State v. Morin

• Decision Date: 18 July 1911
• Parties: STATE v. MORIN.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

80 A. 751

108 Me. 303

STATE

v. MORIN.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

July 18, 1911.

Exceptions from Supreme Judicial Court, York County.

Edward J. Morin was convicted of keeping a shop open on Sunday, and he brings exceptions. Exceptions overruled.

Rev. St. ch. 125, §§ 25 and 27, read as follows:

"Sec. 25. Whoever, on the Lord's Day keeps open his shop, workhouse, warehouse or place of business, travels, or does any work, labor or business on that day, except works of necessity or charity; uses any sport, game or recreation; or is present at any dancing, public diversion, show or entertainment, encouraging the same, shall he punished by fine not exceeding ten dollars."

"Sec. 27. The Lord's Day includes the time between twelve o'clock on Saturday night and twelve o'clock on Sunday night."

Argued before SAVAGE, SPEAR, CORNISH, KING, BIRD, and HALEY, JJ.

Frederick A. Hobbs, County Atty., for the State.

Hiram Willard, for defendant.

HALEY, J. This is a complaint and warrant issued by the Sanford municipal court, charging the respondent with the crime of keeping open his store, in Sanford, on Sunday April 24, 1910, in violation of the statute against keeping open shops, workshops, warehouses, or place of business on the Lord's Day. Section 25, c. 125, R. S. of Maine.

The case was taken on appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court, and tried to a jury at the May term, 1910; the verdict was guilty, and the respondent brings the case forward upon exceptions to the following instructions of the presiding justice:

"I have read to you the statute, that no person shall keep open his store, or shop, or warehouse. This is the gravamen of the charge, that they should not be kept open to invite customers in as on weekdays, but should be closed. That is apart from the second clause which says he shall not do business except works of necessity or charity. It is immaterial under the first clause what kind of business he intends to do when he gets in there. It is immaterial whether he intends to do the ordinary business exclusively which he does on weekdays. It is immaterial whether that business includes drugs or not. He is prohibited from keeping open his store in the ordinary course of business as on weekdays even for the purpose of selling drugs. He might open his store and enter it for the purpose of filling a prescription for a medicine which was required for the treatment of disease, that would be a matter of necessity or charity, but he cannot keep open his store for the purpose of selling drugs, including all kinds of merchandise during the day as on weekdays. That is the thing which is not to be permitted by the statute; it is what is prohibited by the statute, and I cannot ignore it, and you violate your oaths if you ignore it.

"Now the state says there can be no reasonable doubt, therefore, that this defendant kept his store open on that day for the purpose of doing business generally, including the sale of drugs, if anybody called for drugs, also including all...