State v. Faucett
| Decision Date | 31 December 1838 |
| Citation | 20 N.C. 239 |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | THE STATE v. JOHN F. FAUCETT. |
In an indictment for retailing spirituous liquors by the small measure without a license under the statute of 1825 (1 Rev. Stat., ch. 34, sec. 81), it is necessary to aver that the retailing was to some particular person or persons, or to some person or persons to the jurors unknown.
THIS was an indictment tried before his Honor, Judge Pearson, at Caswell, on the last circuit. The indictment was as follows:
"The jurors for the State, upon their oath, present that John F. Faucett, late of the county of Caswell, laborer, on 7 May, 1828, with force and arms in the county of Caswell aforesaid, did sell and retail spirituous liquors by the small measure, to wit, by a measure less than a quart, without first having obtained a license according to law so to do, against the form of the statutes in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State."
The defendant was convicted, and moved in arrest of judgment because the indictment did not aver that the retailing was to any particular person or persons. This motion was overruled, and judgment pronounced, from which the defendant appealed.
The statute (1 Rev. Stat., c. 34, s. 81) declares that "if any person shall retail spirituous liquors by the small measure, in any other manner than is permitted by law, such person or persons so offending shall be subject to indictment, and upon conviction shall be fined at the discretion of the court a sum not less than five dollars for
each and every offense." In an indictment for an offense it is not sufficient to charge the defendant generally with having committed it, but all the facts and circumstances constituting the offense must be specially set forth, every necessary ingredient in the offense must be set forth. In an indictment for extortion charging that the defendant took extorsively for every horse so much, and for every twenty sheep so much, was hold en bad, because it charged the defendant with extortion generally, and not upon any particular person. Rex v. Roberts, 4 Mad., 103. So when a constable was indicted for behaving badly and negligently in the execution of his office without specifying any particular instance of negligence. Rex. v. Witherington, 1 Stra., 2. The only exception to this rule are indictments against a common barrator, a common scold, for keeping a common gambling house, or bawdy...
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...1002; State v. Miller, 93 N.C. 511; State v. Trice, 88 N.C. 627; State v. Pickens, 79 N.C. 652; State v. Stamey, 71 N.C. 202; State v. Faucett, 20 N.C. 239; State v. Blythe, 18 N.C. King v. State, 162 Tex.Cr.R. 453, 286 S.W.2d 422 is the only case we have found which is based on the sale of......
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...to charge the defendant generally with the offense of illegal selling. The facts constituting the offense must be set forth. State v. Faucett, 20 N.C. 239. "Every necessary ingredient in the offense must be forth," says Judge Daniel for the court, in that case, and he then proceeds to state......
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... ... permissible to describe him as some person to the jurors or ... complainant unknown. Commonwealth v. Thurlow, 24 ... Pick. (Mass.) 374; Blodget v. State, 3 Ind. 403; ... Capritz v. State of Maryland, 1 Md. 569; Dorman ... v. State, 34 Ala. 216; State v. Faucett, 20 ... N.C. 239; State v. Cox, 29 Mo. 475. The only ... decision which we find to the contrary of this is People ... v. Adams, 17 Wend. (N. Y.) 475, decided in 1837. The ... decisions rest on the indisputable right of the accused to be ... charged specifically, so that he may know ... ...
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