Commonwealth v. Hill
This text of 14 Mass. 207 (Commonwealth v. Hill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
The defendant was indicted for a larceny, and being set to the bar for his arraignment, the Solicitor-General suggested to the Court that he was deaf and dumb, but that the evidence would prove him of sufficient capacity to be a proper subject for a criminal prosecution, and that he had formerly been convicted of a larceny ; and he moved that one Nelson, then in Court, and an acquaintance of the prisoner, should be sworn to interpret the indictment to him, as it should be read by the clerk. The indictment was accordingly read by a sentence at a time, and Nelson, having been sworn,' explained its purport to him, making signs with his fingers, &c. After which the Court ordered the trial to proceed, as on a plea of not guilty.
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack
14 Mass. 207, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-hill-mass-1817.