45 Neb. 44 | Neb. | 1895
It is by this proceeding sought to reverse a judgment of the district court for Platte county, whereby the plaintiff in error, Harriet Wright, was adjudged guilty of a violation.of section 210 of the Criminal Code. The information upon which the accused was convicted charges the knowingly owning, using, and occupying by her of a certain house or- building in said county for the purpose of prostitution. The provisions of the section above mentioned, so far as material to the questions presented by the record, are as follows: “Every house or building situated in this state, used and occupied as a house of ill-fame, or for the purposes of prostitution, shall be held and deemed a public nuisance, and any person owning, or having control of, as guardian, lessee, or otherwise, such house or building, and knowingly leasing or subletting the same in whole or in part for the purpose of keeping therein a house of ill-fame, knowingly, or permit the same to be used or occupied for such purpose, or using or occupying the same for such purpose, shall for every such offense be fined in any sum not exceeding $100, or imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court.”
The first assignment of the petition in error is that the trial court erred in refusing to quash the information on the ground that the accused had not been allowed a preliminary hearing upon the particular offense charged in the information. It is conceded by counsel that a complaint of some kind was lodged with a magistrate and that an exami
The next assignment is that the trial court erred in refusing to set aside the verdict on the ground of misconduct of the jury. From the transcript it appears that the question of the alleged misconduct was submitted to the court upon affidavits, and by that court resolved in favor of the state; but that ruling cannot be examined in this proceeding, for the reason that said affidavits are not incorporated in a bill of exceptions. It is the settled rule of this court that affidavits used on the trial of issues of fact must be preserved in the form of a bill of exceptions in order to be
Finally, it is urged that the sentence (imprisonment fora term of three months in the county jail) is excessive; but to the district court and not to this court is entrusted the power to impose sentences for the commission of crimes against the state; and the judgments of that court cannot be controlled or interfered with in the absence of a clear abuse of discretion. (Davis v. State, 34 Neb., 558.) The minimum penalty for the offense charged is, as we have seen, a fine not exceeding $100, or imprisonment for not less than thirty days, while the maximum penalty is both the fine named and imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. The judgment, being far short of the extreme penalty prescribed by law, cannot be regarded as an abuse of discretion authorizing a reversal on that ground. There being no error apparent from the record, the judgment will be
Affirmed.