State v. Williams

Decided June 15, 1876

Supreme Court of North Carolina · decided 1876-06-15

Indictment for an Assault and Battery, tried before Moore,, J., at Spring Term, 1876,. of Martin Superior Court. The defendants and the prosecutrix were members of a, benevolent society in Hamiton, N. C;, known as the “ Good Samaritans,” which Society had certain rules and ceremonies known as the ceremonies of initiation' into and expulsion from the Society.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““When tbe prosecutrix refused to submit to tbe ceremony of expulsion established by this benevolent society, it could not be lawfully inflicted. Rules of discipline for this and all voluntary associations must conform to tbe laws. If tbe act of tying this woman would have been a battery had tbe parties concerned not been members of tbe Society of Good Samaritans, it is not tbe less a battery because they were all members of that humane institution. Tbe punishment inflicted upon the person of tbe prosecutrix was willful, violent, and against her consent, and thus contained all tbe elements of a wanton breach of tbe peace.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Jumper v. Sovereign Camp Woodmen of World

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1876-06-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently April 1980

1 federal appellate · 3 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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Bynum, J.

¶1When the prosecutrix refused to submit to the ceremony of expulsion established by this benevolent Society, it could not be lawfully inflicted. Rules of discipline for this and all voluntary associations must conform to the laws. If the act of tying this woman would have been a battery had the parties concerned not been members of the Society of “ Good Samaritans,” it is not the less a *136battery because they were all members of that humane institution. The punishment inflicted upon the person of the prosecutrix was wilful, violent and against her consent, and thus contained all the elemenis of a wanton breach of the peace. Bell v. Hansly, 3 Jones, 131.

¶2There is no error. This will be certified.

¶3Pee Cueiam. Judgment affirmed.