Moffit v. State
| Decision Date | 01 January 1875 |
| Citation | 43 Tex. 346 |
| Parties | JOHN C. MOFFIT v. THE STATE. |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
APPEAL from Bell. Tried below before the Hon. J. P. Osterhout.
George Clark, Attorney General, for the State.
This indictment is bad, because stating that the defendant did designedly make an obscene and indecent exhibition of his own person “in a public place, to wit: on a public road,” as expressed in the indictment, is not tantamount to stating that he did designedly make an obscene and indecent exhibition of his own person “in public,” as expressed in the code. (Paschal's Dig., art. 2030.)
The publicity contemplated in the code has reference to persons who do or can see it rather than to the place. A public road in the night-time or in a remote and unfrequented part of the country may be, and often is, such a place as that such an exhibition might be there made without its being made “in public,” in the obvious meaning of the law. On the other hand, the place may itself be private, and yet the person be so exhibited to public view as to be an exhibition of the person “in public” in the meaning of the law.
In indictments of offenses of this character it is generally sufficient and proper that the language of the statute should be followed, nothing more nor less.
Judgment affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
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State v. Peery, 34360.
...DeVine, 271 Mich. 635, 261 N.W. 101; People v. Kratz, 230 Mich. 334, 203 N.W. 114; State v. Goldstein, 72 N.J.L. 336, 62 A. 1006; Moffit v. State, 43 Tex. 346; Reg. v. Wellard, 1884, 14 Q.B. 63; Reg. v. Thallman, 1863, 9 Cox C.C. ...
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State v. Perry
... ... complied with. Possibly the information is not as specific as ... would be required in an indictment (a point we do not ... decide), though charging the offense in the language of the ... statute has frequently been held sufficient. See State v ... Hazle, 20 Ark. 156; Moffit v. State, 43 Tex ... 346; State v. Gardner, 28 Mo. 90; State v ... Griffin, 43 Tex. 538. Enough at least, was stated to ... confer jurisdiction of the subject-matter on the justice, ... and, as the accused appeared, he acquired jurisdiction of the ... parties. That is all that was required ... ...
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State v. Perry
...though charging the offense in the language of the statute has frequently been held sufficient. See State v. Hazle, 20 Ark. 156;Moffit v. State, 43 Tex. 346;State v. Gardner, 28 Mo. 90;State v. Griffin, 43 Tex. 538. Enough, at least, was stated to confer jurisdiction of the subject-matter o......
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State v. Metje, 28944
...a public place', as required by the statute, and the indictment was held insufficient. A similar view is expressed by the court in Moffit v. State, 43 Tex. 346, wherein it is said that, 'a public road in the night-time or in a remote and unfrequented part of the country may be, and often is......