Commonwealth v. Bishop
| Decision Date | 25 January 1937 |
| Citation | 6 N.E.2d 369,296 Mass. 459 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. BISHOP. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Exceptions from Superior Court, Middlesex County; Dowd, Judge.
Henry A. Bishop was convicted of indecent exposure in a public place, at hearing of a complaint in the superior court without a jury, and saved exceptions.
Exceptions sustained.W. L. Bishop, Dist. Atty., of Wayland, and J. P. O'Sullivan, Asst. Dist. Atty., of Lowell, for the Commonwealth.
J. C. Johnston, of Boston, for defendant.
This was a complaint that the defendant on the 16th day of July, 1936, ‘in a public place * * * where were great numbers of people indecently did expose to the view of the said people his body and person naked and uncovered.’ Following a conviction and sentence in the District Court, on appeal the case was tried in the Superior Court, without a jury.
The defendant lived on Concord avenue, Somerville, near its intersection with Beacon street. A witness for the Commonwealth lived on Beacon street near said intersection. The rear of the defendant's house was about 150 feet distant from the side of the house occupied by the witness for the Commonwealth. From a room on the side of the house, it was possible to see into the second floor rear bedroom of the defendant's house.
There was evidence that on the day in question the attention of the witness was attracted by a ray of light on her kitchen wall; that she went into her bedroom and looking out of the window, across the rear yards behind her house and the house occupied by the defendant, she saw the defendant standing in the middle of the rear room on the second floor of his house; that he was naked from his waist down and was flashing a mirror; that she notified the police; that a policeman came, went into her bedroom and later brought the defendant to her house; and that she identified him as the man she had seen in the defendant's bedroom. There was also evidence that the policeman then placed the defendant under arrest and later had a talk with the defendant at the police station. Subject to the exception of the defendant, the policeman testified ‘that the defendant admitted to him that he had been arrested previously for a similar offence.’ The defendant, testifying in his own behalf, was asked on cross-examination whether or not he had admitted to the police officer who had testifiedfor the Commonwealth that he had been arrested previously for an offense similar to the one charged. The defendant answered ‘No’ and duly claimed an exception to the question and answer. The district attorney then asked the defendant whether he had been in fact arrested for lewdness previous to the offense alleged in the instant case. The defendant objected to the question. The judge overruled the objection, stating that the question was allowed and the evidence admitted. The defendant duly claimed an exception, and thereupon an swered ‘Yes.’
At the close of the evidence the defendant moved in writing that the judge upon all the evidence find the defendant not guilty. The motion was denied and the defendant duly excepted. The judge found the defendant guilty.
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... Page 389 ... 442 N.E.2d 389 ... 387 Mass. 628 ... COMMONWEALTH ... Stephen F. BLANEY, Jr ... Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, ... Argued March 2, 1982 ... Decided Nov. 17, 1982 ... Page 390 ... Commonwealth v. Bishop, 296 Mass. 459, 461-462, 6 N.E.2d 369 (1937). See Commonwealth v. Turner, 371 Mass. 803, 809-810, 359 N.E.2d 626 (1977). Neither may the ... ...
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