Commonwealth v. Coyne
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Complaint, received and sworn to in the Second District Court of Bristol on March 9,1908, under R. L. c. 100, § 62, charging, in a single count, that the defendant at Fall River on February 15, 1908, “ did then and there sell intoxicating liquor, to one William P. Wetherell, he the said Wetherell being then and there a minor, under the age of twenty-one years, the said Coyne not having then and there any license, authority or appointment according to law, to make such sale.”…
Read the full summary
Complaint, received and sworn to in the Second District Court of Bristol on March 9,1908, under R. L. c. 100, § 62, charging, in a single count, that the defendant at Fall River on February 15, 1908, “ did then and there sell intoxicating liquor, to one William P. Wetherell, he the said Wetherell being then and there a minor, under the age of twenty-one years, the said Coyne not having then and there any license, authority or appointment according to law, to make such sale.” g In the Superior Court the defendant was tried before Raymond, J. There was evidence tending to show a sale of liquor…
1Opinion of the CourtBraley, J.
The question for decision is, whether, the defendant having been charged in a single count with a sale of intoxicating liquor to a minor in violation of R. L. c. 100, § 62, had the right where the evidence for the prosecution tended to prove two distinct sales on different days, but all within six years from the date of the complaint, to require the government to elect upon which one of the two it intended to rely for a conviction. If counts for each sale had been joined, the defendant would have had ample notice of the charges, which could be distinctly identified by the record, and, while…
2Cases cited16 opinions
- Commonwealth v. KingMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1909
- Goodhue v. PeopleIllinois Supreme Court · 1879
- Commonwealth v. DeanMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1872
- State v. HurdSupreme Court of Iowa · 1897
- Commonwealth v. RobinsonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1879
11 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by12 opinions
- Commonwealth v. DiStasioMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1936
- Commonwealth v. FarrellMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1948
- Commonwealth v. ParrottaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1944
- Commonwealth v. AlbertMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1940
- Commonwealth v. HaywoodMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1923
7 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.