McConnell v. State

1935 OK CR 130, 71 P.2d 635, 62 Okla. Crim. 232, 1935 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 114
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 27, 1935
DocketNo. A-8839.
StatusPublished

This text of 1935 OK CR 130 (McConnell 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
McConnell v. State, 1935 OK CR 130, 71 P.2d 635, 62 Okla. Crim. 232, 1935 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 114 (Okla. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

DOYLE, J.

This appeal is from a judgment of conviction pronounced and entered by the district court of Tillman county, in pursuance of the verdict rendered by a jury finding, “J. E. McConnell guilty as charged of re *234 ceiving a deposit in a state bank when said bank was insolvent, and assess his punishment by a fine of $3,500.”

The information charged that J. E. McConnell and C. E. McConnell did, on or about the 12th day of January, 1932, commit the crime of knowingly receiving money for deposit, when the bank was insolvent, in manner and form as follows:

“That the said defendants, J. E. McConnell and C. E. McConnell, in the county and state aforesaid, on the day and year aforesaid, being then and there active officers and directors of the Security State Bank of Frederick, Okla., a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the state of Oklahoma and then and there engaged in transacting a general banking business in Tillman county, Oklahoma, with its principal place of business at Frederick, Okla., did, as such officers and directors of said bank, knowingly, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously accept and receive a deposit of and! from J. Fyie, in said bank in the sum of ($500) five hundred dollars, in good and lawful money of the United! States of America, consisting of checks of the value of five hundred dollars ($500), in good and lawful money of the United States of America, the personal money of J. Fyie, when said bank was insolvent, and said defendants and each of them then and there knew said bank was insolvent, contrary to, etc.”

This information charges an offense under section 9188, St. 1931 (6 Okla. St. Ann. § 233), which reads:

“No bank shall accept or receive on deposit, with or without interest, any money, bank bills or notes, or United States treasury notes, gold or silver certificates, or currency, or other notes, bills, cheeks or drafts, when such bank is insolvent; and any officer, director, cashier', manager, member, party or managing party of any bank who shall knowingly violate the provisions of this section, or be accessory to or permit or connive at the receiving; *235 or accepting of any such deposit, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $5,000, or by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

As reasons for a reversal several errors are assigned, among them being that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the verdict.

It appears that the Security State Bank of Frederick was organized in 1920; appellant was a director and vice president. In January, 1923, he was elected president, with a salary of $100 a month; that his son C. E. McConnell, codefendant, was elected cashier, and that they were each successively re-elected as such officers and served as such, until said bank was closed by the State Bank Commissioner, in January, 1932.

It is undisputed that on January 12, 1932, the last day said bank was open for business, J. Fyie deposited with said bank cash or its equivalent in the sum of $500.

On January 15, 1932, the State Bank Commissioner, omitting formal recitals, made the following order:

“And thereupon, after considering the recommendation of Elmer E. Wilson, a duly appointed Assistant Bank Commissioner, who has examined the affairs of said bank, and being familiar with the conditions of said bank, I am of the opinion that said bank should be closed and its books, records and assets taken charge of by me as Bank Commissioner of Oklahoma., as provided by law, for the following reasons, to wit: (1) That the actual cash market value of its assets is insufficient to pay its liabilities. (2) That it is unable to meet the demands of its creditors in the usual and customary manner. (3) That it has failed to make good its reserve as required by law.”

It appears that Clyde Faught was appointed liquidating agent together with C. E. McConnell, codefendant, *236 who continued as such agent but for a short time, then resigned.

Clyde Faught testified that he continued to act as liquidating agent of said bank up to the time of the trial of this case; that after he was appointed, he selected two groups of appraisers, to appraise both secured and unsecured assets of said bank at their cash market value as of January 12, 1932. And they made a report as to the fair market value of both the secured notes and the security behind the notes, and the unsecured notes.

The books of the bank were introduced to show the condition at the time of the deposit. Then the bank records were identified and introduced in evidence, consisting of the stock register, the teller’s cashbook covering dates of November 30, 1931, to January 14, 1932, the general ledger, the liability ledger, the draft register, the certificate of deposit register, and the cashier’s check register, also note case containing notes. The minutes of the meetings of the board of directors of said bank from April 28, 1921, also financial condition of the bank, October 1, 1930, and the minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, including instructions of the Assistant Bank Commissioner, were introduced in evidence. Also what is called the liquidation report, being an inventory of the assets and liabilities of said bank, when closed, was introduced in evidence.

The liquidation report shows that on January 14, 1932, the loans and discounts of said bank on said date were $267,865.98. That the unpledged notes were $187,-175.50, that the pledged bills payable showed $41,360.48, and the pledged rediscounts $39,330.

Mr. Faught further testified that the loss would be approximately $100,000, that the legal reserve was approx *237 imately short $24,000, on the 12th day oí January. On cross-examination he stated a bank in a town of this size was required to keep 20 per cent, of deposits in cash; that quite frequently banks were below their legal reserve; that over a period of time a bank can be in strong financial condition and still have less than the legal reserve; that the condition of the reserve is not necessarily an indication of the condition of the bank.

James M. Fritz, assistant to the Bank Commissioner, testified that he investigated the books of said bank and checked all deposits received in the year 1931, and up to the closing of the bank in January, 1932, to determine what deposits were received by appellant, as indicated by his initials on deposit tickets; and that appellant had received deposits in the total amount of $144,192.67; that on January 11, the day before the bank was closed, appellant received six deposits aggregating to $400.58; that he did not find a deposit ticket with appellant’s initials on it for January 12th; that J. Fyie’s deposit was taken on January 12th, but it was not taken by appellant.

A. E.

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

Related

Smith v. State
181 N.E. 519 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1932)
State v. Sanford
297 S.W. 73 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1927)
Hays v. State
1922 OK CR 161 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1922)
Witte v. State
1926 OK CR 362 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1926)
Bryan Co. State Bank v. Amer. Nat. Bank of Ft. Worth
1916 OK 370 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1916)
Hodges v. State
1927 OK CR 170 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1927)
Bradshaw v. State
1921 OK CR 74 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1921)
Appelget v. State
1926 OK CR 23 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1926)
Hudson v. State
1927 OK CR 178 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1927)
State v. Syverson
166 N.W. 157 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1918)
Eubank v. Bryan County State Bank of Caddo
216 F. 833 (Eighth Circuit, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1935 OK CR 130, 71 P.2d 635, 62 Okla. Crim. 232, 1935 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 114, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcconnell-v-state-oklacrimapp-1935.