Commonwealth v. Pascoe

Citations

• 39 Pa. Super. 163
• 1909 Pa. Super. LEXIS 458

Syllabus

<p>Sheriffs — Summoning jury — Disqualification of sheriff — Sheriff as prosecutor.</p> <p>1. The rule of the common law is that if the sheriff be a party to the suit, or be related by blood or affinity to either of the parties, he is not to summon the jury, but the venire shall be directed to the coroner. If the sheriff is a prosecutor in a criminal case, he is not a party within this rule. The commonwealth and the defendant are the parties in a criminal proceeding.</p> <p>2. Where the sheriff’s duty in summoning jurors is purely ministerial all presumptions are in favor of the regularity of his conduct.</p> <p>Dibel — Criminal libel — Malice—Inference of malice.</p> <p>3. The offense of publishing a malicious and defamatory libel is committed whenever any person shall write, print or publish any malicious or defamatory libel tending either to blacken the memory of one who is dead, or the reputation of one who is living, and thereby expose him to public hatred, contempt and ridicule. The malice involved in the offense is not necessarily actual ill will entertained by the accused toward the subject of the libel. The law imputes to one who does such a wrongful act a malicious intent. Every responsible person is presumed to intend the natural consequences of his act and is not permitted to deny that he intended them. If the publication be defamatory an inference of malice arises which it is the duty of the jury to find from the character of the publication.</p> <p>4. Where the interest of the public to know the facts is of more importance than a possible breach of the peace, and these facts are published with good motive and only for the information of individuals or the public who have a right to be informed, a prosecution for libel cannot be maintained provided the publication speaks the truth or is made upon reasonable grounds of belief in its truth. Only those publications are privileged, however, which are made on proper occasion from a proper motive, in a proper