State v. Collins

178 Iowa 73
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 18, 1916
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 178 Iowa 73 (State v. Collins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Collins, 178 Iowa 73 (iowa 1916).

Opinion

Salinger, J.

I. The indictment charges that the defendant — •

1' an^stooeons : te^athy: in-’ dictment In languageofstatute: sufficiency. “did practice osteopathy in Davis County, State of Iowa, •without first having obtained a certificate to so practice from the state board of medical examiners of the state of Iowa permitting him to practice osteopathy in said county and state, and did ‘ as aforesaid’ . . . practice osteopathy m said county and state without filing a certificate from the state board of medical examiners of the state of Iowa permitting him to practice osteopathy, for record with the county recorder of Davis County, Iowa, the said defendant not being embraced in any of the exceptions contained in the law, and not permitted to practice osteopathy without first obtaining a certificate from the state board of medical examiners, and filing the same for record witli the county recorder of Davis County, Iowa, contrary to and in violation of law.”

The appellant contends it was error to overrule a demurrer to this indictment, which demurrer asserts that' [75]*75the indictment charges a crime»not defined or individuated by statute, and charges same by way of mere legal conclusion. He asserts, in motion in arrest of judgment, that the indictment does not charge the crime of practicing osteopathy, “as defined by the statute.” He presents in his brief points that an indictment is demurrable where it charges the crime in the words of a statute which is itself a mere legal conclusion, and which neither defines nor individuates the crime.

We agree with appellant, and adhere to cases like State v. Chicago, B. & P. R. Co., 63 Iowa 508, and State v. Stroud, 99 Iowa 16. The first is that, where the acts charged may, under certain circumstances, be lawful, and these circumstances are not negatived, the defect is not cured by an allegation that the acts charged were wilfully and unlawfully doné. The last holds that, where-it is made an offense to wilfully disturb a congregation, a naked allegation that defendant disturbed one by loud talking and laughing’ is not aided by adding that it was done contrary to the statute. We have no criticism to make upon State v. Butcher, 79 Iowa 110, approved in State v. Bauguess, 106 Iowa 107, at 108, that it is not sufficient to state in an information merely that defendant “did commit the crime of unlawfully and wilfully disturbing a school taught'by.” We adhere to eases like State v. Parsons, 54 Iowa 405, and State v. McKinney, 130 Iowa 370, 375 to 377, which follow State v. Brandt, 41 Iowa 593, at 612, and hold, in effect, that an indictment which merely charges the unlawful conversion of public money, and fails to allege some one of the- essentials of the crime of embezzling moneys, is fatally defective. We agree that an indictment for robbery which does not allege who owned the property taken is insufficient. State v. Wasson, 126 Iowa 320, at 322. And that an indictment for obtaining by false pretenses must state who owned the property alleged to have been thus obtained. State v. Clark, 141 Iowa 297, at 299, 300. And with State v. Jamison, 110 Iowa 337, at [76]*76341, that, where it is the qffense to use false weights, an indictment which charges the unlawful and fraudulent ke&ping of such weights is insufficient, though it be further alleged that such keeping was contrary to and in violation of law. The statute considered in State v. Potter, 28 Iowa 554, declares that:

“ ‘If any two or more persons conspire or confederate together with the fraudulent or malicious intent wrongfully to . . . do any illegal act injurious ... to the administration of public justice, they are guilty of conspiracy.’ ”

We have no fault to find with the' decision in the Potter case, that an allegation that defendants donspired and confederated together with fraudulent intent to defeat the enforcement of a prohibitory liquor law with money and other unlawful means to prevent the grand jury from finding and presenting bills of indictment for violation of said law contrary to the statute, is insufficient because it fails to state in what manner money was intended to be used, and to specify more particularly “the other unlawful means.”

We are content with the holding of State v. Clark, 80 Iowa 517, wherein it is held-by a divided court that an indictment which charges that defendant did “make an assault upon one H with intent to strike and bruise, and did inflict upon the person of said H a great bodily injury,” is insufficient to charge an assault with intent to commit great bodily injury, since it does not in words charge more than an intent to strike and bruise, which intent may exist in the case of a simple assault or assault and battery, and the great bodily injury alleged to have been committed may have been in excess of the attempt.

And so of State v. Murray, 41 Iowa 580, which holds an information insufficient that “defendants are accused of the crime of assault for that the defendants (time and place stated) did wilfully and maliciously assault one Bridget McCoy, contrary to the statute in such cases made and pro[77]*77vided, and against the peace and dignity of the people of said state,” it being held that there is a failure to state the acts which make up the pífense charged, and that the information is no more than accusing of the commission of a crime by its technical name merely. Though approving all the foregoing, we are unable to see their relevancy in the instant ease.

State v. Dankwardt, 107 Iowa 704, sustains an indictment for bribery which substantially follows the statute, and is not more specific nor less a conclusion than the indictment in this ease. So of State v. Beebe, 115 Iowa 128, at 130, an indictment for keeping a house of ill fame. So of State v. Johnson, 114 Iowa 430, an indictment for assault with intent to commit rape, and State v. Bauguess, 106 Iowa 107, an indictment for lewdness; and so of State v. Bair, 92 Iowa 28, at 29, 30, an indictment for violating the statute requiring a license of itinerant vendors of drugs. We think, tod, that indictments charging the violation of the statute under which defendant is being proceeded against, and which were as vulnerable as the indictment at bar, have been sustained. See State v. Kendig, 133 Iowa 164, 166; State v. Wilhite, 132 Iowa 226.

As we view it, Wilhite’s case holds that the fullness for which appellant contends would constitute setting out with more particularity than is essential. We think, too, that State v. Edmunds, 127 Iowa 333, and State v. Corwin, 151 Iowa 420, 421, cited by appellant, sustain the indictment at bar.

In State v. McAninch, 172 Iowa 96, 97, we considered an indictment under Section 2579, which defines practicing medicine, surgery or obstetrics, and defines a physician to be. a person “who shall publicly profess to be a physician, surgeon or obstetrician, and assume the duties, or who shall make a practice of prescribing or of prescribing and furnishing medicine for the sick, or who shall publicly profess to cure or [78]*78heal;” and Section 2580, that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person, to “practice medicine, surgery or obstetrics in the state without first haying obtained and filed for record” a prescribed certificate.

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Bluebook (online)
178 Iowa 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-collins-iowa-1916.