State v. Philpott

271 N.W. 617, 222 Iowa 1334
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedFebruary 16, 1937
DocketNo. 43477.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 271 N.W. 617 (State v. Philpott) 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. Philpott, 271 N.W. 617, 222 Iowa 1334 (iowa 1937).

Opinion

Stiger, J.

In the year 1935, the defendant was president of the Grove Township School District consisting of nine schools and a director of School District No. 7. W. P. Becherer was secretary of the Grove Township School District. At a meeting of the school board of this district on July 1, 1935, the defendant was authorized by the board to order coal for the district. Pursuant to this authority, the defendant purchased coal from the John Anderson Coal Company at Sharpsburg, Iowa, for $7.20 per ton through its manager, W. R. Grazier. Newton Aldredge and Earl Marshall were employees of the coal company and hauled all of the coal received by the company under the order *1336 from Philpott. The coal company delivered all bnt the last three loads of coal from this car load to the several schoolhouses and the last three loads were delivered to the defendant’s home. The defendant claims that the three loads of coal delivered to him were purchased by him from the coal company and paid for.

On November 14, 1935, the following indictment was returned against the defendant:

‘1 The Grand Jurors of the County of Taylor in the name and by the authority of the State of Iowa accuse Ed Philpott of the crime of larceny and charge that the said Ed Philpott on or about the 21st day of September, 1935, in the County and State aforesaid did wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously steal, take and carry away the property of another, to-wit: some coal ,to the value of over $20.00, belonging to the Grove Township School District, contrary to the Statutes in such cases made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Iowa.”

The jury returned a verdict of guilty and fixed the value of the property at $54.07. Judgment was entered on the verdict. The defendant filed motions for a directed verdict, in arrest of judgment, motion for new trial and exceptions to the instructions. All motions and exceptions to the instructions were overruled. The defendant appeals.

I. The defendant urges that the court committed prejudicial and reversible error in permitting the State’s witness, Becherer, to testify on re-direct examination to hearsay statements made by the truck driver, Newton Aldredge. The court sustained the first objection made by defendant to a question calling for hearsay testimony. While the court overruled a motion to strike other testimony of this witness as hearsay, the question called for and the answer gave the same information that the defendant obtained from the witness on cross-examination and therefore, assuming the testimony was objectionable, as hearsay, the defendant is not in a .position to complain of its admission.

The defendant on cross-examination of this witness had brought out that Becherer first learned that the defendant was getting coal from one of the truck drivers, Aldredge, who told him about it at his house. On re-direct examination, the witness was interrogated' as follows:

*1337 “ Q. Do you know the purpose Mr. Aldredge had in coming up there that night ? ” .

Objected to as calling for the opinion and conclusion of the witness. Objection overruled.

“A. To find out if there was anything that could be done about Philpott getting this coal. ’ ’

While the objection should have been sustained, the admission of the evidence was not so prejudicial as to constitute reversible error, especially in view of the cross-examination.

II. On re-direct examination of the State’s witness Aldredge, he was asked this question:

“Q. State whether or not there was room in these eight coal houses to hold the coal that was taken to Mr. Philpott’s place.” Defendant’s objection was overruled. No answer was given to this question and furthermore it called for evidence that was material to plaintiff’s theory of the case. There is no merit to defendant’s assignment of error based on the overruling of this objection.

III. The defendant urges that the court committed prejudicial and reversible error in overruling the defendant’s motion for a directed verdict at the close of the State’s evidence. The gravamen of this assignment of error is that the evidence fails to show that the defendant stole coal from Grove Township because the ownership of the coal by the township at the time it was delivered to defendant by the Anderson Lumber Company was not established.

We will set out some of the State’s evidence material to this issue.

On July 1, 1935, at a meeting of the Grove Township school board, defendant was authorized to purchase coal for the district. Pursuant to this authority, the defendant went to W. R. Grazier, manager of the John Anderson Lumber Yard at Sharps-burg, and told him the school district would need about 56 tons for the eight schools in the district and they agreed on a price of $7.20 per ton. On July 27, 1935, the company sold coal to the Grove Township school board under the following contract:

“EX. 6 Sharpsburg, Iowa 7-27 1935
“John Anderson Lumber & Coal
“Lumber, Builders Hardware, Mill Work, Coal, Roofing, Brick
‘ ‘ Grove Township School Boards.
*1338 “Contract for School Coal Delivered to School houses at $7.20 per ton plus tax. Franklin County, 111., Lump Coal.
“John Anderson Lbr. Yard.”

which contract was delivered to defendant Philpott. The company was to pay the freight and deliver the coal to the school houses for the price of $7.20 per ton.

At the same time, Mr. Grazier agreed to furnish coal to the defendant and anyone else that wanted it at the same price delivered.

The coal arrived in Sharpsburg on the night of September 18th and delivery to the sehoolkouses began on the 19th. Grazier testified that all this coal was sold to the Grove Township School District. About noon on Saturday, the 21st, Grazier told Philpott the schoolhouses were full. At this time there were about three truck loads remaining in the car. Defendant then told Grazier to send ,the rest of the coal out to his house. After two loads were delivered to the defendant’s home, and the third load had been weighed at the company’s yard, the defendant came to Mr. Grazier’s office ahead of the truckers and said to Grazier: “I am not going to pay you for this coal, but I will give you a check in front of the boys to make them think I am paying for it. ’ ’ When the truckers came into the office, the defendant said in their presence, “Figure that up and I will pay you for it.” Grazier then figured the price of the three loads, told Philpott the amount due and Philpott wrote out a check and as soon as the truckers left the defendant said, “Give me the check back and I will tear it up. Grove Township is supposed to pay for my coal.

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Bluebook (online)
271 N.W. 617, 222 Iowa 1334, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-philpott-iowa-1937.