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4 Ala. 413

Brown v. Bailey

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided June 15, 1842

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1842-06-15

Writ of Error to the Circuit Court of Sumter county. Brown, declared in trespass against Bailey for wounding certain cattle. At the trial on the general issue, the evidence was, that the defendant had killed one mule and wounded another. The Court charged the jury, that the allegation of an injury to cattle was not supported by the evidence of an injury to mules. The plaintiff excepted, and now questions the correctness of this decision.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1842-06-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently November 1939

3 state decisions

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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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GOLDTHWAITE. J.

¶1Whatever may be the meaninggiven to the term cattle elsewhere, it is certain that with us it never is considered, in common parlance, to include either horses or mules. The legislation of the State frequently uses the term as distinguishable from horses and hogs — and by it neat cattle seem to be usually intended. Thus, persons who háve horses, cattle, or other stock, shall have a brand or mark. [Dig. 79, §1.] Sp it is not lawful for an}' drover to drive horses, mules, cattle, hogs or sheep, from the range to which the *414same may belong. [Id. 80, §5.] Importing cattle afflicted with a contageous distemper, is punishable by a fine of ten dollars per head — stealing neat cattle, hogs, sheep or goats, is punishable in a different manner from the stealing of horses and mules. [Id. 104, §23.]

¶2We consider it proper to hold the plaintiff to the usual meaning of the term, and the more especially, as evidence of the kind which was before the jury, must have been a surprise on the defendant.

¶3Let the judgment be affirmed.

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