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56 Miss. 786

Timmons v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court

Decided April 15, 1879

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1879-04-15

Hon. U. M. Young, Judge. The plaintiff in error was tried upon an indictment charging him with the larceny of various articles, aggregating in value $30. The jury returned a verdict in the following language : “ We, the jury, find the prisoner guilty to the amount of thirteen dollars.” The defendant moved in arrest of judgment. His motion was overruled, and he sued out a writ of error. 1.

Decided 1879-04-15

Campbell, J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2In Traube v. The State, ante, p. 153, it was held by the court, that the addition, to a verdict of guilty, of words of qualification which do not legally affect a perfect finding, will not prevent judgment from being pronounced upon the verdict. In other words, if the jury find the defendant guilty of the charge in the indictment, and superadd words which do not vary the effect of such finding, it is good, because of the finding of guilty, notwithstanding the superadded words, which will be rejected as surplusage.

¶3In this case, the words added to the finding of guilty do not vary its meaning or effect. It is equivalent to saying, that the jury find the defendant guilty, and assess the value of what he stole at $13. If he was guilty of stealing the goods described in the indictment, to the value of $13, he was guilty of the crime charged, —i.e., grand larceny.

¶4Judgment affirmed.

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