People v. Kennedy

Defendant was convicted of a misdemeanor, the particular charge made against him being that he did on the twenty-first day of March, in the county of Kings, set and use a fixed contrivance for catching fish contrary to the provisions of section 636 of the Penal Code.- The undisputed evidence showed that on the day mentioned in the information defendant was discovered by a deputy game warden taking fish from a set line which was stretched across the Kings River. This line had attached to it numerous short lines bearing hooks which hung from the main cord into the water of the river, and it was from the hooks on these short lines that defendant was detaching fish at the time of his arrest. He stated to the arresting officer that he had placed the line there; that he was fishing for the market, and that the only way he could catch fish was by using these lines. He made the further statement to the officer that he would break the law, as it was not right but unconstitutional. No evidence was introduced at the trial on behalf of defendant.

The points urged upon which it is claimed that a reversal of the judgment and order denying a new trial should be directed are quite technical and…