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61 Ind. 447

Morgan v. State

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided May 15, 1878

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1878-05-15

<p>Criminal. Law. — Larceny.—Indictment.—Particutarity-of Description of Properly Stolen. — Evidence.—Where an indictment for larceny contains a particular, though unnecessary, description of the property alleged to have been stolen; by way of identifying it, the evidence must, to warrant á . conviction, establish such description.</p> <p>Same.— Variance. — Evidence of the larceny of a “Smith & Wesson” revolver will not justify a conviction under an indictment charging the ; larceny of a “ Smith & Weston” revolver.</p>

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““It is a well established rule in criminal proceedings, that where, in an indictment, a particular description is given by way of identifying an article of property alleged to have been stolen, the state is bound by the description thus given, and that, to justify a conviction, the evidence must sustain the description contained in the indictment. Starkie Ev., 8th Am. Ed., 628; 1 Bishop Crim. Proced., sec. 579; 1 Wharton Crim. Law, sections 592, 610. . . . Where an indictment for larceny contains particulars descriptive of the property stolen, though unnecessarily inserted, such particulars must be proved on the trial. The State v. Jackson, 30 Me. 29 .””

quoted by 1 later decision, including State v. Wilson

Relies on Wertz v. State · State v. Jackson · Black v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1878-05-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 10 later decisions — most recently July 1975

10 state decisions

2018781880189019001910192019301940195019601970decided

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 →

Niblack, C. J.

¶1The appellant, James Morgan, wag

¶2.prosecuted in the court below, on an indictment'containing two counts.

¶3• The first count was for burglary; the second for grand •larceny. There was a trial and a conviction upon the second count of the indictment.

¶4The principal article with which the appellant was charged with stealing was a “ Smith & Weston” revolver, .valued at eight dollars. ' •

¶5On the trial, August. Mayer, the prosecuting witness, testified, amongst other .things, that he had lost a pistol worth eight dollar's, at the time alleged in the indictment. A pistol was then- handed to the witness, which .he identified as the one he'had'lost. The pistol thus identified was known as a “ Smith & Wesson” révolvér, and was, over the objection of the appellant; admitted in evidence to the jury.

¶6• At the proper time the appellant asked the court to Instruct the jury, that “proof that a- ‘ Smith &.Wesson’ revolver; was taken from the witness, August Mayer, will not support the allegation in the indictment that a ‘ Smith' &. Weston’ revolver had been taken from said Mayer,” but the court refused tp..so instruct the jury. .

¶7It is a well established rule in criminal proceedings, *448that where, in an indictment, a particular description is given by way of identifying an article of property alleged to have been stolen, the State is bound by the description thus given, and that, to justify a conviction, the evidence must sustain the description contained in the indictment. Starkie Ev., 8th Am. Ed., 628; 1 Bishop Crim. Proced., sec. 579; 1 Wharton Crim. Law, sections 592, 610.

¶8Allegations of weight, magnitude, number and value are generally, but not always, exceptions to this rule, but none of these exceptions apply to the case at bar.

¶9Where a chattel has obtained a particular name of its own, it ought to be described by that name, so that the proof will certainly correspond with the description. 2 Russ. Crimes, p. 314; 2 Bishop Crim. Proced., supra, section 738.

¶10Where an indictment for larceny contains particulars descriptive of the property stolen, though unnecessarily inserted, such particulars must be proved on the trial. The State v. Jackson, 30 Me. 29.

¶11In the case before us the description of the pistol was unnecessarily particular, but, having been so inserted in the indictment, it had to be proved as inserted, to make out a case against the appellant.

¶12The State had its option as to the description it should give to the pistol,.and, having adopted a particular description, it was bound by it on the trial. Wertz v. The State, 42 Ind. 161.

¶13We are of tire opinion, that there is a material difference, as a matter of description, between the names of “Weston ” and “Wesson,” and that, in consequence, there was a substantial variance between the description of the pistol in the indictment and the evidence on the trial; Black v. The State, 57 Ind. 109,

¶14We think the court erred in refusing to give the instruction asked for by the appellant.

¶15*449The judgment is reversed, and the cause is remanded for a new trial.

¶16The clerk will give the necessary notice for the return of the prisoner.

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