Lawson v. State
Supreme Court of Alabama
Error to tbe Circuit Court- of Macon. Tried before tbe Hon. E. Pickens. Tbe indictment against tbe plaintiffs in error was as follows, viz: “ The State of Alabama., ) In tbe Circuit Court, at Spring Macon county. • j Term, 1849. “Tbe grand jurors for tbe said State, sworn and charged to inquire for tbe said county, upon their oaths present, that John R. Lawson, a man, and Mary Swinney, a woman, both late of said county, on the first day of January, 1849, and continually from…
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Error to tbe Circuit Court- of Macon. Tried before tbe Hon. E. Pickens. Tbe indictment against tbe plaintiffs in error was as follows, viz: “ The State of Alabama., ) In tbe Circuit Court, at Spring Macon county. • j Term, 1849. “Tbe grand jurors for tbe said State, sworn and charged to inquire for tbe said county, upon their oaths present, that John R. Lawson, a man, and Mary Swinney, a woman, both late of said county, on the first day of January, 1849, and continually from that day to the finding of this indictment, in the county aforesaid, did live together in fornication, against the…
1Opinion of the CourtGoldthylajte, J.
We think the court below did not err in overruling the demurrer to the indictment. If a single act of fornication was indictable, it might perhaps be necessary to allege the constituents which make up the offence, although even then, upon the reasoning of the case of State v. Hinton, 6 Ala. Rep. 365, it would be sufficient to charge the offence in the terms of this indictment. But entertaining some doubts as to the correctness of the reasoning in the case cited, we prefer to rest our decision on different grounds. The offence contemplated by the statute, Clay’s Dig. 481, § 3, was not a single…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Darden's Adm'r v. Burns' Adm'rSupreme Court of Alabama · 1844
- Morgan v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1851
3Cited by66 opinions
- People v. JennesMichigan Supreme Court · 1858
- Hawes v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1889
- People v. . O'SullivanNew York Court of Appeals · 1887
- Brasher v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1947
- Brister v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1855
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