Finch v. State
Mississippi Supreme Court
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Jackson County. HoN. S. H. Terral, Judge. Sampson W. Finch was indicted by the grand jury of Jackson County upon the charge that he “ Sampson Finch, in said county, on the first day of October, A. D. 1882, did willfully disturb the peace of Rebecca Jones, then and there by offensive conduct there, against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi.”
Read the full summary
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Jackson County. HoN. S. H. Terral, Judge. Sampson W. Finch was indicted by the grand jury of Jackson County upon the charge that he “ Sampson Finch, in said county, on the first day of October, A. D. 1882, did willfully disturb the peace of Rebecca Jones, then and there by offensive conduct there, against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi.” The defendant moved to quash the indictment because it failed to set out the particular acts charged as offensive. The court overruled the motion, and the defendant was convicted and now appeals to this…
1Opinion of the CourtArnold, J.
The motion to quash the indictment should have been sustained. It was not enough to allege in the words of the statute that the disturbance was caused by offensive conduct. As a general rule, it is sufficient to charge a statuary offense in the words of the statute, but this rule does not apply where there are in the language of the statute no sufficient words to define any offense. What constituted the offensive conduct, or the nature or character of the offensive conduct, should have been stated in the indictment. Harrington v. The State, 54 Miss. 490; Jesse v. The State, 28 Miss. 100;…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Jesse v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1854
- Sarah v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1872
- Harrington v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1877
3Cited by6 opinions
- Spears v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1965
- State v. NeedhamMississippi Supreme Court · 1938
- Elmore v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1902
- Stapleton v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1922
- Spears v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1965
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.