State v. Helm
| Decision Date | 30 June 1840 |
| Citation | 6 Mo. 263 |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
| Parties | THE STATE v. HELM & THORNHILL. |
J. R. ABERNATHY, for the State, relies on the following authorities: Revised Statutes, p. 206; also, p. 484. Thou shalt not commit adultery-- Moses' 7th Commandment.
The grand jury of Monroe county, at the sittings of the Circuit Court for March, 1839, found an indictment against James Helm and Catharine Thornhill, for living together in adultery. The first count charged that the said Helm and Thornhill, at, &c., on, &c., did live with each other, and each of them did then and there live with the other, &c., for a long space of time next prior thereto, to-wit: for the space of three months had lived with each other in a state of open and notorious adultery, contrary, &c. The second count charged that the said Helm and Thornhill, on, &c., at, &c., did live with each other, and each of them did then and there live with the other, and for a long space of time next prior thereto, to-wit, &c., had lived with each other, and did, then and there, with force and arms, lewdly and lasciviously, abide and cohabit with each other, to-wit, on, &c., at, &c. they, the said James Helm and Catharine Thornhill, being then and there not married the one to the other, to the evil example, &c. On motion of the defendants the indictment was quashed, and the State, by writ of error, brings the case to this court. This indictment was founded on the 8th section of the 8th article concerning crimes and their punishment. That section provides, that every person who shall live in a state of open and notorious adultery, and every man and woman (one or both of whom are married, and not to each other), who shall lewdly and lasciviously abide and cohabit with each other, and every person, married or unmarried, who shall be guilty of open, gross lewdness, or lascivious behavior, or of any open and notorious act of public indecency, grossly scandalous, shall on conviction be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding three hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. There are three classes of offenses provided for by this section. The two first clauses apply only to cases where one of the parties is married, and the last clause to persons whether married or single. The second count is designed to apply to the second class of cases, as described in the second clause of the section; but it is...
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