Commonwealth v. Keenan

• Decision Date: 02 March 1885
• Citation: 29 N.E. 477,139 Mass. 193
• Parties: Commonwealth v. John Keenan[1]
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

139 Mass. 193

29 N.E. 477

Commonwealth v. John Keenan^[1]

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

March 2, 1885

Argued February 5, 1885

Suffolk.

Complaint to the Municipal Court of the city of Boston, under the Pub Sts. c. 57, § 5, alleging that the defendant, at a time and place named, did have in his "custody and possession a certain quantity, to wit, one pint, of adulterated milk, to wit, milk then and there containing less than thirteen per cent of milk solids, with intent then and there unlawfully to sell the same."

In the Municipal Court, the defendant seasonably filed a motion to quash the complaint, assigning the following grounds therefor: "1. It does not appear, in and by said complaint, in what manner, and by what means, said milk was adulterated. 2. It does not allege in which one of the three methods of adulteration mentioned in the Pub. Sts. c. 57 § 5, the milk was adulterated. 3. Because the charge is set forth in such vague, uncertain, and general terms as to afford the defendant no proper information as to the exact nature of the offence with which he is charged." The motion was overruled; and the defendant was adjudged guilty.

In the Superior Court, on appeal, the defendant renewed his motion to quash. Blodgett, J., overruled the motion. The defendant was then tried, and found guilty; and alleged exceptions.

Exceptions overruled.

C. F. Donnelly, for the defendant.

H. N. Shepard, Assistant Attorney General, for the Commonwealth.

Devens, W. Allen, & Colburn, JJ., absent. Morton, C. J.

OPINION

Morton, C. J.

The statute provides that no person shall sell, or have in his possession with intent to sell, "adulterated milk, or milk to which water or any foreign substance has been added, or milk produced from cows fed on the refuse of distilleries, or from sick or diseased cows." Pub. Sts. c. 57, § 5.

Section 9 provides that, "in all prosecutions under this chapter, if the milk is shown upon analysis to contain more than eighty-seven per cent of watery fluid, or to contain less than thirteen per cent of milk solids, it shall be deemed for the purposes of this chapter to be adulterated."

The word "or" in § 5 is not used in the sense of "to wit," as contended by the defendant, but the section describes several offences, its purpose being to prohibit the sale of impure milk and of milk of an inferior quality. This was recognized in Commonwealth v Luscomb, 130 Mass. 42, where the allegation of the indictment was, that the defendant had in his possession, with intent to...