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162 Tex. Crim. 132

Smith v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Decided October 19, 1955

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas · decided 1955-10-19

Relies on 71 Tex. Crim. 94 - Pye v. State

Decided 1955-10-19

DAVIDSON, Judge.

¶1This is a conviction for forgery, with punishment assessed at two years in the penitentiary.

¶2Under the statute, Art. 979, P.C., an essential element of the crime of forgery is the making “without lawful authority” of a false instrument in writing, purporting to be the act of another, with the intent to injure or defraud.

¶3The instant indictment contains no allegation that the check described therein, which, upon its face purported to be the act of another, was made “without lawful authority.”

¶4The absence of such allegation renders the indictment fatally defective. Branch’s P.C., Sec. 1403, p. 856; Willson’s Criminal Forms, #430; Pye v. State, 71 Texas Cr. R. 94, 154 S.W. 222.

¶5Accordingly, the judgment is reversed and prosecution ordered dismissed.

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