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15 Wend. 231

People v. Ward

New York Supreme Court

Decided May 15, 1836

New York Supreme Court · decided 1836-05-15

The prisoner was indicted for an attempt to obtain money from the Farmers’ Bank at Troy, by color of aforged letter purporting to be signed-by one S. S. Shepard, in which was enclosed a certificate of deposit of the Bank of Monroe for $ 1200.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1836-05-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently March 1945

4 state decisions

10183618401850186018701880189019001910192019301940decided

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.

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¶1By the Court,

Nelson, J.

¶2The indictment is sufficient to charge the prisoner with the offence of an attempt, by “ color of a false token or writing,” fraudulently to obtain money from the Farmers’ Bank, within the provisions of the statute, 2 R. S. 677, § 53; 698, §3. The previous indictment and acquittal for the alleged forgery of the certificate of deposit is no bar *232to this indictment. The two offences were distinct; the counterfe¡t ]etter and use made of it, did not constitute a material ingredient in the crime of forgery. That depended upon the alteration of the certificate with the intent to defraud some person, which of itself constituted a crime. The offence alleged in this indictment was committed to carry into effect more successfully the other offence; but has no more necessary connexion with it, than the setting fire to a dwelling house for the purpose of the more effectually concealing the perpetration of a larceny has to the larceny itself.

¶3The evidence of the confession made to the magistrate was inadmissible; the prisoner was influenced by the hope of favor held out to him by one of the conservators of the peace, who he might well suppose had the ability in some way to make good the opinion expressed. 1 Chitty’s Cr. L. 68, 465.

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