State v. M'Dowell
Supreme Court of North Carolina
From Buncombe. Indictment for breaking into the possession of one Sarah Somers, and taking away her slave. ^ The fact was, that the slave was not in the actual possession of Sarah at the time of the taking, but was in the field of another person, to which she had been sent with James Somers, a brother of Sarah. M’Dowell, after some conversation with James and the slave, (who were children,) seized the slave, and placed her on the horse of Gray, and Gray carried her off.
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From Buncombe. Indictment for breaking into the possession of one Sarah Somers, and taking away her slave. ^ The fact was, that the slave was not in the actual possession of Sarah at the time of the taking, but was in the field of another person, to which she had been sent with James Somers, a brother of Sarah. M’Dowell, after some conversation with James and the slave, (who were children,) seized the slave, and placed her on the horse of Gray, and Gray carried her off. James offered such resistance as he could to the taking. The Court instructed the Jury, that Sarah Somers was, under the…
1Opinion of the Court
Tatior, Chief-Justice,
delivered the opinion of the Court: •,
The indictment charges, that the Defendant broke in and upon the possession of Sarah Somers, and took away her slave. The truth of the case was, that the slave, under the immediate control, and in the possession of James Somers, was five hundred yards distant from Sarah, and in another’s field. Though for all civil purposes, and to protect the right of Sarah, this possession of James’s would be considered as hers, yet the principle, on which such construction would be made, does not apply to indictment, in which there is “ no…
2Cited by2 opinions
- State v. . TrexlerSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1815
- State v. . WhiteSuperior Court of North Carolina · 1792