Lewis v. State

55 Fla. 54
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJanuary 15, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 55 Fla. 54 (Lewis v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. State, 55 Fla. 54 (Fla. 1908).

Opinion

Shackleford, C. J.

—Andrew Lewis, the plaintiff in error, was indicted in the circuit court for Walton county, at the spring term, 1907, for larceny and embezzlement tried at the same term and found guilty of [59]*59embezzlement and sentenced to pay a fine of fifty dollars, or in default thereof to imprisonment in the county jail of Walton county for the period of three months. From this judgment and sentence he seeks relief here by writ of error.

The first assignment of error is based upon the overruling of the motion to quash the indictment. We find that the indictment contained four counts, the first two of which charged the defendant with larceny and the last two charged him with embezzlement. The jury-found him guilty of embezzlement as charged in the third count, which was an acquittal upon the other three counts. It will be necessary, therefore, for us to notice only such grounds of the motion as apply to the third count, which count is as follows:

“Third Count: And the grand jurors aforesaid, inquiring as aforesaid, do further present that one Andrew Lewis, on the 9th day of December, 1906, was then and there the agent and servant of the Walton Land & Timber Company, a corporation; that on said date, in said state and county, the said Andrew Lewis then and there had in his possession, custody and control, $50, good and lawful money, currency of the United States of America, a better description of said money being to the grand jurors unknown; that the said money was -then and there the property of the Walton Land & Timber Company and was of the value of fifty dollars. - That said money had come into the custody and control of the said Andrew Lewis by reason and by virtue of his being the agent and the servant of the said Walton Land & Timber Company ; that the said Andrew Lewis then and there having said money in his possession, as aforesaid, did then and there fraudulently embezzle and' convert the said money to his own use without the consent of the said Walton Land & Timber Company.”

The first contention of the defendant is that this [60]*60count is fatally defective because it fails to sufficiently describe the property alleged to have been embezzled. This question has previously been decided by this court adversely to the contention of the defendant. See Porter v. State, 26 Fla. 56, 7 South. Rep. 145; Lang v. State, 42 Fla. 595, 28 South. Rep. 856; Sigsbee v. State, 43 Fla. 524, 30 South. Rep. 816; Eatman v. State, 48 Fla. 21, 37 South. Rep. 576. The discussion in Sullivan v. State, 44 Fla. 155, 32 South. Rep. 106, will also prove instructive. In the last cited case there was a failure to allege in the indictment that a more perfect, more definite or a better description of the money was to the grand jurors unknown, but there is no such omission in the indictment in the instant case. Richberger v. State, (Miss.), 44 South. Rep. 772, will also prove of interest. There is a wide distinction in the indictment in the instant case and in Grant v. State, 35 Fla. 581, 17 South. Rep. 225, S. C. 48 Amer. St. Rep. 263, upon which the defendant relies. In that case the only description of the property alleged to have been embezzled set forth in the indictment was that it was “the proceeds” of certain lumber sold by the defendant, no reason being given for the failure to give a better description.

The next contention of the defendant is that the indictment is fatally defective because it fails to “allege in what capacity the defendant was acting as agent and servant in this connection,” simply alleging that the defendant was the agent and servant of the Walton Land & Timber Company, whose property he was charged with embezzling. The defendant earnestly insists that the use of the conjunction “and” was misleading and confusing because he was not informed thereby whether he was charged with having embezzled as agent or as servant. The indictment was framed under Section 33x1 of the General Statutes of 1906, which is as follows:

[61]*61“3311. (2457.) Embezzlement by officer, clerk, agent, servant or member of company or society. If any officer, agent, clerk, servant or member of any incorporated company, or if any officer, clerk, servant, agent or member of any co-partnership, society or voluntary association, or if any clerk, agent or servant of any person, embezzles or fraudulently disposes of, or converts to his own use, or takes or secretes with intent so to do anything of value which has been entrusted to him, or has come 'into his possession, care, custody or control by reason of his office, employment or membership, he shall be punished as if he had been convicted of larceny.”

This statute prescribes the same penalty for the offense of embezzlement when committed by an agent, as when committed by a servant of another, and because an indictment in a single count describes the offender as occupying both positions conjunctively, that of agent and servant, at the time of the commission of the offense, does not render it bad for uncertainty, for in such a case but one offense is charged and the prosecutor is at liberty to prove either or both of the capacities in which the defendant acted at the time of committing the offense, and if either or both of such capacities were proven, together with the other ingredients of the offense, the crime would be made out. Bradley v. State, 20 Fla. 738; Bish. Direc. and Forms (2 ed.) Sec. 407 and notes. But besides this Section 3962, General Statutes of 1906, originally enacted in 1861, provides as follows:

“3962. (2893.) Indictment not to be quashed unless it would mislead accused.—No indictment shall be quashed or judgment arrested or new trial be granted on account of any defect in the form of the indictment, or of misjoinder of offenses or for any cause whatsoever, unless the court shall.be of the opinion that the indict[62]*62ment is so vague, indistinct and indefinite as to mislead the accused and embarrass him in the preparation of his defense or expose him after conviction or acquittal to substantial danger of a new prosecution for the same offense.”

This section has frequently been referred to and construed by this court. See Barber v. State, 52 Fla. 5, 42 South. Rep. 86, and authorities therein cited; Douglass v. State, 53 Fla. 27, 43 South. Rep. 424. As was held in Barber v. State, supra, it has been the policy of this court, as it evidently was the intention of the legislature, to uphold indictments and informations whenever there has been a substantial compliance therein with the requirements of law. In fact, if any doubt had previousfy existed upon this point, it was removed by the enactment of Section 3961 of the General Statutes of 1906, which made its appearance for the first time as Section 2892 of the Revised Statutes of 1892,. and is as follows:

“2892. Indictment substantially charging offense good.—Every indictment shall be deemed and adjudged good which charges the crime substantially in the language of the statute prohibiting the crime or prescribing the punishment, if any such there be, or if at common law, so plainly that the nature of the offense charged may be easily understood by the jury.”

Tested by the construction placed upon these last two statutes by -this court and by the principles enunciated in the cases cited supra relating to prosecutions for embezzlement, we are of the opinion that -this contention of the defendant must likewise fall. Tipton v. State, 53 Fla. 69, 43 South. Rep.

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Bluebook (online)
55 Fla. 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-state-fla-1908.