Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1917

State v. . Lance

State v. . Lance
Supreme Court of North Carolina · Decided December 22, 1917 · Beown
94 S.E. 721; 175 N.C. 773; 1917 N.C. LEXIS 456 (South Eastern Reporter)

State v. . Lance

Opinion of the Court

Beown, J.

It is stated in the brief for the State that “the evidence does not show any dedication of the obstructed cartway to the public use, nor any adverse use of the cartway by the defendant which would give him an easement.”

An examination of the record corroborates the conclusion of the Attorney-General. If there is no evidence of dedication to the public, or any evidence of an adverse continuous user by the prosecuting witness for the period required by law to give him an easement, then the defendant could not be guilty of unlawfully and willfully obstructing the road, as the obstruction was on that part of the road where it crosses the defendant’s land.

The case is governed by what is said in S. v. Norris, 174 N. C., 808.

Reversed.

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