Legal Opinion

Duncan v. Commonwealth

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Decided October 5, 1818PublishedCited by 2 opinions

In Error. WRIT of error to Franklin county. the defendant below, was convicted of adultery and. bastardy, but before judgment, received a pardon from the governor for the adultery. Having pleaded his pardon, the Court allowed it, so far as regarded the punishment of adultery, but gave judgment against him for costs.

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In Error. WRIT of error to Franklin county. the defendant below, was convicted of adultery and. bastardy, but before judgment, received a pardon from the governor for the adultery. Having pleaded his pardon, the Court allowed it, so far as regarded the punishment of adultery, but gave judgment against him for costs. The Court likewise made an order, that the dant should pay to the mother of the two male bastard children, twelve dollars for her lying-in expenses, and one dred and eighty dollars for the expenses of maintaining the said children, from their birth, to the day of making the said…

1Opinion of the Court

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

Tilghman C. J.

It is assigned for error, 1st, « That the indictment is defective, in not mentioning the township in which the defendant resided, when the offence was committed.” This is said to be necessary, because the fine for adultery is to be divided between the Commonwealth, and the supervisors of roads of the township. By the act of 31st March, 1772, the fine was to be divided between the governor, and the overseers of the poor of the township, where the offender resided at the time of committing the offence. But in the place of the overseers of…

2Cited by2 opinions

  1. Commonwealth v. DennistonSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1839
  2. Playford v. CommonwealthSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1846

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