People v. Nichols

The defendant appeals from an order following a jury verdict of guilty of being the father of the illegitimate child of the complaining witness, a single woman. The proceeding is commonly referred to as a bastardy case, although the statute * does not use that term. The objective sought by the statute is to compel the father of an illegitimate child to assist in its support, and to prevent the child from being a public charge. The proceeding is quasi-criminal in nature in that the statute provides for a performance bond by the father and commitment to jail for failure to perform. However, the…