State v. Burton

Citations

• 106 La. 732

Syllabus

<p>Syllabus</p> <p>1. The Constitution of the State restricts the jurisdiction of this court in criminal appeals to questions of law alone.</p> <p>2. Hence, in a criminal case where the judge tries the accused, equally as in a case where he is tried by a jury, a finding of facts is conclusive upon this court.</p> <p>3. The description of a boundary may be a matter of construction for the court and, therefore, a question of law, but the ascertainment of it with the view to its location Is a question of fact. So, too, what is “the middle’’ of a river Is a question of law; but once defining that “the middle” of a river is the half way point between its banks, or that the thread of the stream is Its middle, it is a quesion of fact to determine whether an object in the river is on the one side or the other of “the middle” as thus defined.</p> <p>4. Between nations, or States, the thread of a boundary river Is the line of sepa, ration, without reference to the track of navigation.</p> <p>5. “The thread” of a stream is the line midway between the banks at the ordinary stage of water, without regard to the channel or the lowest and deepest part of the stream.</p>