58 Ind. 185 | Ind. | 1877
Prosecution against the appellant, commenced before a justice of the peace, for maintaining a public nuisance.
The affidavit, after entitling the case, is in the following words:
“ Henry Jones, being duly sworn, on his oath swears, that on or about the 24th day of July,- 1876, at said county, and near the city of Madison, and at divers other times before said day and the commencement of this action, at and near the dwelling-houses of affiant and divers citizens of said place and county, said Moses did unlawfully maintain, and cause and procure to be maintained, a slaughter-house, for the purpose of slaughtering cattle, and boiling the entrails and offal of the cattle ; and the said Moses did, on the day and year, at the
A motion to dismiss the case, on the ground of the insufficiency of the affidavit, was overruled by the justice. Plea, not guilty; trial and conviction.
Appeal to the circuit court, wherein a motion to quash the affidavit was made by the appellee; the motion was overruled, and exception reserved. Trial by the court, finding of guilty, motion for a'new trial denied, over exceptions. Judgment. Appeal.
Two questions are made in this' court: 1. The insufficiency of the affidavit to charge a public nuisance; and, 2. The insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the finding.
1. On behalf of the appellant, it is insisted by his counsel, that the affidavit is insufficient to charge a public nuisance. He falls back on the common law definition of public nuisance to support his argument. As, by the common law, a public nuisance was an “ annoyance to all the King’s subjects,” so he says, a public nuisance under our law should be an annoyance or work an injury to all the citizens of the State. But our statute enacts, that “ Every person ■ who shall erect, or continue and maintain any public nuisance, to the injuiy of any part of the citizens of this State, shall be fined,” etc. 2 R. S. 1876, p. 460, sec. 8. And as we look to our statute for the definition of crimes and misdemeanors, we must hold the affidavit good.
The judgment is affirmed, with costs.