Commonwealth v. Randall

Citations

• 63 Pa. Super. 238
• 1916 Pa. Super. LEXIS 144

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Forcible entry and detainer — Possession•—Title —Evidence—Act of March 81, 1860, P. L. 882.</p> <p>In an indictment for forcible entry or forcible detainer, neither the right of possession nor the title to the freehold comes into question. The only consideration is the actual possession and the force used. To sustain the action the prosecutor must show a prior possession and an unlawful detention by force, and with a strong hand or by menace or threats. This possession cannot be assumed; it must be proven.</p> <p>Where a person believes he has an honest claim to property, and enters into possession without force or threats, cultivating the ground and repairing the buildings, he should not be subjected to the hazard of a criminal prosecution to determine a doubtful claim or possession of property.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for forcible entry and detainer where it appears that the defendants entered upon the property without force or threats, and while thus in possession one of them in the presence of the other said to the prosecutor “We won’t get out, and you are not able to put us out” and the evidence is not conclusive that the prosecutor was put iiyfear by the words used, it is for the jury to determine whether the possession of the property was detained from the prosecutor by means of force or threats.</p>