People v. Price

41 N.W. 853, 74 Mich. 37, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 604
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 8, 1889
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 41 N.W. 853 (People v. Price) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Price, 41 N.W. 853, 74 Mich. 37, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 604 (Mich. 1889).

Opinion

Champlin, J.

On February 6, 1888, a complaint was made before a justice of the peace, charging that Frank Price did at the township of St. Charles, Saginaw county, Mich., feloniously steal, take, and carry away one yoke of cattle, of the value of 8100, of the goods and chattels of one Charles Fisher, then and there in the possession of him, the said Charles Fisher. An examination was had on February 23, 1888, and he was bound over to the circuit court of Saginaw county' for trial. On March 5 following an information was filed against him by the prosecuting attorney, charging that—

“Frank Price, late of the township of St. Charles, in the county aforesaid, heretofore, to wit, on November 1, in the year 1881, at the township of St. Charles, in the-county of Saginaw aforesaid, one yoke of 'oxen, of the value of one hundred dollars, of the goods and chattels of one Charles Fisher, in the possession of him, the said Charles Fisher, there situate, then and there being found, feloniously did steal, take, and carry away, against the-form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the people of the State-of Michigan.”

On being arraigned the respondent refused to plead,, and the court directed that a plea of “not guilty” be-entered. This was on May 8, 1888. On May 17, 1888, the prosecuting attorney, on leave obtained, amended the-information by adding thereto a second count, charging respondent with receiving stolen goods, to wit, one yoke-of oxen, of the value of 8100, the property of one Charles-Fisher, knowing them to have been stolen. Upon being arraigned upon the second count respondent refused to plead, and on motion of his attorney he was granted 10-[39]*39days’ time to file a plea in abatement, and on like motion tbe cause was continued until the next term of court.

On October 4, 1888, the respondent being in court for trial, a jury was impaneled and sworn to try the cause, who sat together and heard the proofs and allegations of the parties in part, and then adjourned to the next day. On October 5, on motion of the prosecuting attorney, it was ordered that, the defendant haying failed to plead to the second count added to the information, a plea of not guilty be entered, by order of the court, nunc pro tunc, and the trial then proceeded. On the same day, on motion of the prosecuting attorney and on- cause shown, it was ordered that he have permission to add to the names indorsed upon the information Dr. Brown, Jerry O. Gallup, Herman Wainwright, and Mahler Bray.

The aboye facts as to the time the jury were impaneled, and the proceedings had on October 4, 5, and 6, 1888, are taken from the journal entries appearing in the record, which also show that on Monday, October 8, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, in manner and form as the people in the information have charged, to wit, the larceny of one red ox of the value of $50. Then follows the bill of exceptions, which states that the issue joined between the parties came on to be tried on October 20, 1888, before a jury duly impaneled and sworn, and from which it appears that upon the opening of the case to the jury by the prosecuting attorney, it appeared that names of witnesses had been indorsed upon the information after it was filed, and of which the respondent’s counsel had had no notice. On the court’s attention being called to the fact, wnich fact was however disputed by the prosecuting attorney, he ordered them stricken off. The prosecuting attorney then made application to> have the names of Dr. Brown, Jerry O. Gallup, Herman Wainwright, and Mahler Bray indorsed upon the infor[40]*40’mation. The attorney for the respondent objected. The prosecuting attorney stated to the court that he felt sure that the name of Dr. Brown was on the information when it was filed. His name appeared in the preliminary examination,'but he did not suppose that he could be obtained, and his whereabouts only came to his knowledge after the information was filed. In regard to the witnesses Gallup and Bray, he stated that he only learned yesterday (the first day of the trial) that they had any information connected with the case; that he discovered it by accident in talking with other parties. As to Wain wright, his whereabouts was discovered after the filing of the information. As to Brown and Wain wright, he knew that they had some knowledge, but was not aware of their whereabouts, or that he could obtain their testimony, until after the information was filed. As to Gallup, he had no knowledge that he was a material witness until the filing of the information. Upon this showing the court permitted him to add the names of Dr. Brown, Gallup, and Wain wright, against the objection of respondent's counsel, who stated that he was not prepared to go on with the trial, as he wished to examine into the character and standing of the witnesses; but the court ordered the trial to proceed, and the counsel for the defendant duly excepted. When these witnesses were produced the counsel for defendant objected to their being sworn for reasons above stated.

We think that it must be held from the record that Dr. Brown’s name was indorsed on the information at the time it was filed. The witnesses Bray and Gallup resided at Meridian, Ingham county, and Wain wright resided at Iosco, in Livingston county. All of these places were a considerable distance from Saginaw, the place of trial. The question here is, after a trial has commenced by the swearing of a jury, can names be added to the list of [41]*41witnesses indorsed upon the information, without giving to the defendant an opportunity to investigate their character and credibility? As to such as were known at the time the information was filed, the statute is imperative that he shall indorse their names upon the information at the time of filing the same. How. Stat; § 9549; People v. Hall, 48 Mich. 487 (12 N. W. Rep. 665). It is no sufficient excuse for not doing so that the whereabouts of the witness is not known, or that the prosecutor does not know that he can secure his attendance. The other witnesses come within the decision in Hill v. People, 26 Mich. 496. The court, however, should have granted a continuance for the term on the motion of defendant.

The prosecutor, in opening, stated that he should only ask a conviction for stealing the red ox, and proceeded to introduce testimony tending to show a larceny of a red ox by defendant. Such testimony was timely objected to.

At the close of the testimony on behalf of the people, the defendant not introducing any evidence, the counsel for defendant requested the court to direct a verdict for defendant upon the following grounds:

1. The proof shows if any larceny was committed it was more than six years before this prosecution commenced.
2. There is a fatal variance between the offense charged and proven. The charge is stealing a yoke of oxen. There is no proof tending to prove the taking of but one ox.

The court held that the first point was a question of fact for the jury to find whether he was absent from the State a sufficient length of time, coupled with the residence in this State that he was not usually and publicly known. And as to the second point he allowed the prosecuting attorney to amend the information by inserting after the description of the property “one red ox of the [42]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 N.W. 853, 74 Mich. 37, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 604, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-price-mich-1889.