Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-12-11
JUDGE ZANE'S DECISION.

e and submitted yesterday.
JUDGE zANE's DECISION.
The sheriff in his return to the writ
habeas corpus testifes his detention
the petitioner by virtue of a warral
issued by justice of the peace On a con
t plant wherein was charged violation
the 1996th Section, Chapter WILL, of tt
Compiled Laws of Utah. This section
, as follows:
Every person who keeps a house of i
fame in this Territory, resorted to for I'll
purpose of prostitution or lewdness, or VIII
wilfully resides in such house, or resort
thereto for lewdness, is guilty of a misdt
meanor."
This section describes three offenses
First-Keeping a house of i'll fame re
sorted to for the purpose of prostitution
and lewdness. | think the latter part {
it is surplusage.
HOUSE OF ILL FAME
Is house resorted to for the purposes g
prostitution and lewdness. The first Of
tense, then, is keeping house of il
fame; the second consists of wilfully re
siding in such house, and the third con
sists in resorting thereto for lewdness.
The petitioner is charged with the las
ofense, and counsel insist that thi
ofense is described in such vague ant
uncertain terms that the Court canno
say that it describes any offense; ant
second, that if it does describe any of
tense, it means that the person resortins
to such house usually resorts to it for the
purpose of prostitution. The term lewd
ness is equivalent to the term prostitu
ton, and that a male person cannot be
guilty OF prostitution, in legal sense
and therefore the defendant, the pc.
titioner, being male person, does not
come within the defnition-that an act
of adultery, fornication or lewdness on
his part would not come within the def.
milton; that
HE COULD NOT BE GUILTY OF PRosTITU-
TIoN.
This word lewdness is used in MANI
connections since it has come into use.
In past ages different meanings were at
tached to it from what are now. AS used
in this connection [ don't think there is
any difficulty in ascertaining it's meaning.
The section is aimed at bawdy houses,
and adopts three modes of suppression.
One is by Furnishing the keeper, the other
is by Furnishing persons who wilfully re-
side in the house, and the other is by
furnishing persons who resort thereto for
the practices which people are supposed
to engage in in these houses. A bawdv
house could be suppressed, certainly as a
bawdy house. That would be the end of
it; the injury to society would cease by
Its suppression, and if it should prevent
any person from residing in the house, it
would properly cease to be bawdy
house, because house of ill-fame is not
house of ill-fame unless somebody is in
1t, and II persons are prevented from 60
ing into it for lewdness, the business
would be closed up and in either case
the house would be suppressed. don't
think then, to give this section a con-
struction this word lewdness means the
lewdness only of females. That would
not be a reasonable construction of the
word in the connection with which it is
used.
MEN, AS WELL AS WOMEN, CAN BE GUILTY
OF LEwD CONDUCT,
And If they are guilty OF it, they are lust
as guilty of it as the women are, in my
Judgment. am of the opinion that it
applies to men as well as women.
The second objection is that the war
rant does not describe the offense with
sufficient certainty. The language is that
the defendant in the suit, ION the 4th day
Of September, A. d. 1885, and the 5th
DAY OF August, A. d. 1885, at Salt Lake
City, county of Salt Lake, Territory of
Utah, one Mrs. S. j. Fields did keep q
house OF ill fame resorted to for the pur-
pose OF prostitution, and one Oscar C. |
undertook, then and there we'll know |
ng SAID house to be house of ill fame |
md resorted to as aforesaid, did unlaw- |
ully, then and there, resort to the afore-
said house for lewdness." The time and
place OF the offense and the name of the
keeper of the house are given, and it
states that the defendant knew that it
vas such, and that he resorted to it I'M
awfully-"then and there resort to the
toresaid house for lewdness." That is
described as going to the house, and the
purpose for which he went is stated
tated to be lewdness. 1t is described
Substantially in the terms of the statute.
his is usually held, in an Indictment, to
e sufficient description of the offense.
nth the addition of the names, of course.
nd the place and when. In other words.
Is held sufficient to describe the
tense IN the terms of the statute.
mere are exceptions to this, of course.
ONE statutes do not describe common
wv offenses, except refer to the crime as
IS named in the common law, and '
lthout giving common law description
the otfense. In that case it is not 8
ecessary to describe the offense. But !
hen a statutory ofense' is not described
18th sufficient certainty, it is necessary to
sc other language where there are ex-
options, where the ofense does not
clude all classes of persons as construed L
the Court; but here the offense |,
'plles to all classes of persons, as 1 q
nstrue this section, and it mentions the v
rtlcuiar act, time and place and pur- !,
se. Inc offense consists of the act, q
,e all other otfenses, so far as that is L
ncerned, OF the act and intent. Here u
is said to be lewdness-that the party $.
mt to the house for the purpose OF 81
ydness, with the intention of commit II
g lewdness, and my impression is that l
rs COMPLAINT SUFFICIENTLY DESCRIBES is
THIS oFFENSE. al
certainly describes it SO that person ~ ~
ordinary intelligence could under n
nd what was meant by it, and that is r.,
ficient, as think Wv Wv
The statute makes the offense a mis- ~ ~
neanor, and the statute of 1878 pro- "a
es that misdemeanors shall be pun ~
ed by fine less than $500 and bv ba
prisonment not exceeding six months. II; 9
The statute OF 1884 gives Justices of the u,
ice jurisdiction of misdemeanors. in 1 1n
ms. 1t is insisted that this law giving FL
'tices Jurisdiction of misdemeanors OF MN
character is of no effect, because the IS IS
yislature OF the Territory had no power t;c
to give Justices of the Peace ha s
sdiction in such cases. The power of 20 l1,,
Legislature with respect to such a ~ ~
Innfs,