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10 Mo. 391

State v. Martin

Supreme Court of Missouri

Decided January 15, 1847

Supreme Court of Missouri · decided 1847-01-15

That it is not necessary to set out all the names of tile defendant; it is sufficient to set-out one vf the Christian names. The plea admits that the name set out is the true name, but is not all the name. This is unnecessary, and the plea was bad.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“Difficulties and confusion frequently arise growing out of the multiplicity of names given to individuals, and by which they are known; to obviate this, they should be named as they are generally called in society.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including State Ex Rel. Lane v. Corneli

“the middle name of an individual forms no part of the Christian name.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including State v. Hands

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1847-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions — most recently July 1953

9 state decisions

30184718501860187018801890190019101920193019401950decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

McBride, J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the Court'.-

¶2Martin was indicted by the grand jury of Platte County for gaming,, by the name of William Martin. He pleaded in abatement that “ he-was named and is called John William Martin,” &c. To this plea the-Circuit Attorney filed a general demurrer,, which was overruled by the Circuit Court,, and the ease is brought here by the' State on writ of error.

¶3It has been- held, and we think correctly, that the middle name of an individual forms no part of the Christian name. If this be correct, then the indictment cannot be sustained, as it only sets out the middle name,- and does not give the Christian name at all. Difficulties- and confusion frequently arise growing out of the multiplicity of names given to individuals, and by which they are known : to obviate this-, they should be named as they are generally called in society, and then if they plead in' abatement, the plaintiff can reply the fact and maintain his action. See 5 D. & E. 195, where the defendants’ Christian names- were transposed*. and the transposition held bad on demurrer-

¶4judgment affirmed.

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