Commonwealth v. Kane
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Indictment for an assault upon a police officer. Trial an 3 verdict of guilty in the superior court, before Scudder, J., who aUowed the following bill of exceptions: “ The only evidence offered by the Commonwealth to show that Philip R. Morse, the alleged officer, was a police officer at the time of the offence, and the only evidence in the case relating thereto, was the testimony of himself and other witnesses to the effect that he was at the time acting as such officer,…
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Indictment for an assault upon a police officer. Trial an 3 verdict of guilty in the superior court, before Scudder, J., who aUowed the following bill of exceptions: “ The only evidence offered by the Commonwealth to show that Philip R. Morse, the alleged officer, was a police officer at the time of the offence, and the only evidence in the case relating thereto, was the testimony of himself and other witnesses to the effect that he was at the time acting as such officer, and that he had publicly acted as such for the four years preceding. The city marshal of Lynn testified that Morse had…
1Opinion of the CourtGbat, J.
The foundation of the rule of evidence, that a pen son acting as a public officer has been duly appointed to the office which he assumes to exercise, is that all acts done by what ap*425pears to be public authority are presumed to be rightly done, until the contrary is proved. Omnia presumuntur rite esse acta, donee probetur in contrarium. Bank of United States v. Dandridge, 12 Wheat. 64, 70. And it is well settled that the rule applies to prosecutions for injuries to a public officer in resisting him in the discharge of his duty.
In the leading case of the Gordons in 1789, all the judges of…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Bank of United States v. DandridgeSupreme Court of the United States · 1827
- People v. HopsonCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1845
- Commonwealth v. HeffronMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1869
- Jacob v. United StatesU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Virginia · 1821
- United States v. BachelderU.S. Circuit Court for the District of New Hampshire · 1814
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3Cited by17 opinions
- Commonwealth v. WrightMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1893
- Barry v. SmithMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1906
- State v. RamsdellSupreme Court of Rhode Island · 1971
- Masonic Education & Charity Trust v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1909
- Crawford v. StateIndiana Supreme Court · 1900
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