Case Name: THE PEOPLE v. DAVID WEILER
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1904-06
Citations: 18 N.Y. Crim. 384
Docket Number: 
Parties: THE PEOPLE v. DAVID WEILER.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Criminal Reports
Volume: 18
Pages: 384–395

Head Matter:
Court of Appeals.
June, 1904.
Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
J anuary, 1904.
THE PEOPLE v. DAVID WEILER.
179 N. Y. 46.
1. Crimes—When “Shadowing” by a Private Detective Is Not an “Offensive or Disorderly Act” Within Meaning of Penal Code, § 675.
1. Where a private detective, employed by a detective agency duly licensed under the statute (L. 1898, ch. 422), and acting under instructions from his employer, “shadowed” a person by fol lowing him at a distance wherever he went on a public street, and by watching, at a distance, his house, office and other places where he went, in order to keep informed of all his movements, so that a process of subpoena could be served upon him at any moment if so required, such detective is not guilty of committing “ any offensive or disorderly act” constituting a crime within the meaning of section 675 of the Penal Code, where he never spoke to or came into personal contact with the complainant, and so conducted himself that the complainant did not know that he was being “shadowed” until so informed by others.
Reversing 89 App. Div. 611.
Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the First Judicial Department, entered January 25, 1904, which affirmed a judgment of the Court of Special Sessions, First Division, of the City of New York, convicting the defendant of'a violation of section 675. of the Penal Code.
The appeal came on for argument at the Appellate Division upon December 8th, 1903. The appeal in the similar case of People v, St. Clair was argued together with it. (For the disposition of the St. Clair case see Note appended to this case.)

Opinion:
Subsequently, the judgment of conviction was affirmed, without opinion; McLaughlin and Laughlin, JJ., dissenting,. (89 App. Div., 611). The dissenting opinion is as follows :