Short v. Symmes
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for assault and false imprisonment. The defendant justified on the ground that, as a police officer of the town of Lancaster, he lawfully arrested the plaintiff for the crime of voluntary drunkenness and in a public place. Trial in the Superior Court, before Blodgett, J., who allowed a bill of exceptions, in substance as follows.
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Tort for assault and false imprisonment. The defendant justified on the ground that, as a police officer of the town of Lancaster, he lawfully arrested the plaintiff for the crime of voluntary drunkenness and in a public place. Trial in the Superior Court, before Blodgett, J., who allowed a bill of exceptions, in substance as follows. The defendant testified that, on February 19, 1888, he met the plaintiff, and said to him, “ I am a police officer, and I arrest you for disturbing a religious meeting and for drunkenness.” The defendant introduced in evidence the record of the plaintiff’s…
1Opinion of the CourtC. Allen, J.
If one who has assumed to interfere with the person or property of another is sued therefor, and attempts to justify his act on the ground that it was properly done by him *300as a public officer, it is for him to show, not merely that he was an officer defacto, but that he was duly and legally qualified to act as such officer. This has been intimated heretofore by this court, in cases where the question was not directly presented; Fowler v. Bebee, 9 Mass. 231, 235; Petersilea v. Stone, 119 Mass. 465, 468; Sheehan’s case, 122 Mass. 445, 446; and the doctrine is supported by a great weight of…
2Cases cited15 opinions
- State v. CarrollSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1871
- Fowler v. BebeeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1812
- Green v. BurkeNew York Supreme Court · 1840
- People v. HopsonCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1845
- Wilcox v. SmithNew York Supreme Court · 1830
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3Cited by8 opinions
- Commonwealth v. DiStasioMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1937
- Appley v. LockeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1986
- Horgan v. Boston Elevated Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1911
- City of Lawrence v. Commissioners of Public WorksMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1945
- Murphy v. LentzSupreme Court of Iowa · 1906
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.