Kroer v. People

Citations

• 78 Ill. 294

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal law—indictment for keeping tippling house open on Sabbath. An indictment under section 127 of the Criminal Code of 1845, which charges that the defendant, on the 10th day of March, 1874, the same being the Sabbath day, in the night-time of said day so being the Sabbath day, did unlawfully keep open a tippling house, etc., is sufficient, and a motion to quash should be overruled.</p> <p>2. This statutory offense might be committed during the time embraced between the preceding midnight and the dawn of Sabbath morning.</p> <p>3. Keeping open tippling house on the Sabbath — what constitutes. On the trial of a party indicted for keeping open a tippling house on the Sabbath day, the court was asked to instruct the jury that it must be shown by the evidence that the house was kept open for tippling purposes, as on week days, before the defendant could be convicted; but the court modified the instruction by omitting the words “as on week days Held, there was no error.</p> <p>4. It is not necessary, to constitute the offense under the statute, that the house be kept open as on week days. It will be within the offense named if it is so kept that access may be had thereto on the Sabbath, and facilities afforded for the obtaining of intoxicating drinks, and it is not material whether the access is by the front door or back door, or whether the door is kept open or is only opened on application for admittance.</p> <p>5. Juror—competency. It is not ground of challenge, on the trial of one indicted for keeping open a tippling house on the Sabbath day, that a juror has a bias or feeling against persons engaged in the business of saloon keeping, and a prejudice against the selling of liquors, when he states that such feeling and prejudice would not influence his judgment, and that his feeling and prejudice was against the business, and not against the persons engaged in it, and that he would do the defendant justice.</p> <p>6. Several judgments on different counts. W