State v. Singer

• Decision Date: 22 March 1906
• Citation: State v. Singer, 101 Me. 299, 64 A. 586 (Me. 1906)
• Parties: STATE v. SINGER.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

64 A. 586

101 Me. 299

STATE

v. SINGER.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

March 22, 1906.

Exceptions from Supreme Judicial Court, Lincoln County.

George W. Singer was indicted for libel From an order overruling a demurrer, he brings exceptions. Exceptions sustained.

The defendant was indicted for libel at the April term, 1905, of the Supreme Judicial Court, Lincoln county. The indictment charged that the defendant "did willfully and maliciously libel and defame one Nathaniel J. Hanna, of Bristol in said county of Lincoln, then a deputy sheriff within and for said county of Lincoln, specially charged with the enforcement of the prohibitory law within said county of Lincoln, and also a fish warden, specially charged with the enforcement of the laws relating to sea and shore fisheries, by printing and publishing, or causing to be printed and published, in a newspaper called 'The Damariscotta Herald,' a newspaper printed and published in said Damariscotta and of which the said George W. Singer was then and there printer and publisher, with the intent then and there to provoke the said Nathaniel J. Hanna to wrath, expose him to public hatred, contempt, and ridicule, and to deprive him in his said capacities of deputy sheriff and fish warden, of public confidence," a certain libellous and defamatory statement. To this indictment the defendant filed a general demurrer. The presiding justice before whom hearing on the demurrer was had overruled the demurrer and adjudged the indictment good. Thereupon the defendant excepted and exceptions were allowed "with the right of the respondent to plead over."

The form of charging in the indictment was on the disjunctive, and this is the only point considered by the law court.

Argued before WISWELL, C. J., and EMERY, WHITEHOUSE, SAVAGE, and SPEAR, JJ.

Weston M. Hilton, Co. Atty. for the State, Wm. Henry Hilton, for defendant

SAVAGE, J. Demurrer to indictment for libel. It is claimed that the indictment is faulty in several particulars, only one of which do we have any occasion to notice.

The indictment charges that the defendant "did willfully and maliciously libel and defame one Nathaniel J. Hanna * * * by printing and publishing, or causing to be printed and published, in a newspaper" a certain libellous and defamatory statement we think this form of charging in the disjunctive is fatal.

"It is an established rule" says Bishop, following Chitty, "in respect to the statement of the offense in the indictment...