Commonwealth v. Carr

Decided November 24, 1886

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · decided 1886-11-24

Indictment for obstructing a certain public way in Berkley, on January 1, 1885,'by placing a fence and gate across tbe same. Trial in the Superior Court, before Barker, J., who allowed a bill- of exceptions, in substance as follows: The way in question was a town way located in that part of Berkley known as Assonet Neck.

Relies on The President Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States v. Dandridge · Cornett v. Williams · Blossom v. Cannon

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1886-11-24

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently June 1934

5 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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C. Allen, J.

¶1It was not necessary to offer direct evidence that the laying out of the way was duly filed in the town clerk’s office. The action of the selectmen and of the town presuppose that this had been done, and warrant an inference of the fact. See Blossom v. Cannon, 14 Mass. 177; Wallace v. Townsend Parish, 109 Mass. 263; United States Bank v. Dandridge, 12 Wheat. 64, 70; Cornett v. Williams, 20 Wall. 226, 250 ; Steph. Ev. (Am.ed.) 187, 271; Williamsv. Eyton, 4 H. & N. 357.

¶2The license to the defendant to place a gate on the road could not include an authority to keep the gate locked, with the key in his own possession, which would be equivalent to stopping up the road.

¶3It was not essential that the jury should agree upon the special issue submitted to them; and no objection was taken at the time to the course of the judge in receiving the verdict.

¶4Exceptions overruled.