Merrill v. Carr
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Assumpsit. The defendant filed in set-off a note for $50, signed by the plaintiff. Facts found by a referee. The defendant, detecting the plaintiff, one evening, stealing corn and potatoes from the defendant’s field, charged him with the previous commission of other similar larcenies, of which the plaintiff claimed to be innocent, but of which he was in fact guilty.
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Assumpsit. The defendant filed in set-off a note for $50, signed by the plaintiff. Facts found by a referee. The defendant, detecting the plaintiff, one evening, stealing corn and potatoes from the defendant’s field, charged him with the previous commission of other similar larcenies, of which the plaintiff claimed to be innocent, but of which he was in fact guilty. The offence was spoken of as a state-prison crime, and the defendant proposed to cause the plaintiff’s house to be searched that night for evidence of former larcenies of the defendant’s property. The note was then given, not in…
1Opinion of the CourtBingham, J.
When the plaintiff was discovered carrying away the defendant’s property, a search of his house for other stolen property was contemplated. A part of the consideration of the note was the defendant’s agreement not to search the plaintiff’s. house that night. Issuing a warrant to search a house for stolen property is a proceeding to recover the property and bring the thief to punishment. G. L., c. 255, ss. 2, 3, 4; Morrison Just. & Sher. 260. A contract to suppress a criminal prosecution, even for a limited time, is illegal. The consideration of the note in question was partly the defendant’s…
2Cited by1 opinion
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