Commonwealth v. Sharpless
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
THE following indictment was found in the Mayor’s Court of the city of Philadelphia, and removed to this Court by certiorari.
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THE following indictment was found in the Mayor’s Court of the city of Philadelphia, and removed to this Court by certiorari. “ March Sessions, 1815. “ City of Philadelphia, ss. « The Grand Inquest of the Commonwealth of Pennsyha- “ nia, inquiring for the city of Philadelphia, upon their oaths “ and affirmations respectively do present, that Jesse Sharp- « less, late.of the same city yeoman, John Haines, late of the “ same city yeoman, George Haines, late of the same cityyeo- “ man, John Steel, late of the same city yeoman, Ephraim “ Martin, late of the same city yeoman, and —Mayo, also “…
1Opinion of the Court
Tilghman C. J.
This is an indictment against Jesse Sharpless and others, for exhibiting an indecent picture to divers persons for money. The defendants consented, that a verdict should go against them, and afterwards moved in arrest of judgment for several reasons.
1. “That the matter laid in the indictment is not an in- “ dictable offence.” It was denied, in the 'first place, that even a public exhibition of an indecent picture was indictable; but supposing it to be so, it was insisted, that this indictment contained no charge of a public exhibition. In England, there are some acts of…
2Cited by11 opinions
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- Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the UniversityNew York Court of Appeals · 1958
- Timmons v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1898
- Oldham v. SparksTexas Supreme Court · 1866
- Smith v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1960
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