State v. Ford

Citations

• 26 Del. 469
• 3 Boyce 469
• 84 A. 1039
• 1912 Del. LEXIS 62

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal Law—Nature and Elements of Crime—Intent.</p> <p>Ordinarily an act which is not in itself unlawful cannot amount to a crime, unless committed with an unlawful intent.</p> <p>2. Criminal Law—Elements of Crime—Intent—Acts Prohibited by Statute.</p> <p>Under 16 Del. Laws, c. 152, providing that any person unlawfully placing any obstruction upon a railroad track, or by any other unlawful means rendering such track unsafe for transportation, shall be deemed to have done so maliciously and be guilty of obstructing a railroad, and 23 Del. Laws, c. 205, providing that if any person, other than a duly authorized employee of any railway, shall touch, disturb, or in any wise interfere with the signals, signal lights, or signal wires of a railway, he shall be deemed to have done so maliciously, and shall be guilty of obstructing a railway, the mere act of touching, disturbing, or interfering with the signals, signal lights, or signal wires by one not authorized to do so constitutes the crime, regardless of the motive or intent with which the act is done, and the fact that it was done_ ignorantly, innocently, or in a spirit of play or mischief, rather than of malice, is not a defense, and cannot be proved or considered.</p>