State v. Stamper

285 S.W. 437, 314 Mo. 635, 1926 Mo. LEXIS 940
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 28, 1926
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 285 S.W. 437 (State v. Stamper) 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. Stamper, 285 S.W. 437, 314 Mo. 635, 1926 Mo. LEXIS 940 (Mo. 1926).

Opinion

*640 WHITE, J.

The appeal is from a conviction and sentence in the Circuit Court of Boone County, February 16, 1924, on charge of grand larceny. The defendant was charged jointly with one Calvin Moberg with burglary and larceny committed August 1, 1924, by breaking into a store building’ of one Ford Honey in Boone County, and stealing forty-one dollars in money. • There was a severance, and the two were tried separately.

Ford Honey owned a garage and store building in Centralia, Boone County. The building faced Main Street, toward the Chicago & Alton station. The night of August 1, 1924, the store was entered from the rear through a window- which was pried up and the lock broken. The cash register was rifled and $41 in cash taken.

The case against the defendant was made out almost entirely on the evidence of Braxie Boyd, who had a room across the Chicago & Alton Railroad tracks. On the night of the burglary he had been to- a dance. He returned to his room about midnight and went to bed. Pie was awakened at 2:30 or three o’clock in the morning by voices, and found Harold Stamper and Calvin Moberg sitting on the side of his bed, counting money. One of them said, “Here is ten for me and ten for you. ’ ’ Boyd raised up’, saw they were counting money, and asked what poor devil they had got. One answered, “Poor Honey.’’ Braxie said to them, ‘ ‘ This is no way for you to- do me. Suppose the law' should see you counting money, in my room; I would be in a nice predicament, wouldn’t I?” He then told Moberg to go home. He told Stamper that he could stay with him that night; to put the lights out and go to bed. Stamper stayed the night with him. "While with him they ex *641 plained how they got into the garage by using a hatchet to pry up the window. On cross-examination Boyd said the money they were counting was paper money. He saw five or six bills.

The next morning Stamper said he needed a pair of shoes and asked Boyd to go to Joe Green’s store and get a good pair; he would then give Boyd the money to go hack and pay for them. He explained that he did not want the bills identified, and he said to Boyd, “Nobody would suspect you.”

Boyd said he told all about the matter the next morning to H. M. Pruett, night operator at the Chicago & Alton passenger station. The night marshal of Centralia, Mr. Crittendorf, testified that he saw Stamper and Mobe-rg that night about eleven or twelve o’clock in the alley back of the garage. Pruett testified that he saw Braxie Boyd go to his roorh about 12:30 that night, and later saw a light in the room and three people there, one of whom seemed to be undressed for bed. Next morning he had a conversation with Boyd in which Boyd told him about the occurrences of the night before.

Stamper testified on Ms own behalf that he had nothing to do with burglarizing Honey’s store, and did not divide any money with Moberg in Boyd’s room. Other evidence was offered by defendant to show that Boyd’s reputation for morality was bad.

The State offered evidence to show that the defendant’s reputation for truth and veracity and honesty was bad. ! : i

I. The State insists that there is nothing for consideration here except the record proper, which does not show that the bill of exceptions in the case was ever filed. The record proper is presented under one cover, and what purports to be the bill of exceptions under a separate cover. This latter document appears to be the original bill of exceptions, and not a transcript certified by the clerk. The State does not object that it is the original bill instead of a transcript, bat insists there is *642 no record to show it was filed. Both these documents were filed in this court at the same time. The certificate of the circuit clerk is attached to the record proper, and indicates that it was intended to certify to the entire record, including the bill of exceptions. It is not in good form and does not name the bill of exceptions, nor the record. It simply says that it is a full and complete copy of the transcript. Undoubtedly it was intended by the clerk to be a certificate of the. corectness of his copy of the proceedings in the case, including the entire record, though he failed to use appropriate words to describe it. In view of that intention we hold that the certificate applies to the bill of exceptions as. well as to the record proper.

But th'e record proper does not recite that the bill of exceptions was filed. The Attorney-General cites a number of decisions holding' that the failure of the record proper to show such filing prevents a consideration of alleged errors in the bill of exception's. That holding has been apparently without qualification, but there is a qualification. It applies only to a case where the bill of exceptions is filed when the court is in session to make a record of the filing. Where the order of court authorizes the filing of a bill of exceptions in vacation, there is no. record to show it. The matter has been under consideration a number of times in this court, and it has been held that where a bill of exceptions is. filed in vacation, an entry of record furnished no evidence of the filing, but the clerk’s endorsement upon the bill of exceptions is certification of the' fact that it was filed, and it identifies the bill as the one filed in the' case. [Carter v. Prior, 78 Mo. 222, l. c. 226; Ferguson v. Thacher, 79 Mo. 511, l. c. 514; State ex rel. v. Broaddus, 207 Mo. l. c. 127-28; Railroad v. Turner, 177 Mo. App. l. c. 464; LaFollette v. Thompson, 83 Mo. 199; Waltemar v. Schnick’s Estate, 102 Mo. App. 141; State v. Parker, 301 Mo. l. c. 299.]

It is said in the case of State ex rel. v. Broaddus, and case of Railroad v. Turner, supra, that there is no authority for a clerk of the circuit court to make a vaca *643 tion record, and that a certificate of the filing, appearing elsewhere than on the bill, has not the dignity of a record, whatever value it may have as evidence. But the clerk’s endorsement upon the bill itself is evidence that the bill was filed. In the Parker case, supra, there was .nothing in the record proper to show the filing of the bill of exceptions, but the clerk certified to the entire record, including the bill of exceptions; that it was a true and complete copy of all the record, proceedings and papers filed- in the case. That was held sufficient evidence that the bill of exceptions was filed. In the Carter case, supra, the court said, l. c. 226: “If filed in vacation, the fact must be evidenced by the endorsement of the clerk on the bill of exceptions.” We find no ruling of this court that conflicts with that statement of the law, although there are cases which intimate that a statement by the clerk on the record in vacation that the bill of exceptions was filed, answers the same purpose. In this case, on 'the bill of exceptions is the endorsement of the clerk: “Filed October 16, 1925, Jos. T. Harris, D. C.” Under the authorities mentioned we take it that that is sufficient evidence that the bill of exceptions was filed, if it was filed in vacation.

There is nothing on the paper to show whether the filing was in vacation or not.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
285 S.W. 437, 314 Mo. 635, 1926 Mo. LEXIS 940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stamper-mo-1926.