French v. State

1920 OK CR 135, 190 P. 707, 17 Okla. Crim. 542, 1920 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 124
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 6, 1920
DocketNo. A-3459.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1920 OK CR 135 (French v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
French v. State, 1920 OK CR 135, 190 P. 707, 17 Okla. Crim. 542, 1920 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 124 (Okla. Ct. App. 1920).

Opinion

*543 MATSON, J.

On the 8th day of February, 19.18, the county attorney of Tulsa county filed in the county court of said county an information against the above-named defendants, the charging part of which was as follows:

“Be it remembered that George E. Reeves, the duly qualified and acting county attorney for Tulsa county, Oklahoma, who prosecutes in the name and by the authority of the' state of Oklahoma, comes now into the county court for Tulsa county, state of Oklahoma, on this the 8th day of February, A. D. 1918, and gives the court to understand and be informed that on the 29th day of May, A. D. 1917, in Tulsa county, state of Oklahoma, H. C. French and W. R. Sapp, late of said county, and within the jurisdiction of this court, did unlawfully and wrongfully convey intoxicating liquor, to wit, 500 half pints of whisky, and 6 gallons of alcohol, from a certain point, unknown to this affiant, to a certain point about two miles west of Col-linsville, Okla., in the northeast part of Tulsa county, Okla., known as Horse Pen Bridge, in violation of the prohibitory liquor laws of the state of Oklahoma.”

Said information was signed by George Reeves, County Attorney, and was verified as follows:

“State of Oklahoma, County of Tulsa — ssu.:
“I, E. S. McQueen, being first duly sworn, upon oath depose and say that I have read the foregoing information, and know the contents thereof, that all the allegations therein contained are true. E. S. McQueen.
“Subscribed and sworn to before me this 8th day of February, A. D. 1918. Frank INGRAHAM.”

Said information was indorsed on the back thereof as follows:

“No. 3593.
“State of Oklahoma v. H. C. French et al. Information for Conveying Intoxicating Liquor. In the County Court of Tulsa County.
*544 “Filed Feb. 8, 1918. Frank Ingraham, Court Clerk.
‘‘George E. Reeves, County Attorney of Tulsa County, Oklahoma.”

Then followed the names of the state witnesses, with their post office addresses.

On the 8th day of February, 1918, warrants of arrest for each of the defendants were issued on said information and they were in due time brought into court, where, on the 8th day of March, 1918, they each pleaded “ not guilty” to the charge, the cause was set for trial for the 11th day of March, 1918, and appearance bond of each defendant fixed in the sum of $1,000. On the 12th day of March, 1918, each defendant was released on bond, and also on said date the following proceedings were had in said cause:

“Permission granted to amend, reswear and refile information. Defendants plead not guilty. Objection to continuance. Continued for term on motion county attorney.”

No further proceedings were had in said cause until the 19th day of June, 1918, when, after the defendants had announced ready for trial, the court granted the defendants permission to withdraw their plea of “not guilty” and file a motion to quash the information, which was as follows:

“Come now the defendant H. C. French and W. R. Sapp and move the court to quash and set aside the information herein, because same is not properly verified as required by law, not verified by the proper officer or any officer.”

On the same date defendants filed a demurrer to the information “for the reason that the same does not state a public offense.” Both the motion to quash the information and the demurrer thereto were overruled, and proper exception taken to such actions.

*545 Thereafter defendants re-entered their pleas of “not •guilty,” and a jury was called, examined, accepted, and sworn to try the cause. Thereafter, when the first witness for the state was called to testify, counsel for the defendants interposed an objection to “the introduction of any testimony, for the reason that there is no information on file in this case. That the same was never verified by any .officer authorized under the law to administer an oath. Further that at the last term of court the state was given leave to amend the information by interlineation and to have the same refiled, but that the same has never been refiled, and had never been verified in accordance with the orders of the court; that the facts show it was ‘subscribed and sworn to before me this 8th day of February, 1918. Frank Ingraham’ — not shown that he is any officer, or anything, or holds any office, or any clerk or any one' authorized to administer an oath.” Thereupon, the court permitted the county attorney to introduce Mr. E. S. McQueen, the person who swore to the original information, who testified, over objection and exception by defendants’ counsel, that on the 12th day of March, 1918, he had resigned and had been resworn to the information which had been amended by interlining the words “within the state of Oklahoma-,” between the word “certain point” and the words “unknown to this affiant.” Thereupon the court found that the amended information had been resigned and resworn to by the complaining witness, E. S. McQueen, on the 12th day of March, 1918, in conformity with the order of court made of that date, and the court then ordered the clerk to note upon the information the following:

“Re-signed and resworn to this 12th day of March, 1918”

*546 —over the objection and exception of defendants’ counsel. Thereupon, the following occurred:

“Mr. Crossland: It is shown at the bottom of the information, in writing, immediately under ‘subscribed and sworn to before me,’ to wit: ‘Refiled and resworn to this the 12th day of March, 1918. Frank Ingraham, Court Clerk, by R. L. Laws, Deputy.’ That these words were in fact placed on this information on this the 19th day of June, 1918, after the jury had been sworn to try this case, and that in truth and in fact the said R. L. Laws did not, as a deputy ever reswear the said E. S. McQueen to the said information at any time, that on the 12th day of March, 1918, or at any time.
“The Court: The writing: ‘Refiled and resworn to this the 12th day of March, 1918. Frank Ingraham, Court Clerk, by R. L. Laws, Deputy’ — was placed on said information on the 19th day of June, 1918, at the order of the court for the purpose of carrying out a previously made order in reference to the reswearing and refiling of said information made by the then duly elected, qualified, and acting judge of said court, namely, H. L. Standeven, which said order is in words as follows, to wit: ‘Permission granted to amend, reswear and refile’ — it appearing to the court that said information was resworn to and re-signed by E. S. McQueen on the 12th day of March, 1918, at the time the order was made by the then trial judge, H. L. Standeven, in open court.
“Mr. Crossland: To which we object and except.
‘Thereupon the court took an adjournment until 1:30 o’clock p. m. of the same day, to wit, June 19, 1918.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1920 OK CR 135, 190 P. 707, 17 Okla. Crim. 542, 1920 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/french-v-state-oklacrimapp-1920.