Clayton’s Notebook, 59

STATE v. JOHN TUMLIN.

Court of Common Pleas of Delaware, Kent County.
May, 1818.

In this case the Court held that horse racing is indictable, though no liquor is sold on the ground; and this on the Statute, 2 Del. Laws 866.

T. Clayton, for defendant, objected that by 2 Del. Laws 1210 a fine of four dollars before a justice might be imposed for horse-racing on Sunday, from which he said it would appear that this fine was less than that for racing on any other day according to their construction.

[NOTE.] But in fact there is a subsequent Act of Assembly, 3 Del. Laws [230], much stronger than 2 Del. Laws 866, which did not occur either to the Court or counsel at the time.[2]

[2] At this point the following comment is added in another hand, “This is not true, for it did occur to defendant’s counsel; and besides, this is a most lame report of the case.”

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