Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1914-03-19


to go to some place to steal his
property it is clear under the author
tiles that the state could not prose
cute for larceny. Now several au-
, thorities in the same line have been
cited here and / think it is the set
tied law that a party cannot entrap
a defendant to commit burglary or
procure him to commit a larceny, or
any similar crime, and then prosecute
him. Counsel for the defendant has
cited two cases, one in Penn. and
one in Texas, which hold that under
similar conditions prosecutions for
Islander cannot be maintained, prose
cutions under the criminal laws. A
lower court of the state of Pennsyi-
vania, which has a similar statute,
appears to hold that the same princ1-
pie applies in the case of a slanoer.
A case from Texas is cited to the
same effect and it would seem to this
court that it is exactly in line with
the othe, authorities which have beer
cited here to the effect that the state
or government cannot use a decoy
for the purpose of procuring the
commission of an. offense and then
prosecute for it. No authorities
have been cited to the court
to the contrary by the District
Attorney and l am inclined to
think you cannot find any authorities
to the contrary, However reprehens1
BILE it may have been on the part Of
the defendant to utter these state
ments, which so far appear to be en-
tirely untrue anc unjustified, the
court must apply the law as it un-
derstands and the court must regard
the precedents from othe. jur1sdlc-
tions in the absence OF authorities by
our own court. 1t is very sad case,
Father OReilly testified here thar
! he values his character more than
his life and it is very easy to see
how that might be, ought to be-
These stories have been circulated
around here without any justification
whatever and apparently without any
truth or basis. 1t is shameful, ana
it ought to be stopped, but In the
trail of the case the court must apply
the law as it understands it, and
think there is no escape from the con
clusion that the state has failed ID
make out case under the statute.
Mr.. Sheriff: You may recall the
jury.
Jury return.)
By the Court: The court will say
to the jury that the court has listen
ed to a very elaborate argument UP
on a law question which arises III
this case, and has already announced
that in the courts opinion case has
not been made out under this statute
, and think | will take the pains To
state to you very briefly the grounds
SO that you may understand it. The
:, evidence tends to show that the de-
PENDANT uttered slanderOus words re-
garding a Catholic Priest here, the
complainant. And the evidence So
far shows that those words were
entirely untrue and unjustified. The
evidence shows that Father O'ReihT
was not guilty of having committed
; any of the acts which were referred
: to by the defendant, as testified Us
, by the two detectives here. But IL
appears that the complaining witness
here employed the Burns Detective
Agency in Chicago to send de-
tectives here, and they sent the tWO'
: detectives here. They were employ
: ed by the complainant, through F'a-
= Their O'Reilly himself The two de-
5 tectives when they came here were
: his agents, and they went to the de-
PENDANT and they obtained these state
5 ments from him. Now the authorities
} which have been read to the court
are to the effect that a party cannot
: himself, or employ agents to go and
} entrap a defendant into the commits
, sion of a crime and then prosecute
: him. Many authorities have been
| cited to the court to that effect. For
: instance a party cannot employ an
! agent to go and entrap a defendant.
to commit larceny, to steal the en-,
ployer's goods, and then turn around
/ and prosecute him criminally or sue
} him ciyilly. Authorities have been
J cited to the court that that doctrine
! applies to a prosecution for SANDER;
that where the complaining witness
, has employed parties as his agents
: to obtain statements from a party, he
cannot turn around and prosecute
) criminaIly a defendant for doing that
: which he has procured. In the Ian
guage used by one Supreme CourC
the government or the state cannot
entrap party to commit an offense,