United States v. Porter
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut
THIS was an indictment charging, “ That before, on, and ever since the first day of February last, the public highway from the. city of JVew-York, on the road through Danbury, Litchfield, and Farmington, and from thence to Hartford, by force of the several acts of the congress of the United States relating to post-offices and post- ■* i « i r roads, was made, and still is, a post-road designated lor the transportation of the public mails of the United States; and during all…
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THIS was an indictment charging, “ That before, on, and ever since the first day of February last, the public highway from the. city of JVew-York, on the road through Danbury, Litchfield, and Farmington, and from thence to Hartford, by force of the several acts of the congress of the United States relating to post-offices and post- ■* i « i r roads, was made, and still is, a post-road designated lor the transportation of the public mails of the United States; and during all the period from and after the first ° r . day of December, in the year 1806, until the first day of ..... . _ - . Afinl,…
1Opinion of the Court
Edwards, J,
was of opinion, that no prosecution for obstructing the passage of the mail could be supported, without showing a written contract with the postmaster-general.
Livingston,!, inclined to think, that an indictment might be so framed as to subject the defendant, without proof of a written contract; yet as this indictment states a contract, which is not impertinent or foreign to the cause, he was clearly of opinion that it ought to be proved. The court will be more strict, he added, in requiring proof of the matters alleged in a criminal than in a civil case.
The District Attorney rose,…
2Cited by5 opinions
- State v. StebbinsSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1861
- State v. MeysenburgMissouri Court of Appeals · 1902
- Commonwealth v. HartwellMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1880
- Fisk v. HicksSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1855
- United States v. CurtisDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1882