Norwich bulletin., 1909-09-10
AN IDLE PERSON.
Judge Bennett. chars. in Test Case

 l. The next case was that of the state vs. John Campbell, charged with intox- | ication, being an idle person without | visible means of support. sleeping in the open and camping on private-prop- erty. Campbell appealed from a jail sentence imposed in the town conrt ] of Killingly on Sept 1st He had 1 the superior court Tuesday. as did sev- eral other persons held on similar charges.
 States Attorney Searles elected to | try the Campbell case as a test. Many | cases charging camping and sleeping in tine open air come from the lower courts in this end of the county and the trying of one of the cases afforded an opportunity to hear Judge Ben nett charge the jury on what constf- tutes the meaning of an idle person and how a person commits an Offense against the law of the state by comp ing and sleeping in the open air. Witnesses for the state described how Campbell was found sleeping in the open air at Danielson and the de- tails of his arrest.
 Attorney Card, assigned to represent Campbell. produced witnesses to show tlat Cant bell had worked and lived for brief periods at Williamsvlle and that he had finished work and had drawn the S11 due him for working in the mill there for two weeks on Au- gust 2S. In his charge to the jury Judge Ben- nett said that they were not to con- sider a person out of work as an idle person in the meaning of the statute covering the case, unless the person was wilfully idle and without visible means of support. A man might be out of employment becaues of unfor- tunate circumstances. but he must be wilfully idle 10 commit an offense in the meaning of the law
 Relative to. sleeping in the open air, Judge Bennett said that it must be shown by the state that a person was accustomed to sleeping out of doors to be considered as violating the law. The law certainly does not mean that a person cannot sleep out doors or in a barn. The state must sohw to prove him guilty, that ne is accustomed to dc SD
 Defining camping. Judge Bennett described 1t as meaning a temporary place of dwelling. He did not consid- CT the mere fact of sleeping on the ground as camping; there must be something further It must be shown that a person was wrongfully there. Sleeping in the open air is more in the nature of trespassing
 The charge included the opinion or the court that the finding should be for intoxieation. the first count. as the states information did not warrant a conviction on the other counts.
 Guilty-JaiI Sentence Imposed.
 The jury returned a verdict of guilty in the first count after ping out about fifteen minutes. Campbell was se ltercei to thirty days in jail. The finding permitted a quick disposi- tion of three other similar cases, those of John Maloney, Margaret Maloney and Thomas McCloskv each receiving sentence of~thirty days in jail, after pieaGing guilty to intoxication. All the cases came from Killingly.
 Putnam Assault Case Heard.
 The next case heard was that of the state vs. Theodore Langlois, charged with assaultlng James McGann near the Putnam ros.ofice on the night of August 19.
 The case was not finished when court adjourned until ,1O.45 this (F'ri- day) morning.