Talmage v. Smith: The case is about a man who threw a stick at a boy because the boy trespassed onto his land and unintentionally hit the boy’s eye.

Supreme Court of Michigan. Montgomery, J. In 1894, Defendant Charles Smith, saw a group of boys standing on the roof of his shed after trespassing onto his land. Smith ordered them to get down, and they did so at once. On another shed there were two more boys, but Smith claimed to only see one boy, Byron Smith, who began to get down when he told him to. Smith proceeded to throw a stick about 2 inches wide and 16 inches long in the direction of Byron. The stick hit the other boy on the roof, Talmage, in the eye. There was testimony that conceded the stick was aimed at Byron, who was in Smith’s view, but instead hit Talmage in the eye, rendering a total loss of eyesight in that eye. …show more content…
The circuit judge charged the jury with the following issues: Whether the defendant did not know the Talmage boy was present, and intended to only frighten the boy, Byron Smith, by throwing the stick. In this case, the plaintiff can not recover. Or whether the defendant did intend to hit Byron with the stick, but under the circumstances, it was not an unreasonable or excessive use of force. In this case, the plaintiff cannot recover. Or whether the defendant threw the stick, intending to hit either Byron or the plaintiff, and that that force was unreasonable or excessive, then the defendant would be liable and subject to damages for bodily injury to the