Sanner v. State ex rel. Gisriel

Citations

• 85 Md. 523
• 37 A. 165
• 1897 Md. LEXIS 57

Syllabus

<p>Informers — Criminal Law — Fines for Violation of the Lottery Law.</p> <p>Where a statute provides that one-half of fines imposed for violation of the law shall go to the informer, that person is the informer within the statute who first gives notice to the police authorities that a violation of the law takes place in a certain house, and in consequence of this information arrests are made, followed by conviction and payment of the fine. It is not necessary that he should be a witness in the case, or have such personal knowledge of the crime as would make him a competent witness.</p> <p>Code, Art. 27, sec. 176, enacts that if any person keep a place for the sale of lottery tickets, etc., he shall be subject to a fine, “one-half of which shall go to the informer.” Plaintiff informed the Marshal of Police that he had reason to believe that the policy business was being carried on in a certain room at certain hours. In consequence of this information certain parties were arrested for a violation of the statute and convicted upon the evidence of other persons arrested at the same time. The police had no previous knowledge that the policy business was carried on at this place. In an action on the sheriff’s bond to recover one-half of the fines which had been paid to him, Held, that the plaintiff was the informer within the statute and entitled to recover.</p>