular act or acts charged as offensive. It is not sufficient to charge the crime in the general language of the statute, as it does not contain words sufficient to define any offense. Harrington v. The State, 54 Miss. 490; Jesse v. The State, 28 lb. 100; ¡Sara/i v. The State, 28 lb. 267, cited.