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53 Ala. 398

Lancaster v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided December 15, 1875

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1875-12-15

Tried before Hon. John Henderson. Appellant was indicted and convicted, under'section 3612 of the Revised Code, for disturbing religious worship.

Relies on Harrison v. State · Kinney v. State

Cited in Black's (1910)’s definition of “Disturbance” · Black's (1910)’s definition of “Disturbance of public worship”

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1875-12-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently May 1914

6 state decisions

3018751880189019001910decided

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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BRICKELL, C. J.

¶1Though an exception Avas reserved to the charge given by the court, it has not been insisted that it is erroneous, and it certainly states the laAV of the offense, in the terms most favorable to the accused. The offense is very clearly defined in Harrison v. State, 37 Ala. 154.

¶2The act or discourse relied on as the ingredient of the offense must haArn been intentional, and its natural tendency must have been to disturb the assemblage — to derange its quiet and order.

¶3When such acts or discourse are intentionally indulged in, without just excuse, at ornear to an assemblage for religious worship, the defendant must be regarded as guilty of the offense. Nor is it necessary that the assemblage should have been actually engaged in Avorship at the moment of the discourse, or of the conduct of which complaint is made. The statute intends its protection shall extend to the assemblage Avhen it is in the act of gathering together at the place appointed for worship; Avhile the exercises are in progress; and until there is a dispersion of the persons Avho have come together, and they cease to be an assemblage or congregation. Kinney v. State, 38 Ala. 224. A member of the assemblage, though he be a member of the particular religious organization having control of the services, is bound to regard its peace and order. No permission gÍA7en him to speak, or given to a mere stranger, by the leader or eon*400ductor of the services, whether he be lay or clerical, can justify or excuse such discourse as is unbecoming the assemblage, and must by its violence offend the order and decorum essential to Christian worship. Nor is it material that one who has obtained permission to speak is not called to order, or interrupted while indulging in violent, passionate and ill-tempered discourse, insulting to the assemblage, or any of the individuals composing it. There was no error in refusing the charge requested by the appellant. If there can be any justification or excuse for such intemperate, violent, denunciatory and insulting language, as that deliberately spoken by him to a religious assemblage, it is not found in any fact stated in the charge requested, or in any fact shown by the bill of exceptions.

¶4The judgment is affirmed.

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