Atlantic City v. Goldstein
Atlantic City v. Goldstein
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The prosecutor was convicted before the recorder of Atlantic City for the violation of an ordinance
It is not denied that the complaint and conviction are within the terms of the ordinance, which need not therefore be mentioned in detail.
The only grounds urged for reversal are that the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction, and that the acts proved constitute no offence within the meaning of the ordinance. The conviction shows that, after the ordinance was offered in evidence, the complaining witness testified that he was at the defendant’s store (naming the location) on the day preceding, and that he sold the defendant a second-hand silver watch at his store, for which the defendant paid the witness thirty cents; that defendant took the watch and put it in his case for sale; that he had second-hand goods in his case and in the store; that he had them mixed with new goods; that defendant said he bought and sold second-hand goods. The defendant testified that he bought the watch, as he did all old goods, for the materials in it; that he fixed them up and used them with other jewelry; that he had no license for a store for the sale of second-hand goods. (The case was here rested, with the result that the recorder found the defendant guilty of the offence charged, and adjudged that he pay a fine of $15.
It is contended that -there is not sufficient evidence to warrant such an inference. The argument is that the only fair inference from this testimony is that the defendant told the exact truth when he said, in substance, that he bought the watch, as he did all old goods, to use them in the repair of other jewelry. But the complainant’s evidence developed pertinent circumstances that were to be considered. They were that defendant kept a store for the sale of goods; that among the goods he exhibited in his store were second-hand goods, and that they were mixed with new goods. The question for the recorder was, why were the second-hand goods thus exhibited if not for the purpose of sale ? He might infer that the defendant had not satisfactorily answered this question. And the complainant further testified that the defendant had said he bought and sold second-hand goods. This was proper evidence to be considered in support of the charge. The defendant did not allude in any way to the alleged admission, so it stood uncontradieted. Of course, in prosecutions under a penal statute, the evidence should show a case clearly within its provisions. Allaire v. Howell Works Co., 2 Gr. 21.
We think the evidence above discussed does clearly sustain
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.