Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 February 1904 — Decision on Vote Buying. [ARTICLE]

Decision on Vote Buying.

I The Supreme court Friday reversed the “vote-buying case” from Clinton county, in which R< b*rt Davis* had judgement for S9OO in veward for obtaining the conviction and disfranchisement of persons who sold their votes a» the election in the fall of 1900 One defense set op by the county commissioners was that Davis persuaded and induced tbe convicted persons to sell their votes with tbe intention of obtaining testimony by which to convict them and obtain a reward. Judge Monks, speaking for the court says that the law does not permit a man to take advantage of his own wrong, or to found any claim upon his own iniquity. Under this rule, be says one who aids in committing crime can not claim a reward for the detection of himeel’and nia fellow criminals. Of course be says it was not a crime under our law to buy tbe v>>trs but tbe act would have been a crime at common law and not very long ago was a serious crime in Indiana Ruch conduct is still wrong and immoral, affecting the whole community.

He concludes that public policy forbids one who has wickedly bought a vote and thereby induced another to commit a crime to enforce payment of a reward for securing his dupe’s conviction. Tbe act itself is declared to be constitutional. and Davis to have a right to the rewards claimed if he can disprove tbe charge that he was himself concerned in the vote buying.