State v. Kusel

213 P. 367, 29 Wyo. 287, 1923 Wyo. LEXIS 14
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 27, 1923
DocketNo. 1111
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 213 P. 367 (State v. Kusel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming 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. Kusel, 213 P. 367, 29 Wyo. 287, 1923 Wyo. LEXIS 14 (Wyo. 1923).

Opinion

Blume, Justice.

An information herein was filed against the defendant on September 19, 1922 in the District Court of Platte County by Fred A. Lynch, County and Prosecuting Attorney, charging that:

“A. J. Kusel, late of the county aforesaid, on the 26th day of August, A. D. 1921, at the County of Platte in the State of Wyoming, did then and there unlawfully and feloniously enter the building of the Grant Hotel occupied by the Chugwater State Bank for the purpose of committing a felony, to-wi't; robbery. ’1

The defendant was duly arraigned on September 17th, 1921, and he entered his plea of not guilty. On January 28th, 1922, said defendant filed a motion for a change of [294]*294Tenue, which motion was heard on February 7th, 1922, and an order of court was entered on that date, changing the place of trial to Laramie County. On April 7th, 1922, a motion was filed in the District Court of Laramie County, by said county attorney, asking leave of court to file an amended information in said cause. Written objections thereto were filed by counsel for defendant on the grounds, (1) that the application came too late; (2) that the amended information charges a different, separate and distinct offense from that charged in the original information; (3) that the amended information is offered after change of venue of said cause. The motion came on for hearing on the same date, and by order of court was duly allowed. Thereupon the amended information was filed, the exact date of filing not appearing, but apparently on April 7th, 1922. It is exhibited and signed, like the original information, by Fred A. Lynch, County and Prosecuting Attorney of Platte County, and charges, in considerable detail, that the defendant on August 26th, 1921, in Platte County, Wyoming, did wilfully, unlawfully, and feloniously enter a certain building, then and there occupied by the Chugwater State Bank, and, armed with a deadly weapon, made a violent assault on Robert Lollier, Cashier of said bank and in possession of money, with intent, and by violence and by putting said Robert Lollier in fear, to take said money from him. The sufficiency of this information as charging an offense under Section 7098, W. C. S. 1920 is not questioned, except insofar as is hereinafter mentioned, and no motion to quash, plea in abatement, demurrer or motion in arrest of judgment were filed herein. A plea of not guilty under the amended information was entered on April 10, 1922, and the trial of said cause commenced on the following day. The jury impanelled in the case found the defendant guilty. Judgment was duly entered on said verdict, and the cause is brought here by direct appeal.

1. The first error assigned is that the court should not have.permitted the filing of the amended information, and [295]*295it is contended that no amendment of substance can be made to an information after the case, upon change of venue, has been transferred to another county. It is true, as pointed out, that the original information fails to charge the attempt requisite under § 7098, supra, in order to constitute a crime, and the amendment made is, therefore, clearly one of substance, and not of form only. The question thus presented is one of grave difficulty. We must, at the outset, determine whether or not the court acquired any jurisdiction to proceed under this kind of an information. We have the old adage: ex nihilo, nihil fit — out of nothing, nothing can arise. So, if the jurisdiction of the District Court of Laramie County depended entirely, or mainly, on the allegations contained in the original information, or if all essential allegations are necessary in the first instance for that purpose, then since that information failed to charge a crime, it would be difficult to conceive how the court, upon the transfer of the case, acquired any such jurisdiction. It will, however, he noted, in the first place, that if the jurisdiction of the latter court was-so dependent, that of the District Court of Platte County would appear to be likewise. So we shall discuss the question at hand generally, without special reference to the change of venue. Courts have apparently differed materially as to what constitutes jurisdiction, but most of the differences may be referred to the differences in the conditions, situations and stages of the proceedings in connection with which the term has been applied. There is no doubt that the court, in the case at bar, had jurisdiction of the person of the defendant, and jurisdiction of the subject matter, using the latter term as the power of the court over cases of a certain class. Jurisdiction in the ease lies dormant, of course, until called into exercise. It must be invoked in some manner. An action must be commenced, a pleading, complaint or information of some sort must be filed, in order that a court may be said to have jurisdiction; that is to say, power to proceed and do anything in a par-[296]*296tieular cause; it is only then that the case may be said to be coram judice. (Elliott’s Gen. Prac. 1, p. 250, § 233; Brown on Juris., § 2a; Ex Parte Cohen, 6 Cal. 320; Wilcox v. Williamson, 61 Miss. 310; State v. Goetz, 65 Kans. 125, 69 Pac. 125; People v. Guthman, 211 Ill. App. 373; Sheldon v. Newton, 3 O. S. 499; Spoors v. Coen, 44 O. S. 502, 9 N. E. 132.) But in order to enable a court of general jurisdiction to proceed in the cause in its earlier stag’es, it is not essential, in cases such as the case at bar, that the information or complaint before it be perfect or state a cause of action. (16 C. J. 147; 15 C. J. 733, 851; O ’Brien v. People, 216 Ill. 354, 75 N. E. 108, 108 A. S. R. 219; 3 Ann. Cas. 949; State v. Smith, 29 R. I. 513, 521, 72 Atl. 710; Lamar v. United States, 240 U. S. 60, 36 S. Ct. 255, 60 L. Ed. 526; In Re First National Bank, 152 Fed. 64, 11 Ann. Cas. 355 ; Elliott’s Gen. Prac. 1, p. 241, § 230; Works, Courts and their Jurisdiction, § 11; Frost v. Witter, 132 Cal. 421, 64 Pac. 705, 84 A. S. R. 53; Buchanan v. Ray’s Lessee, 2 O. S. 251, 269.) In the case of In Re First National Bank, supra, the court said:

“Jurisdiction of the subject- matter and of the parties is the right to hear and determine the suit or proceeding in favor of or against the respective parties to it. The facts essential to invoke jurisdiction differ materially from those essential to constitute a good cause of action for the relief sought. A defective petition in bankruptcy, or an insufficient complaint at law, accompanied by proper service of process upon the defendants, gives jurisdiction to the court to determine the questions involved in the suit, although it may not contain averments which entitle the complainant to any relief; and it may be the duty of the court to determine either the question of its jurisdiction or the merits of the controversy against the petitioner or plaintiff. Facts indispensable to a favorable adjudication or decree include all those requisite to state a good cause of action, and they comprehend many that are not essential to the jurisdiction of the suit or proceeding. * * * The facts which con[297]*297ditioned the jurisdiction of the court were the filing of the petition and the service of the subpoena. (In Re Plymouth Cordage Co., 135 Fed. Rep. 1000, 1004, 68 C. C. A. 434, 438.) ”

In the case of O'Brien v. People, supra, the court said:

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Bluebook (online)
213 P. 367, 29 Wyo. 287, 1923 Wyo. LEXIS 14, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kusel-wyo-1923.