Commonwealth v. Stratton
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Indictments, each charging that the defendant, upon a certain yonng woman, in the indictment named, made an assault and administered to her a large quantity of cantharides, “ the same being ” “ a deleterious and destructive drug,” with intent to injure her health, whereby she became sick and her life was despaired of. Both cases were tried together.
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Indictments, each charging that the defendant, upon a certain yonng woman, in the indictment named, made an assault and administered to her a large quantity of cantharides, “ the same being ” “ a deleterious and destructive drug,” with intent to injure her health, whereby she became sick and her life was despaired of. Both cases were tried together. It appeared at the trial in the Superior Court, before Eevens, J., that the defendant, in company with another young man, called upon the young women in the indictments named, and during the call offered them some figs, which they ate, they having…
1Opinion of the Court
Wells, J.*
All the judges concur that the evidence introduced at the trial would warrant a conviction of assault and battery, or for a simple assault, which it includes. And in the opinion of a majority of the court, the instructions given required the jury to find all that was essential to constitute the offence of assault and battery.
The jury must have found a physical injury inflicted upon another person by a voluntary act of the defendant, directed towards her, which was without justification and unlawful. Although the defendant was ignorant of the qualities of the drug he administered,…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Commonwealth v. BurkeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1870
3Cited by52 opinions
- Beausoliel v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1939
- Commonwealth v. PierceMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1884
- Mathias v. Accor Economy Lodging, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2003
- Commonwealth v. BurkeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1983
- Commonwealth v. PorroMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
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