People v. Cook

I. To constitute a public nuisance under section 1530 of the Penal Law the act or omission complained of must have been done “ unlawfully ” and it must have led to one of the results mentioned in the four subdivisions of that section.

a. Was the act here in question done “ unlawfully? ” .

In the absence of any language to indicate a contrary intent, I think the word “ unlawfully ” in our statute must be construed as referring to the body of law which is binding upon the people and courts of New York as a separate sovereignty.

“We have here two sovereignties, deriving power from different…