State v. Schenk

142 S.W. 263, 238 Mo. 429, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 323
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedDecember 19, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 142 S.W. 263 (State v. Schenk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Schenk, 142 S.W. 263, 238 Mo. 429, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 323 (Mo. 1911).

Opinion

FERRISS, J.

Defendant (plaintiff in error), upon an information filed by the prosecuting attorney of Knox county in the circuit court thereof, was con[439]*439vieted of carnally knowing one Mary Lindsey, an unmarried female of previously chaste character, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years, and his punishment fixed at two years in the penitentiary.

Mary Lindsey, the prosecutrix, resided with her parents in the southern part of Knox county, and was about seventeen years of age at the time of the commission of the alleged offense. The defendant owned and resided on a large farm in the same neighborhood. Lawrence Coomb and his wife, the latter being the sister of the prosecutrix, worked for and resided with the defendant, and Miss Lindsey frequently visited with her sister and slept in the same house.

The prosecutrix testified that the defendant began “keeping company” with her in October, 1907, and went with her regularly until February, 1908, when he ‘ ‘ commenced misbehaving, ’ ’ and she told him not to come to see her any more; that she afterwards forgave him, at his request, and the relationship was renewed the following April; that about the last of April or first of May, 1908, while she was visiting her sister at defendant’s house, and sleeping there, the defendant came to her bed about eleven o’clock at night, awoke her from her sleep, and had sexual intercourse with her; .that the act was repeated at his house on the night of September 26, 1908; that on both occasions the defendant told her “that he had a right to with me the same as a man had with his wife — that I was his intended wife, and he had a right to”; that as the result of the occurrence of September 26 aforesaid she gave birth to a child on July 2, 1909. She further testified that defendant, before the first misbehavior in February, 1908, promised to marry her.

C. H. Lindsey, father of the prosecutrix, testified that at the time defendant was arrested he heard defendant say, “That’s what a fellow gets for fooling with a girl.”

[440]*440The State’s evidence further tended to prove that the prosecutrix bore a good reputation for virtue and chastity in the neighborhood in which she live^i, prior and up to the time of the commission of the alleged offense.

On the part of the defense there was considerable testimony tending to prove that a number of young men in the neighborhood sought the society of the prosecutrix and were often in her company, but there was nothing to show that her relations .with them had been in any way improper. It was attempted to be shown by the defendant that one of these young men, James Mitchell, fled the country immediately after the defendant’s arrest. Mitchell, however, being put upon the stand, testified that a Mr. Bantz, who owned a farm in the neighborhood and another near Newton, Kansas, employed him to work on his Kansas farm from the middle of September to the 12th of November, 1908; that after his return from Kansas he called on the prosecutrix several times, and that soon after defendant’s arrest he again went to Kansas to work for Bantz.

Prosecutrix testified that although she considered herself engaged to defendant all through Ike year 1908, she did not go with him-during the summer after the April episode, but often went buggy riding, to church and various social functions with several other men, and this at the request of defendant in order to avert suspicion of their engagement. According to her testimony, they had practically nothing to do with each other after February, 1908, excepting the two occasions of the alleged sexual intercourse. She was, however, keeping what might be termed steady company with the John Mitchell who went to Kansas about the time of defendant’s arrest. This particular company was designated, she says, by her betrothed, the defendant.

[441]*441Defendant, on the witness stand, denied the alleged sexual intercourse, as also the promise of marriage. He also proved his good reputation.

In support of his motion to quash the information, the defendant gave in evidence an indictment against him charging that he seduced and debauched the prosecutrix on September 26, 1908, under promise of marriage, which indictment was filed in court on December 14, 1908. He further proved that this indictment remained undisposed of until the first day of the December, 1909, term of court, when it was dismissed. This action was taken prior to the trial on the information, which was filed September 21, 1909. Defendant also proved that no preliminary hearing was accorded to him prior to the filing of the information. The motion to quash was filed and overruled before defendant was arraigned upon the information. The material part of the motion to quash will appear in the course of the opinion.

Our opinion will be upon the following assignments of error, which are the only ones worthy of consideration : 1, Overruling of the motion to quash the information; 2, admission of illegal testimony; 3, error in giving instruction number one for the State. •

I. Two grounds were urged by defendant in support of his motion to quash. They are the third and fourth grounds assigned in the motion, and are as follows:

“Third. Because the offense charged in the said information is the same offense charged in an indictment returned by the grand jury of Knox county, Missouri, against the defendant, December 14, 1908, and which said indictment was pending in this court at the time the said information herein was filed, and said ■information was improperly and illegally filed by the prosecuting attorney, contrary to and against the Constitution and statutes of this State in such case made and provided.
[442]*442‘ 'Fourth. Because the defendant was not accorded the right to a preliminary examination before some justice.of the peace in this county prior to the time of filing the said information in this case by the prosecuting attorney of this county.”

The first of these we rule against the defendant, because (a) the indictment charges seduction under promise of marriage under section 1844, Revised Statutes 1899, which is an offense different from that charged in the information, (b) Section 5055, Revised Statutes 1909, upon which defendant relies, provides: “But that mode of procedure which shall be first instituted by the filing of the indictment or information for any offense shall be pursued to the exclusion of the other, so long as the same shall be pending and undetermined.” This provision does not apply to the facts in this case. . The words therein, “shall be pursued,” mean only at most that the information shall not be tried while the indictment is pending; so that, even if the offense were the same, inasmuch as the indictment was dismissed before the information was tried, the statute was satisfied.

The second ground relied upon by defendant to sustain his motion to quash, namely, .that defendant was, not accorded a preliminary hearing before the filing of the information, rests upon two propositions.

(a) The Legislature in 1905 enacted a law (Laws 1905, p. 132) as follows:

“Section 1. That article 3 of chapter 16, of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1899, be and the same is hereby amended ly adding thereto a new section, to be known as section 2476a, which shall read as follows :
“Section 2476a.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
142 S.W. 263, 238 Mo. 429, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-schenk-mo-1911.