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169 Wis. 575

Schmidt v. State

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Decided June 25, 1919

Wisconsin Supreme Court · decided 1919-06-25

A. C. Backus, Judge. The plaintiff in error, hereinafter called the defendant, having waived a jury trial was convicted in the municipal court of Milwaukee county of forgery of a bank check for $6, and brings his writ of error to reverse the judgment. The actual facts were not greatly in dispute, but rather the inferences of fact to be deduced therefrom.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““. . . The question of a man’s intent is generally to be determined by considering his acts and the surrounding circumstances and drawing the conclusion as to his state of mind therefrom. . . .””

quoted by 2 later decisions, including 44 Wis. 2d 151 - State v. Carter, State v. Arndt

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1919-06-25

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently June 1972

5 state decisions

201919192019301940195019601970decided

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 →

Winslow, C. J.

¶1Two contentions are made by the defendant, viz.: (1) the funds on deposit in the East Side Bank were in fact his own funds, hence the check was drawn on his own bank account; and (2) no intention to defraud any one appears from the evidence, especially in view of the fact that no attempt was made to imitate Junkerman’s signature.'

¶2As to the first contention it may freely be admitted that there was room in the evidence to find that the account at the East Side Bank was in fact the defendant’s account kept in Junkerman’s name, but, on the other hand, Junkerman’s testimony was positive that it was his own account and that the money on deposit was his own money.

¶3There was nothing incredible or even improbable about Junkerman’s version of the matter. It is undisputed that the defendant was considerably indebted to Junkerman and that he was seriously embarrassed. Such an arrangement as Junkerman testifies to was natural enough, and there are facts which make it appear probable. For instance, it is admitted that no one except Junkerman drew any checks on that account until the drawing of the check in question here, and the bank was never informed that any one except Jun-kerman had authority to draw checks thereon. It is also admitted that when Junkerman remonstrated with the defendant about the drawing of this check he did not even claim *578to have a right to do so, but proceeded to settle up this and several other checks issued at about the same time. The' trial court had the advantage of personal contact with the witnesses, and we do not feel that we can say that its conclusion in this regal'd is not supported by the evidence.

¶4As to the second claim practically the same general considerations apply. The question of a man’s intent is generally to be determined by considering his acts and the surrounding circumstances and drawing the conclusion as to his state of mind therefrom. The fact that no attempt was made to counterfeit Junkerman’s signature is to be considered, but cannot be held to be conclusive. If there was an intent to injure or defraud any person, either Junkerman, the bank, or the person to whom the false check was given, it is sufficient. Secs. 4454, 4455, Stats. We are unable to say that the trial court was wrong in drawing the conclusion which it did.

¶5By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.

Siebecker and Owen, JJ., dissent.
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