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193 So. 2d 728

Meyer v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court

Decided January 16, 1967

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1967-01-16

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction of the crime of embezzlement. In all essential respects the indictment is in the exact language of the indictment in Langford v. State, 239 Miss. 483 , 123 So.2d 614 (1960). In that case this Court reversed because the indictment did not set out who owned the property allegedly embezzled. In this case, as in Langford , the defendant did not demur to the indictment. In Langford the Court held that the failure of the indictment to name the owner of the property allegedly embezzled was not a formal defect that could be corrected by amendment under Mississippi Code Annotated section 2449 (1956) and that Langford had not waived the defect by failing to demur. Unless we overrule Langford the present case must be reversed. * * * * * * Because of the defect in the indictment in failing to name the owner of the property allegedly embezzled, this case is reversed and remanded. The defendant will be held under the same bond to await further action of the grand jury. (Emphasis added). ( 193 So.2d at 729 ).”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Westmoreland v. State

Relies on Langford v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1967-01-16

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently January 2001

7 state decisions

5019671970198019902000decided

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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GILLESPIE, Presiding Justice:

¶1This is an appeal from a judgment of ■conviction of the crime of embezzlement. In all essential respects the indictment is in the exact language of the indictment in Langford v. State, 239 Miss. 483, 123 So.2d 614 (1960). In that case this Court reversed because the indictment did not set ■out who owned the property allegedly embezzled. In this case, as in Langford, the defendant did not demur to the indictment. In Langford the Court held that the failure of the indictment to name the owner of the property allegedly embezzled was not a formal defect that could be corrected by •amendment under Mississippi Code Annotated section 2449 (19S6), and that Lang-ford had not waived the defect by failing to ■demur. Unless we overrule Langford, the present case must be reversed.

¶2Appellant argues three additional points in his original brief: (1) that the State’s testimony was in conflict; (2) that defendant was denied compulsory process; and (3) that the district attorney asked prejudicial questions concerning prior convictions. We are of the opinion that there is no merit in the first two of these additional assignments of error. The district .attorney did ask too many details concerning prior convictions, some of which were necessary and some of which were not. If appellant is reindicted, there is little likelihood that this alleged error will recur. We decline to notice assignments of error argued for the first time in appellant’s rebuttal brief.

¶3Because of the defect in the indictment in failing to name the owner of the property allegedly embezzled, this case is reversed and remanded. The defendant will be held under the same bond to await further action of the grand jury.

¶4Reversed and remanded.

RODGERS, JONES, BRADY and SMITH, JJ., concur.
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