State v. Kavanaugh
Supreme Court of Missouri
Appeal from Harrison Circuit Court. — Hon. Paris C. Stepp, Judge. (1) There is no evidence to sustain the verdict. The prosecutrix was never in the care, custody, or employment of defendant. State v. Sibley, 132 Mo. 104, dissenting opinion of Judge Sherwood; State v. Arnold, 55 Mo. 89. Criminal statutes should receive a strict interpretation as against the state. 1 Blackstone’s Com., side pp. 87, 88; U. S. v. Wilterberger,5 Y7heat. 76; 1 Bish. Crim.
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Appeal from Harrison Circuit Court. — Hon. Paris C. Stepp, Judge. (1) There is no evidence to sustain the verdict. The prosecutrix was never in the care, custody, or employment of defendant. State v. Sibley, 132 Mo. 104, dissenting opinion of Judge Sherwood; State v. Arnold, 55 Mo. 89. Criminal statutes should receive a strict interpretation as against the state. 1 Blackstone’s Com., side pp. 87, 88; U. S. v. Wilterberger,5 Y7heat. 76; 1 Bish. Crim. Law, see. 256. (2) On the trial the state was permitted to prove, against the objections of defendant, who at the time duly excepted, that he had…
1Opinion of the Court
DIVISION TWO.
Gantt, P. J.
The defendant was indicted in the Harrison circuit court at the May term, 1893, for defiling his sister-in-law, a young girl fifteen years old, and was convicted at a special term of said court in July, 1894, from which he appeals.
The facts are few. The girl’s father and mother were dead and her estate was so meager that her guardian obtained homes for her where she could earn her living by doing part of the household work. When she was not thus employed she made her home with her two brothers-in-láw, Wm. McGowan and the defendant Kavanaugh. Her guardian, Mr. H. B.…
Also in this document: Concurrence.
2Cases cited10 opinions
- United States v. HartwellSupreme Court of the United States · 1868
- State v. GreenwadeSupreme Court of Missouri · 1880
- State v. SibleySupreme Court of Missouri · 1895
- State v. JonesSupreme Court of Kansas · 1876
- St. Ferdinand Loretto Academy v. BobbSupreme Court of Missouri · 1873
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3Cited by2 opinions
- State v. SummarSupreme Court of Missouri · 1898
- State v. HillSupreme Court of Missouri · 1896