Territory of Wyoming v. Nelson

Citations

• 2 Wyo. 329

Syllabus

<p>Pbosecuting Attorney : Exceptions. — Under the laws of this Territory, the prosecuting attorney may take exceptions to any opinion or decision of the court, during the prosecution of the cause, which he may think erroneous.</p> <p>Statutes : Construction. — Where a statute directs the doing of a thing for the sake of justice or the public good, the word “may” will he construed to mean “ shall.”</p> <p>Idem. — Section 1895 of the Revised Statutes of the United States provides : “Any person convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction in a territory, for the violation of the laws thereof, and sentenced to imprisonment, may at the cost of such territory, on such terms and conditions as may he prescribed by such rules and regulations, he received, subsisted and employed in such penitentiary during the term of his imprisonment, in the same manner as if he had been convicted of an. - offense against the laws of the United States.” Held, that the word “may” used in the statute means “shall,” and that the penitentiary at or near Laramie City, erected by authority of the laws of congress, is the only penitentiary for the confinement of persons convicted in the several district courts of this Territory, for offenses against the laws of the Territory, and the punishment for which is by temtorial statutes, prescribed to be confinement in the penitentiary, unless congress shall otherwise legislate.</p>