Carter v. State

87 N.E. 1081, 172 Ind. 227, 1909 Ind. LEXIS 26
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided April 23, 1909·No. No. 21,338·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Myers, J.

Appellant was tried and convicted under the fourth count of an indictment charging him with procuring a woman to miscarry from taking “a certain drug, medicine and substance, to the grand jurors unknown,” such miscarriage not being necessary to preserve her life, from which the woman, on November 8, 1907, died.

Over a motion for a new trial, appellant was sentenced to the Indiana Eeformatory. The only question presented is upon the motion for a new trial.

1. It is urged that the verdict is contrary to the evidence, for the reason that there is no affirmative evidence that the grand jury did not know what “drug, medicine or substance” was taken by the deceased, and the case of Stone v. State (1868), 30 Ind. 115, is relied on in support of this contention. We do not understand the rule in Stone v. State, supra, or Foster v. State (1886), 106 Ind. 272, to be as insisted by appellant, though the statement is pretty broad. It is evident that the courts of Massachusetts have not so understood the declaration in Commonwealth v. [229] Stoddard (1864), 9 Allen 280, to which Stone v. State, supra, refers. The last case cited has been followed, upon this question, in Foster v. State, supra, which also cites Blodget v. State (1852), 3 Ind. 403, McLaughlin v. State (1873), 45 Ind. 338, and Moore v. State (1879), 65 Ind. 213. None of the cases cited, except Stone v. State, supra, involves the question here. In Blodget v. State, supra, it affirmatively appeared by the evidence that the prosecuting witness was before the grand jury, and knew, but was not asked, as to the name of the party to whom liquor had been sold, the indictment charging that the name of the person to whom liquor was sold was unknown. In McLaughlin v. State, supra, the indictment was held insufficient, because it did not set out the names of persons to whom the sale of the liquor was alleged to have been .made, and the names were not alleged to be unknown to the grand jury. The reasons for such requirement are well stated in that ease. The judgment in Moore v. State, supra, was reversed because the indictment charged the playing of billiards by a minor “with persons whose names are unknown, ’ ’ and the evidence showed ■ playing with an individual, and the court instructed the jury that playing with a “person” authorized conviction. The case of Commonwealth v. Stoddard, supra, is the basis for Stone v. State, supra, and there is no question of the unnecessary adoption in the latter case of a specific declaration in the former, but an examination of the cases upon which Commonwealth v. Stoddard, supra, is based, discloses an entire want of anything in those cases which warrants the declaration in the Stoddard case, if it can be said to go to the length here insisted upon. In Commonwealth v. Tompson (1848), 2 Cush. 551, it was directly held, that if the name was given in one count, and in another alleged to be unknown to the grand jurors, and the evidence was insufficient to establish the name as alleged, and there was no other evidence tending to prove the true name, the jury was warranted in finding on the second count that the name was unknown, In Com[230] monwealth v. Thornton (1859), 14 Gray 41, it was held that if the evidence showed that the name of a person alleged to be unknown to the grand jurors was in fact known, that it was a variance, but that such fact must appear from the evidence, clearly placing the burden on the defendant, if he relies on that fact. That is the rule, too, in Blodget v. State, supra, which is grounded on the proposition that if the witness was before the grand jury, and knew the name alleged in the indictment to be unknown, but was asked nothing about it, and the fact was so disclosed to the traverse jury, there was a fatal variance.

That the courts of Massachusetts have not understood the case of Commonwealth v. Stoddard, supra, as going to its apparent length, or have declined to follow it, is clear from later cases in that state. In Commonwealth v. Glover (1873), 111 Mass. 395, 401, it is distinctly held that if a question should arise under the evidence, as to whether the grand jury did Imow the name, the burden would then be upon the commonwealth to show that they did not know, clearly implying that, unless the question arose under the evidence, it was not an affirmative fact to be shown in the first instance, and Commonwealth v. Stoddard, supra, is cited on that proposition, as showing the court’s construction of that case. In Commonwealth v. Martin (1878), 125 Mass. 394, 396, it was held that the state was not required to prove affirmatively that the means ' by which death was inflicted was unknown to the grand jury, though so charged. In Commonwealth v. Gallagher (1873), 126 Mass. 54, 56, it was held that, where there was no evidence that the grand jury had a description of bills, as to which they allege a more particular description of which is to the grand jurors unknown, ’ ’ no question was presented. In Commonwealth v. Luddy (1887), 143 Mass. 563, 566, 10 N. E. 448, it was held that, where there is no evidence upon the point whether the name charged as unknown was or was not known, the question does [231] not arise. “It has been decided that under a count of this kind, in the absence of evidence tending to show knowledge oh the part of the grand jury, the commonwealth need not prove affirmatively that it was ignorant of that which is alleged to be unknown.” Commonwealth v. Coy (1892), 157 Mass. 200, 216, 32 N. E. 4. In that case it is also said: ‘ ‘ This part of the allegation is in no proper sense a description of the offense.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Carter v. State, 87 N.E. 1081, 172 Ind. 227, 1909 Ind. LEXIS 26 (Ind. 1909).

87 N.E. 1081 (Carter v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Bei Bei Shuai v. State of Indiana
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012
Bei Bei Shuai v. State
966 N.E.2d 619 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012)
Seidman v. State
187 A.2d 109 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1962)
Wertheimer & Goldberg v. State
169 N.E. 40 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1929)
Gillenwater v. State
147 N.E. 714 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1925)
Small v. State
130 N.E. 401 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1921)
State v. Klasner
19 N.M. 479 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1914)