State v. Peters

405 P.2d 642, 146 Mont. 188, 1965 Mont. LEXIS 380
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 20, 1965
DocketNo. 10916
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 405 P.2d 642 (State v. Peters) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana 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. Peters, 405 P.2d 642, 146 Mont. 188, 1965 Mont. LEXIS 380 (Mo. 1965).

Opinions

MR. JUSTICE JOHN CONWAY HARRISON

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

Defendant Roy L. Peters appeals from a conviction of the [191]*191crime of receiving stolen property, and from the denial of a motion for a new trial.

On April 14, 1964, the Fergus County Attorney made a motion for leave to file an information charging defendant, hereinafter called appellant, with the crime of receiving stolen property. The motion alleged that on or about September 21, 1963, appellant knowingly received fifty head of stolen unbranded calves from Arnold Allen. The court signed the order granting leave to file the information and it was filed the same day. In addition to the offense which allegedly took place on September 21, 1963, the information also set forth three separate and distinct offenses of the same class: the second count charged appellant with receiving six head of stolen unbranded calves from Joe Cochran on October 22, 1963; the third count charged appellant with receiving twenty-eight head of stolen unbranded calves from Basil Long Fox on November 2, 1963; and the fourth count accused appellant of receiving twenty-eight head of stolen unbranded calves and one yearling from Basil Long Fox on November 6, 1963.

On April 16, 1964, appellant appeared for arraignment with his attorney, waived the statutory time for entering a plea, and pled not guilty to the charges.

At the trial, State’s witness Arnold Allen testified that he met appellant, a rancher, in August of 1963, in Jerry Johnson’s bar in Roy, Montana. On that occasion, he, Allen, agreed to sell some unbranded calves to appellant and Jerry Johnson. Allen told them that he would steal the calves from nearby Indian Reservation land. The agreed price was $50 per head. Allen testified that subsequently he made seven nighttime deliveries of calves to appellant’s ranch, and after each delivery he went to Johnson’s bar in Roy where he was paid cash for the number of calves delivered.

Allen further testified that on September 21, 1963, he gave appellant and Johnson a bill of sale for fifty calves to be delivered by October 15, 1963. However, he testified that he [192]*192only delivered forty-fonr calves, receiving a total of $2,200 from Johnson. The bill of sale, introduced into evidence, was made out for $3,750 but Allen testified that this figure was not on the bill when he signed it.

The sheriff of Fergus County, George Stephens, testified that in March, 1964, while he was investigating a report that calves had come into the county without inspection he was informed that appellant had more calves on his ranch than cows, and that the calves were whitefaced although all appellant’s cows were black. The sheriff, accompanied by stock inspectors, went to appellant’s ranch to investigate. Appellant permitted examination of the calves, stating that he had four bills of sale to prove his ownership. All the calves had been branded with a brand registered to appellant and Johnson. After clipping the calves, the examiners found another brand, identified as belonging to W. D. Rankin, on one of the calves.

At the end of the State’s case-in-chief, the court granted appellant’s motion to dismiss counts two, three, and four from the information on the grounds of failure of proof. In the second count, appellant was accused of receiving stolen calves from Joe Cochran. Prior to appellant’s trial Cochran had signed a statement admitting that he stole six unbranded calves and delivered them to appellant. However, at the trial he testified that he had legitimately purchased them and made a bona fide sale to appellant. The third and fourth counts of the information were founded upon an alleged receiving of stolen calves from Basil Long Fox. At the trial, the sheriff testified that a subpoena had been issued for his appearance but that Long Fox could not be located.

Jerry Johnson, owner of the Roy bar, who was also charged with receiving stolen property, admitted that he financed the sale of the calves from Allen to appellant, but denied having knowledge that they were stolen. Johnson testified that he agreed to loan appellant the money to purchase the unbranded calves, that the agreed price was $75 per head, and that fifty [193]*193calves were to be delivered. Johnson would pay out the money as the calves were delivered. He testified that he had known Allen for several years, assumed that he was in the cattle business, and that transactions involving unbranded calves were not uncommon in the community. Johnson further testified that Allen told them that he owned the calves.

Appellant also testified that Allen told them that he owned the calves. He contradicted most of Allen’s testimony, testifying that there were only three deliveries made to his ranch and only one was at night. He further testified that he had made no attempt to conceal the calves on his ranch, and that he did not notice the Rankin brand when he branded the calves. Appellant gave Johnson a note for $8,000, which included the amount Johnson had loaned him for the calves.

The jury found appellant guilty of the crime of receiving stolen property from Allen, and the court sentenced him to five years in the state penitentiary, with four years suspended. The court denied appellant’s motion for a new trial.

Appellant has set forth twenty-three specifications of error which can be consolidated into the following arguments:

(1) That appellant was prejudiced by the filing of the information;

(2) That the record does not disclose appellant’s presence during legal arguments in chambers at the trial;

(3) That venue was not proven;

(4) That the court erred in admitting certain evidence;

(5) That the State did not allege ownership of the stolen calves, or that ownership was not known;

(6) That the calves were seized in violation of appellant’s constitutional rights; and

(7) That the court erred in failing to give certain instructions and permitting certain exhibits to go to the jury. Bach of these arguments will be considered seriatim.

Appellant’s first contention is that he was prejudiced [194]*194by tbe information containing three counts which were not set forth in the motion and order for leave to file the information. The motion and order accused appellant of receiving stolen calves on September 21, 1963, but the information included three additional separate and distinct offenses of the same class as provided by R.C.M.1947, § 94-6407.1. Appellant argues that he was prejudiced because the complete information was read to the jury although the application for leave to file, the order, and the court’s records do not show that there was probable cause for including the additional counts in the information.

Pursuant to R.C.M.1947, § 94-4911, the court’s order may (1) grant leave to file an information, or (2) require a preliminary examination. The alternative procedures assure the accused’s protection by requiring a judge to determine the existence of probable cause as a prerequisite to the filing of an information and the arrest of a defendant. The first procedure, application or motion for leave to file an information, is most commonly followed in Montana. (See 25 Montana Law Review 135 (1963).) This court has consistently held that leave to file is not a mere perfunctory matter, and that it must not be automatically granted. Sufficient facts must be presented to move the court’s discretion to grant leave.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
405 P.2d 642, 146 Mont. 188, 1965 Mont. LEXIS 380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-peters-mont-1965.