Smith v. State

1944 OK CR 52, 151 P.2d 74, 79 Okla. Crim. 1, 1944 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 57
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided July 19, 1944·No. No. A-10162.·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinions

DOYLE, J.

This appeal is from a judgment of conviction, rendered in the district court of Tulsa county in accordance with the verdict of a jury finding the defendant, Fred Smith, guilty of “assault with a dangerous weapon as charged in the information”, and assessing his punishment at imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of three years.

The assignments of error relied upon for a reversal of the judgment present two propositions of law: First, that the information is insufficient to support the judgment of conviction, because the facts stated are insufficient to charge a felony, and the insufficiency of the evidence to prove the commission of a felony, and that there is a fatal variance between the information and the proof on the part of the state, in that there was no evidence showing or tending to show that a dangerous weapon, or a weapon of any other kind was used by the defendant in the alleged assault and battery. Citing Moody v. State, 11 Okla. Cr. 471, 148 P. 1055; Wilcox v. State, 13 Okla. Cr. 599, 166 P. 74.

Counsel for the state in their brief say, that in the two cases referred to above, the language used in the information in the case at bar is entirely different, hence, there is no merit in this assignment of error, that this is all *13 the more apparent when the attention of the court is directed to the following cases: Clemons v. State, 8 Okla. Cr. 452, 128 P. 739; Parks v. State, 14 Okla. Cr. 413, 171 P. 1129; Collins v. State, 22 Okla. Cr. 203, 210 P. 285, 30 A. L. R. 811.

In order to present understanding^ the propositions of law presented, the following sections of the Penal Code provide as follows:

“An assault is any wilful and unlawful attempt or offer with force or violence to do a corporal hurt to another.” 21 O. S. 1941 § 641.
“A battery is any wilful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.” 21 O. S. 1941 § 642.
“To use or to attempt to offer to use force or violence upon or toward the person of another is not unlawful in the following cases: * * *
“[Third]. When committed either by the party about to be injured, or by any other person in his aid or defense, in preventing or attempting to prevent an offense against his person, or any trespass or other unlawful interference with real or personal property in his lawful possession; provided the force or violence used is not more than sufficient to prevent such offense.” 21 O. S. 1941 § 643.
“Every person who, with intent to do bodily harm, and without justifiable or excusable cause commits any assault upon the person of another with any sharp or dangerous weapon, or who, without such cause, shoots or attempts to shoot at another, with any kind of firearm or air gun or other means whatever, with intent to injure any person, although without intent to kill such person or to commit any felony, is punishable by imprisonment in penitentiary not exceeding five years, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year.” 21 O. S. 1941 § 645.
*14 “Every person who intentionally and wrongfully shoots, shoots at, or attempts to shoot at another, with any kind of firearm, airgun or other means whatever, with intent to kiil any person, or who commits any assault and battery upon another by means of any deadly weapon, or by such other means or force as is likely to produce death or in resisting the execution of any legal process is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding ten -years.” 31 Q. S. 1941 § 652.
“'Every person who is guilty of an assault -with intent to kill any person the punishment for which is not prescribed by the foregoing section, is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term not exceeding-five years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” 21 O. S. 1941 § 653.

The only way in which any question was raised as l.o the sufficiency of the information was by the defendant’s motion at the close of the evidence for the state, requesting the court to instruct the jury to acquit him, for the following reasons:

“First: That the evidence does not prove or tend to prove the commission of a felony as alleged in the information ;
“Second: For the reason there is a fatal variance between the information and the proof on the part of the state;
“Third: That the evidence does not warrant the court in submitting the case to the jury for the offense charged in the information.”

—which motion was overruled and exception taken.

The defendant’s motion interposed at the close of the evidence for a directed verdict of acquittal because the evidence is insufficient to prove a felony, and because the crime charged has not been proven, challenges the evi *15 dence merely and not the information, and an exception to the overruling of such motion will not authorize a consideration upon appeal of the sufficiency of the information.

What constitutes a judgment roll or record proper is defined by 22 O. S. 1941 § 977, as follows:

“When judgment upon a conviction is rendered, the clerk must enter the same upon the minutes, stating briefly the offense for which the conviction has been had, and must immediately annex together and file the following papers, which constitute a record of the action:
“1st. The indictment and a copy of the minutes of the plea or demurrer.
“2nd. A copy of the minutes of the trial.
“3rd. The charges given or refused, and the indorsements, if any thereon; and,
“4th. A copy of the judgment.”

In drawing the information the pleader evidently intended to charge the crime defined by sec. 645, 21 O. S. 1941, supra.

In Odom v. State, 8 Okla. Cr. 540, 129 P. 445, it is said: :

“The jurisdiction of a district court over a felonious assault is not defeated because the information charging the offense may be duplicitous, nor on the theory that county courts under Const, art. 7, § 12, have exclusive jurisdiction of an offense, the commission of which is necessarily included in that charged in the information.”

In Wilcox v. State, 13 Okla. Cr. 599, 166 P. 74, 75, this court said:

“The use of a dangerous weapon is what distinguishes the crime of an assault with a dangerous weapon with *16 intent to do bodily harm from a simple assault. A dangerous weapon is one likely to produce death or great bodily injury by the use made of it, or perhaps it is more accurately described as a weapon which in the manner it is used or attempted to be used endangers life or inflicts great bodily harm.

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Smith v. State, 1944 OK CR 52, 151 P.2d 74, 79 Okla. Crim. 1, 1944 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 57 (Okla. Ct. App. 1944).

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