People v. Kaplan

I vote to reverse and dismiss the informations.

Defendant has been convicted of two violations under the so-called “ Sunday laws ” (Penal Law, § 2140 et seq., particularly § 2146). The statutes are ancient, have their parallels in other jurisdictions, and for over a century-and-a-half have eluded sharp delineation as to their meaning and effect (People v. Friedman, 302 N. Y. 75).

The question in this case is whether the operation of an automatic laundry on a Sunday is in violation of the statute which prohibits 1 ‘ All trades, manufactures, agricultural or mechanical employments upon the first…