United States v. McAvoy
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York
This was a motion in arrest of judgment. The defendant [John C. McAvoy] was indicted, under section 7 of the act of July 29, 1850 (9 Stat. 441), for setting fire at sea to the ship Japan, with intent to bum her, and was tried and convicted.
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This was a motion in arrest of judgment. The defendant [John C. McAvoy] was indicted, under section 7 of the act of July 29, 1850 (9 Stat. 441), for setting fire at sea to the ship Japan, with intent to bum her, and was tried and convicted. The- grounds urged in support of the piotion were (1) that the indictment did not bear the signature of a district attorney, that office being vacant when the indictment was found; (2) that the indictment did not charge that the of-fence, being a felony, was committed felo-niously. The grand jury which found the indictment was empanneled, and sworn during…
1Opinion of the Court
BETTS, District Judge.2
[The main objection taken by the prisoner’s counsel to the indictments was that the grand jury originated them of their own accord, and that they were brought into court, and the prisoners were put to trial under them, without the signature of a district attorney being affixed to the indictments; and that, in fact, the office of district-attorney was vacant when the grand jury acted upon the cases, and found and brought the indictments into court. It was also objected that the indictments were void in not charging that the various offences, being felonies, were…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- United States v. McAvoyUnited States Circuit Court · 1860
3Cited by2 opinions
- United States v. StoneUnited States Circuit Court · 1881
- Nakano v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1920