State v. Critelli

24 N.W.2d 113, 237 Iowa 1271, 1946 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 341
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedSeptember 17, 1946
DocketNo. 46798.
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 24 N.W.2d 113 (State v. Critelli) 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. Critelli, 24 N.W.2d 113, 237 Iowa 1271, 1946 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 341 (iowa 1946).

Opinion

Hale, J.

-The grand jury of Polk county, on September 18, 1944, by indictment accused Johnnie Critelli (the defendant herein) and twelve others of the crime of conspiracy, as defined in section 13162 of the Code of 1939 (section 719.1, Code of 1946), and charged that Johnnie Critelli and the others named unlawfully conspired together with fraudulent and malicious intent and purpose to do an illegal act injurious to public trade, health, morals, or police by illegally selling, keeping for sale, possessing, transporting, and trafficking in intoxicating liquors.

To this indictment the defendant, Johnnie Critelli, entered a plea of not guilty and demanded separate trial. . Trial ■ was begun on November 15, 1944, the jury was sworn, and some of the witnesses for the prosecution testified, but, for the reason that the assistant county attorney appearing for the State became ill, the jury was discharged before verdict and the cause continued over the term, the defendant objecting. At the January term the ease was continued on the application of defendant to the March term. On the trial at the March term. 1945 the jury failed to agree. The ease was assigned for trial at the May term 1945; defendant entered a plea of former jeopardy, which was overruled, and trial was had, resulting in a verdict of guilty. The court overruled defendant’s motion for new trial and exceptions to instructions, and entered sentence, and defendant appeals.

The errors claimed by Critelli, the appellant, are: in the refusal of the court to sustain the plea of former jeopardy; errors in the selection of the jury; in the rulings of the court *1274 on admission of portions of the State’s evidence; error in the court’s instructions'; and in the refusal of the court to give appellant’s instructions. , ,

The appellant was the owner of an eating place and tavern at 2202 Harding Road in Des Moines. At the same time another tavern was operated at 1200 West Locust Street in Des Moines, under the name of Johnnie’s Uptown Café. It is claimed by appellant that this place was owned and operated, through employees, by Carmella Critelli, a defendant in the indictment and the wife of appellant. But there is evidence that the receipts for rent were made out to appellant and that he had a lease for the years 1943 and 1944, and the fixtures and moneys and credits were assessed in appellant’s name. The receipts from the Uptown Café were deposited in a joint bank account under the ' name of Johnnie Critelli’s Uptown Place, and withdrawn by either the appellant or Carmella. Another defendant, Don Madero, was manager of the Uptown Café, and some of the defendants named in the indictment were employees. There is testimony showing sale of intoxicating liquor by the drink to many customers, and there were various raids on these places by ’ police officers, resulting in the seizure of liquor, some in bottles with seals of other states. At one of these raids on the Uptown place the appellant was brought from 2202 Harding Road to open the vault. He was present at other raids, and generally at one or the other of the two taverns.

It is unnecessary to set. out in detail the evidence in relation to his participation in the many violations of the liquor laws in connection with various persons named in the indictment as codefendants. Appellant admitted putting liquor sold at his place back of the bar and that it was sold to customers; that.he bought liquor of bootleggers whose names he did not remember, nor did he remember the number of times he bought from them. He helped negotiate the purchase of a truck for one Weathers, and a loan to pay for it, and this truck was-afterward used for the illegal transportation of liquor by one Snell. Sales of liquor were made by Snell, also named in the indictment as a codefendant. Checks in payment for some of these sales, in large amounts, when cashed had appellant’s endorsement. These *1275 are examples only of. some of the evidence tending to show appellant’s operations in the illegal liquor traffic but by no means all. From a reading of the record we are satisfied that the evidence was sufficient to authorize the jury to find that appellant was operating this traffic in connection with other defendants named in the indictment. His own connection therewith, under the evidence, cannot be disputed.

I. The appellant, while of course not admitting the sufficiency of the evidence, directs.his main objections to alleged errors of the court in the conduct of the trial. His first assignment of error is the . action of the trial court'in discharging the jury which had been impaneled and sworn, because of the illness of the assistant county attorney, which he alleges was with-, put legal justification and constituted jeopardy.

The first trial began on November 15, 1944. Edwin S. Thayer, . assistant county attorney, had been in charge of the .case before the grand jury -and. prior to its presentation to that body; and, under order of Mr. Kuble, the county attorney, represented the State an the trial in-.the district court. The jury was impaneled and sworn on November 18th. The testimony of several witnesses for the State was taken when Mr. Thayer became seriously ill, the county attorney at the time being at Rochester, Minnesota, for medical examination. On the morning of Monday, November 20th, the other assistant county attorneys, who had no previous connection with the case, filed a motion for continuance based on Thayer’s illness,_ which motion was resisted by appellant, but the motion was sustained by the court. There can be no doubt of the gravity of the assistant’s illness nor that he was unable to proceed with the case at that term or for a long time later. There was evidence and the other assistant county attorneys testified that they were unable to proceed without such preparation as would carry the case over the term, and they were engaged also in other duties. The appellant suggests that the court could have continued the case for a few days without discharging the jury, but by order of the court the jury had been segregated.

Appellant cites the law as to jeopardy as given in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: ‘ ‘ * * * *1276 nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;” and the general definition in 1 Wharton’s Criminal Law, Twelfth Ed., section 395:

“Jeopardy is the peril and danger to life or liberty in which a person is put when he has been regularly and sufficiently charged with the commission of a crime; has been arraigned, and pleaded to such charge; has been put upon his trial before a tribunal properly organized and competent to try him for the offense charged; and a jury has been duly impaneled from persons competent to sit on the trial, and duly sworn to try the cause, and charged with due deliverance.”

He argues that jeopardy begins when the jury has been impaneled and sworn. However, the common-law rule embodied in the United States Constitution above is not the game as is found in our State Constitution: “No person shall after acquittal, be tried for the same offence. ’ ’ Constitution of Iowa, Article I, section 12; and the rule found in the Code of 1939, section 13807 (Code of 1946, section 777.20), is as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 N.W.2d 113, 237 Iowa 1271, 1946 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-critelli-iowa-1946.