ABB PENTON AND ZADA EDGAR, ALIAS ZADA LINDSAY, PLAINTIFFS IN ERROR,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR
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Abb Penton and Zada Edgar were convicted under Florida law for lewdly and lasciviously associating and cohabiting together while unmarried. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction, finding the evidence insufficient to prove the statutory offense under established precedent requiring proof of continued dwelling together as if married, not merely isolated acts of incontinency.
The conviction is reversed and a new trial granted. The evidence was insufficient to sustain the charge under the statute, which requires proof of parties dwelling or living together as if in a conjugal relation, not merely isolated or occasional acts of incontinency.
“to convict of the offence of lewdly and lasciviously associating and cohabiting together under this statute, the evidence must show a dwelling or living together by the parties as if the conjugal relation existed; that a single or mere occasional acts of incontinency are insufficient to sustain the charge”
Establishes the statutory requirement that proof must show continuous cohabitation as if married, not merely isolated sexual acts
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePenton and Edgar were indicted, tried, and convicted in Santa Rosa County Circuit Court in March 1900 under section 2596 of the Florida Revised Statut…
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Carter, J.:
At the Spring term of the Circuit Court of Santa Rosa county, held in March of the present year, plaintiffs in error were indicted, tried and convicted for the offence denounced by the. first clause of section 2596 Revised Statutes which reads: “If any man and woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and co-habit together, * * * they shall be punished,” &c., and from the sentence imposed-sued out this writ of error. A motion for a new trial upon the ground, among others, that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict was overruled, and this ruling, among others, is assigned as error. In Luster v. State, 23 Fla. 339, 2 South. Rep. 690, this court held that to convict of the offence of lewdly and lasciviously associating and cohabiting together under this statute, the evidence must show a dwelling or living together by the parties as if the conjugal relation existed; that a single or mere oc casional acts oí incontinency are insufficient to-sustain the charge, and that the object of the statute is to prohibit the public scandal and disgrace of such living together by persons of opposite sexes who are unmarried to each other. This construction has been adhered to in Pinson v. State, 28 Fla. 735, 9 South. Rep. 706, and Thomas v. State, 39 Fla. 437, 22 South. Rep. 725, where it is also said that in this offence there is included both lewd and lascivious intercourse and a living or dwelling together as if the conjugal relation existed' between the parties. In addition to the authorities cited in those cases to sustain the construction placed upon the statute, see Jones v. Commonwealth, 80 Va. 18; State v. Foster, 21 W. Va. 767; State v. Miller, 42 W. Va. 215, 24 S. E. Rep. 882; State v. Chandler, 132 Mo. 155, 33 S. W. Rep. 797.
We have carfeully considered the evidence certified to us in the bill of exceptions in this case, and find it insufficient to sustain the charge made in the indictment under the previous decisions of this court above referred to. In view of this conclusion, we do not pass upon the other assignments of error. The judgment is reversed and a new trial granted.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Chesebrough v. State, 255 So. 2d 675 (Fla. 1971)…as had occasion to define these two words in their various forms in Luster v. State, 23 Fla. 339, 2 So. 690; Pinson v. State, 28 Fla. 735, 9 So. 706; Holton v. State, 28 Fla. 303, 9 So. 716; Thomas v. State, 39 Fla. 437, 22 So. 725; Penton v. State, 42 Fla. 560, 28 So. 774; Whitehead v. State, 48 Fla. 64, 37 So. 302; Faulkner v. State, 146 Fla. 769, 1 So. 2d 857; and Boles v. State, 158 Fla. 220, 27 So. 2d 293.” (p. 57) Lewdness, or open and public indecency, were offenses even at common law. The statutes…
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Rhodes v. State, 283 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 1973)…as had occasion to define these two words in their various forms in Luster v. State, 23 Fla. 339, 2 So. 690; Pinson v. State, 28 Fla. 735, 9 So. 706; Holton v. State, 28 Fla. 303, 9 So. 716; Thomas v. State, 39 Fla. 437, 22 So. 725; Penton v. State, 42 Fla. 560, [*357] 28 So. 774; Whitehead v. State, 48 Fla. 64, 37 So. 302; Faulkner v. State, 146 Fla. 769, 1 So. 2d 857; and Boles v. State, 158 Fla. 220, 27 So. 2d 293.” (p. 57) Chesebrough then further states: (255 So. 2d 678) “Lewdness, or open and publ…
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Buchanan v. State of Fla. & Nathan Mayo, 111 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959)…as had occasion to define these two words in their various forms in Luster v. State, 23 Fla. 339, 2 So. 690; Pinson v. State, 28 Fla. 735, 9 So. 706; Holton v. State, 28 Fla. 303, 9 So. 716; Thomas v. State, 39 Fla. 437, 22 So. 725; Penton v. State, 42 Fla. 560, 28 So. 774; Whitehead v. State, 48 Fla. 64, 37 So. 302; Faulkner v. State, 146 Fla. 769, 1 So. 2d 857; and Boles v. State, 158 Fla. 220, 27 So. 2d 293. The question whether the Child Molester Act created the new crime of “lewd and lascivious behav…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Pinson v. State, 28 Fla. 735 (Fla. 1891)
- Luster v. State, 23 Fla. 339 (Fla. 1887)
- Thomas v. State, 39 Fla. 437 (Fla. 1897)