State v. Gennis

70 P.2d 902, 41 N.M. 453
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 22, 1937
DocketNo. 4272.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 70 P.2d 902 (State v. Gennis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gennis, 70 P.2d 902, 41 N.M. 453 (N.M. 1937).

Opinion

HUDSPETH, Chief Justice.

' This is an appeal from a judgment and-sentence of the district court after a jury had found appellant guilty of violating 1929 Comp.Stat. § 35-3201. The information states ■ that appellant and 100 other persons did assemble together with intent then :and there to do an unlawful act with force and violence against the property of the American Metal Company “by intimidation and threats to the employees of said Company to prevent the operation of the pumping system of the mine of said Company, thus and thereby causing or threatening to cause the destruction of the property of said American Metal Com-» pany." The property involved is situate on the upper reaches of the Pecos river and the underground workings of the mine, extend' under the river. In the early#part of February, 1936, there were some 700 men employed in and about the mine and on the 12th day of that month in the early morning the appellant appeared at the collar of the shaft, with numerous other persons, and under his leadership it was resolved to prevent workmen from entering the mine and to bring the pump men out of the mine. The mine produced much water. It was testified -by the foreman as follows:

“ * * * In a little less than one hour the water would get so deep that the electric motors which drive the pumps would get wet and they would not work.
“Q. And what effect would-that have on the mining operations there? A. It would stop.
“Q. And what effect would it have on the mine itself? A. It would eventually fill up with water and be lost. * * * ”

Other witnesses testified that the appellant said “that they would go down and. get the pump men that were at work, and let the mine flood, * * * that he would send a committee down to talk to Mr. Matson, and that it was his time to act, and if he didn’t put the men back to work, I believe at that time, he had mentioned Andres Cruz and himself, that if they didn’t come to their demands, why they would let it flood. * * * ” and that they had formed a picket line to keep the men from going down in the shaft. When two of the pump men appeared at the collar of the shaft to go down to work, according to the. testimony of Herbert Hamilton, one of the pump men, the fol-' lowing occurred: “The Greek took me by the right arm and asked us where we were going, we told him we were going down, and he says, ‘You are not going down, and nobody else is going down today.’ * * * ” The foreman of the mine testified: “I asked Gennis and Cruz once what -would happen if we would put the pump men down anyway, and they said there would be trouble.” Another witness testified: “Well, one time, Ole, the master mechanic, went and asked Cruz and Gennis to permit him to send lunches to his pump men who were left on duty. They refused and said that they would bring them out shortly anyway. I butted into the conversation and said that if the Mine drowned we would all be out of a job. Crpz' said if we didn’t get what we wanted, that is what we want to happen, and Gennis agreed, I believe he said, ‘That’s right.’ * * * ” A committee was appointed to get the men out of the mine. They phoned to the pump men in the mine and ordered them to shut down the pumps and come out. The foreman had the master mechanic cut off the power so that the appellant and his associates could not use the hoist in carrying out their threats to bring the pump men out of the mine. After the defendant and his associates had shut down the' 12 mile aerial tramway between the mine and mill, the sheriff and other officers arrived and had to resort to the use of gas bombs in order to disperse the crowd of 150 or more about' the shaft.

‘ The evidence is sufficient to warrant conviction under the statute which is set out in State v. Hawks et al., 28 N.M. 486, 214 P. 753. See, also, 66 C.J. 39; People v. Most, 128 N.Y. 108, 27 N.E. 970, 972, 26 Am.St.Rep. 458; Annotation, 58 A.L.R. 744, 751. The Court of Appeals in the Most Case, speaking through Mr. Justice Andrews, said: “The main question relates to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the charge in the indictment. In order to ascertain in what the offense of an unlawful assembly consists, reference must be had primarily to the statute which defines it. It was an offense well know at common law, and. common-law definitions are a material aid in many cases in the interpretation of statute definitions of common-law offenses. But as it is competent for the law-making power to create new offenses nót beforé known, so it may extend to common-law definitions of particular offenses so as to include acts not punishable under the common law and not embraced within the common-law definition of the' offense. In. other words, identity in the name of of-1 fenses at common law and under a statute does not necessarily imply that the same precise constituents, and no others, enter into each. * * * Unless, therefore, the jury were authorized to find that the threat charged in the indictment was made not only by the defendant, Most, but also by at least two other persons, on the occasion in question, the offense was not made out. In determining whether others participated with Most in the threat alleged, it was not necessary that it should affirmatively appear that other persons present uttered or repeated the same words used by Most. Their participation could be shown by their adoption of his language, exhibited by their conduct. If the jury were authorized to find that the persons present were under the influence of similar sentiments, and that they (to the number of two or more) adopted his language as their own, then the threats, although only uttered by him in words, were also those of the persons who by their conduct united in and assented to them. ‘If any person,’ said Mansfield, C.J. in Clifford v. Brandon, 2 Camp. 370, ‘encourages, promotes, or takes part in riots, whether by words, signs, or gestures, or by .wearing the badge or ensign of the rioters, he is himself to be considered a rioter.’ Within this principle the requisite concurrence of the statutory number in the threats uttered by Most was shown or at least there1 was sufficient evidence of that fact to go to the jury.”

Appellant maintains that the names of other persons, if they be necessary to the consummation of the offense, should, if known, be inserted, and if unknown the information should so state—that the information is fatally defective in that the only description of other persons is “together with one hundred (100) other persons,” and cites State v. O’Donald, 1 McCord (S.C.) 532, 10 Am.Dec. 691. Trial Court Rule 35-4421 provides: “(4) In no case is it necessary to aver or prove that the true name of any person, group or association of persons, or any corporation is unknown to the grand jury or district attorney.” See, also, Martin v. State, 115 Ga. 255, 41 S.E. 576.

The appellant also questions the soundness of an instruction given, but no objection was made in the lower court and the point cannot be raised for the first time in this court. State v. Sullinger, 36 N.M. 148, 9 P.(2d) 689; State v. Loveless, 39 N.M. 142, 42 P.(2d) 211.

The main point relied on for reversal is that the trial court denied appellant 24 hours after the delivery of a copy of the information before requiring him to plead, in violation of Trial Court Rule 35-4451; which reads as follows: “Copy of indictment or information to be furnished defendant.

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

Related

State v. Vargas
427 P.2d 273 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1967)
State v. Martinez
210 P.2d 620 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1949)
State v. Slayton
196 P.2d 734 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1948)
State v. Salhus
189 P.2d 372 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1948)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
70 P.2d 902, 41 N.M. 453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gennis-nm-1937.