Commonwealth v. Whalen
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Complaint to the District Court of Northern Berkshire against the defendant and Thomas Whalen, for keeping and maintaining a common nuisance, to wit, a certain tenement in North Adams used for the illegal sale and beeping for sale of intoxicating liquors from October 13, 1887, to March 6, 1888. In the Superior Court, on appeal, the defendant seasonably filed a plea in abatement, and a motion to dismiss the complaint, both reciting, in substance, that the Superior Court had…
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Complaint to the District Court of Northern Berkshire against the defendant and Thomas Whalen, for keeping and maintaining a common nuisance, to wit, a certain tenement in North Adams used for the illegal sale and beeping for sale of intoxicating liquors from October 13, 1887, to March 6, 1888. In the Superior Court, on appeal, the defendant seasonably filed a plea in abatement, and a motion to dismiss the complaint, both reciting, in substance, that the Superior Court had no jurisdiction, because the defendant was improperly tried in the District Court, and that its judgment and the sentence…
1Opinion of the CourtDevens, J.
Assuming in favor of the defendant’s contention, that Mary Whalen could not properly have been found guilty of the offence charged against her, and sentenced therefor, without other and further hearing than that which she received from the District Court, this irregularity could not operate to deprive the appellate court of its jurisdiction, or afford ground for sustaining the defendant’s plea in abatement, or motion to dismiss. The District Court had jurisdiction of the subject matter of the complaint, and of the person of the defendant, even if the defendant was also brought before it upon…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Commonwealth v. HolmesMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
- Commonwealth v. FredericksMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
- Commonwealth v. HarveyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1873
- Commonwealth v. CalhaneMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1871
3Cited by1 opinion
- Commonwealth v. PopeMassachusetts Appeals Court · 1976