Hall v. State

1957 OK CR 56, 312 P.2d 981, 1957 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 181
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided May 29, 1957·No. A-12411·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

NIX, Judge.

The defendant was indicted by a grand jury March 19, 1953; the indictment filed in the District Court in the following form:

“In the Name and by the Authority of the State of Oklahoma: At the January 1953 term of the District Court of Carter County, State of Oklahoma, begun and held at the City of Ardmore in *983 •said county, on the 13th day of February Nineteen Hundred and S3 the •Grand Jury of said county, good and lawful men, legally drawn and summoned according to law, and then and there examined, impaneled, sworn and charged according to law, to diligently ■inquire into, and true presentment make of all public offenses against the State of Oklahoma, committed or tria-ble within said County, upon their said oaths, in the name and by the authority ■of the State of Oklahoma, do present and find that in said Carter County, and .State of Oklahoma, on about the 19th ■day of February in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and 53 and prior to the finding of this indictment that E. G. Hall did commit the Crime of Larceny of Livestock, in the following manner, to-wit:
“That E. G. Hall, in the County and State aforesaid, on the day and year aforesaid, did, unlawfully, wilfully, wrongfully, stealthily, fraudulently and feloniously take, steal, carry away 15 head of hogs, consisting of 3 Chester White sows, weighing approximately 175 lbs each, and 12 Chester White pigs, the personal property of Carl E. Harmon, and C. H. Harmon, without the consent and against the will of the said Carl E. Harmon, and C. H. Harmon, the true owners thereof, and with the unlawful, wrongful and felonious intent then and there on the part of him, the said E. G. Hall, to deprive the said Carl E. Harmon of said property, to wit: 15 head of hogs, and to convert the same to the use and benefit of him, the said E. G. Hall, contrary to the form of the statutes in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State.”

To this indictment the defendant moved to quash, alleging that said indictment was ■not returned and filed according to law, and that no statutory offense is charged against this defendant in said indictment, and at the ■same time filed demurrer to indictment alleging that there is no such offense as larceny of livestock provided against in the Statutes of Oklahoma; that said indictment in not alleging that the property stolen was domestic animals, and in failing to allege the value thereof, the trial court was without jurisdiction — there being no way to tell whether the offense charged is grand larceny or petty larceny and that said indictment wholly failed to state that defendant had committed any crime, which motion to quash and demurrer were overruled.

Defendant was tried and jury returned the following verdict:

“We, the Jury drawn, empaneled and sworn in the above entitled cause, do, upon our oath find the defendant, E. G. Flail, guilty of the crime of Larceny of Livestock as charged in the Indictment herein and assess his punishment at 3 years.”

The defendant appeals to this court upon grounds that court erred in overruling motion to quash a demurrer to said indictment. Argument of plaintiff in error to this contention is that defendant, was charged with Larceny of Livestock and not Larceny of domestic animals. In this connection he recites section 1716 of Title 21 O.S.1951:

“Larceny of domestic animals. — Any person in this State who shall steal any horse, jackass, jennet, mule,' cow, or hog, shall be guilty of a felony” and further recites section 271, Title 4 O.S. 1951 which defines livestock to mean any “cattle, horse or mule.”

Plaintiff in error argues that larceny of domestic animals creates a separate offense of larceny in that the value of the stolen article does not have to be stated in order to determine whether the offense charged is grand larceny and a felony, or petit larceny and a misdemeanor. Fie points out that defendant was charged with taking 15 head of hogs which does not come within the statutory definition of livestock, and consequently, indictment was insufficient to charge a crime under the statutes and the fact that defendant was charged with larceny of livestock, whereas the crime set forth in the statute is that of Lar *984 ceny of domestic animals, rendered the information fatally defective. No cases were cited by plaintiff in error and none found by writer covering this subject. However, the court has given it much study and consideration and has drawn the conclusion that the description given setting forth a crime is secondary and of little consequence. The phrase under which a statute is related was originated and given birth to by those who compile the statutes after they have been enacted into law by the legislature. They neither constitute any part of the crime nor appear in the language of the law, itself. It was never intended to be more than a title or heading given to a section for index purposes or identification. We find the title “Larceny of domestic animals” was given to section 1716 of Title 21 O.S.1951 by the Revised Laws of 1910, the use of which was continued by West Publishing Company in O.S.A. and in 1951 Statutes. However, laws in previous years have designated the same offense as “Larceny of Livestock.” This was true in Session Laws of 1910, p. 187. The crime was so designated in the act of 1911, Laws 1910-11, p. 202, and as late as 1939 in the Amen-datory Act of that year. Article 4, Chapter 15, Session Law 1939.

It is quite apparent that these terms have been interchangeable and both used to designate same section of law. The plaintiff in error contends, however, that Title 4 O.S.1951 § 271, passed in 1949, clearly defined livestock as any cattle, horse, or mule, and that this statute definition required strict usage of the term livestock, and would not be applicable to designate a crime under section 1716, Title 21 O.S.1951, which bears the heading of “Larceny of domestic animals.” We cannot agree with this contention and this court has previously held that where allegations in information or indictment sufficiently charge a crime under a section of the statute the name describing the crime is secondary to the language setting forth the crime. It was held in Shiever v. State, 94 Okl.Cr. 37, 230 P.2d 282, 283:

“The introductory paragraph of an information is ordinarily equivalent to a mere descriptive label, and a wrong name given to the crime in that part of an information is an irregularity only and not fatal. The character of the offense must be determined by a consideration of the language contained in the charging part of the information.”

We are of the opinion the same would apply to an indictment as well as an information. After careful study of the indictment we are satisfied it is sufficient to charge a crime under section 1716 of Title 21 O.S.1951, which is designated Larceny of domestic animals. In the instant case the jury returned a verdict of guilty of Larceny of Livestock as charged in the indictment.

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Hall v. State, 1957 OK CR 56, 312 P.2d 981, 1957 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 181 (Okla. Ct. App. 1957).

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