State v. Kort

Like an old-fashioned milking stool, this criminal conviction rests upon three legs: (1) The statute setting the compensation for town supervisors; (2) a 1915 decision of this court holding: “Expenses are not allowed to town supervisors by any statute”; 2 and (3) the statute making it a criminal offense for a public officer to do an act “which he knows is in excess of his lawful authority or which he knows . . . is forbidden by law.” 3 For the conviction to stand, each leg of the stool must bear its share of the weight. They do not, and the conviction falls.

Fitting together the two statutes…