Commonwealth v. Palmer

Citations

• 73 Pa. Super. 345
• 1920 Pa. Super. LEXIS 17

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Assaulting an officer in the discharge of his duty —Assault and battery — Display of red emblem — Case for jury.</p> <p>In a prosecution for assaulting an 'officer in the discharge of his duties, the case is for the jury and a verdict of guilty will be sustained, where there is sufficient evidence produced to prove that the defendant, during a time of unusual labor disturbance, when the display of the red flag, badge or other red emblem was prohibited, displayed a red flower in his buttonhole and, upon being admonished by one of the State constabulary, assaulted the officer-by striking him violently in the face.</p> <p>The question of defendant’s motive in displaying the red emblem was properly submitted to the jury as follows:</p> <p>“In determining whether the defendant or the prosecutor was the aggressor it is proper for you to. consider why the defendant was wearing the red flower. Was it because he was a lover of flowers, or was it because he was defiant and flaunting the red into the faces of the peace officers? Was he in Homer City, that hotbed of trouble, on that day hunting eggs or was he there showing encouragement and sympathy to the reds, and thus aiding and abetting the lawless element which had terrorized this community ? These are proper questions for this jury to consider as bearing on the question of who was the aggressor.”</p>