Sanner v. State ex rel. Gisriel

Bryan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Elijah Johnson and Nathaniel Diggs were each indicted in the Criminal Court of Baltimore on the charge of keeping a room for the purpose of selling lottery tickets, and having pleaded guilty were each fined a thousand dollars. Gisriel alleged that he was the informer in the two cases, and that he was therefore entitled to one-half of the amount of the fines, by virtue of Article 27, section 176 of the Code. He therefore brought an action on the official bond of Sanner, the sheriff, to the use of himself as equitable plaintiff.

Having recovered judgment, the sheriff and his sureties appealed. The evidence showed that Gisriel called on the Marshal of Police and fold him that he had rented out the upper story of the house in which he conducted his business, and that for several days he had noticed at noon and in the afternoon a large number of white and colored persons going to the place, and that he thought that the policy business was carried on there. The evidence also showed that he gave to the Marshal a description of the building, telling him of the exits and entrances ; and that in consequence of this information the Marshal ordered the place to be raided by the police, and that they found a number of persons in one of the upper rooms and some of the equipments and appliances' used in carrying on the policy business ; that all ⁵²⁶ persons found there were arrested ; that they found Johnson and Diggs locked up in a room and they were also arrested ; that evidence of the guilt of these men was obtained from persons arrested at the time, and that they were subsequently'indicted and pleaded guilty and were fined a thousand dollars each, which fines were paid to the sheriff, and that a demand was made on the sheriff in behalf of Gisriel by his attorney for the payment of a moiety of these fines, and that he refused to pay it. The evidence also showed that the Marshal received his first information about the character of the raided place from Gisriel, and that before that information he had never suspected it to be a policy shop, or heard of its being suspected as such.- We must decide, on the supposition that this evidence is true, whether Gisriel is entitled to one-half of' the fines which the statute gives to the informer.

It enacts that if any person shall keep a house, office or other place for the purpose of selling lottery tickets * * he shall ■ be subject to a penalty of a thousand dollars, to be recovered by indictment or by action of debt in the name of the State, one-half of which shall go to the informer. It is impossible .to mistake the meaning and intention so plainly expressed. Experience has shown that there were difficulties in the way of detecting and punishing this offence. The Legislature desired to increase the facilities for discovering when it had been committed by offering rewárds to those who were aware that the law had been violated ; provided they would give information to the proper legal authorities.

The informers were not required to take part in arresting offenders; neither was it necessary that they should be