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150 Ark. 425

Clemons v. State

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Decided November 14, 1921

Supreme Court of Arkansas · decided 1921-11-14

Clark, Judge; One indicted for stealing a cow cannot be convicted of stealing a bull. 34 Ark. 160. In an indictment where the allegation is unnecessarily minute as to the description, the proof must satisfy that description. 64 Ark. 231; 119 Ark. 503. The existence of a felonious intent is a question for the jury. 25 Cyc. 129. The publicity of the taking was evidence of good faith. 79 Ga. 564; 11 Am. St. Rep. 447.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““.. ."We think that the result of a substantial variance between the allegations and the proof is necessarily a failure of proof, for the proof must conform to the allegations, and, unless it does, there is no evidence to sustain the verdict. . : .””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Wirges v. State

Relies on Wilburn v. State · State v. Haller · State v. McMinn

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

reversed · Decided 1921-11-14

How this case has been cited

Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently January 1998

12 state decisions

4019211930194019501960197019801990decided

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 →

McCulloch, C. J.

¶1The indictment against appellant charges grand larceny in the stealing of two cows, the property of George Carlson, and on the trial of the case the State proved the stealing of a steer, the property of Carlson.

¶2There was no objection made to this testimony, but one of the grounds set forth in the motion for new trial is that the verdict is contrary 'to the evidence. In other words, in the proceedings below, appellant in apt time raised the question of sufficiency of the evidence; but did not, when the testimony was introduced, raise the question of the variance between the allegations in the indictment and the proof.

¶3It is conceded by the Attorney General that there is a substantial variance between the indictment and the proof, and that if the question had been raised in apt time it would have been fatal to the State’s case, but it is insisted that it is too late to raise that question here for the first time. That the variance is material is settled by several decisions of this court. State v. McMinn, 34 Ark. 160; Keoun v. State, 64 Ark. 231. The case of State v. Haller, 119 Ark. 503, is not in conflict with prior decisions. We agree that the question cannot be raised here for the first time, but is it not raised by the assignment in' the motion for a new trial challenging the legal sufficiency of the evidence? We think that the result of a substantial variance between the allegations and the proof is necessarily a failure of proof, for the proof must conform to the allegations, and, unless it does, there is no evidence to sustain the verdict. Our previous decisions seem to be to the effect that a material variance between the allegations and the proof may be raised on appeal in the same way that the legal sufficiency of the evidence may be challenged. Wilburn v. State, 60 Ark. 141; Blevins v. State, 85 Ark. 195.

¶4The judgment is therefore reversed, and the cause is remanded for a new trial.

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