Judges: Shackleford
Filed Date: 12/12/1916
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 10/19/2024
—-The following indictment was returned against Ruth Smith:
“In the Name and by the Authority of the State of Florida:
“The Grand Jurors of the State of Florida, empaneled and sworn to enquire and true presentment make in and for the body of the County of Duval, upon their oath do present that Ruth Smith, late of the County of Duval and State of Florida, on the 21st day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and
“Frank L. Dancy,
“State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, prosecuting for said State.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty and was tried before a jury and convicted of the crime of manslaughter. Whereupon the defendant filed the following motion in arrest of judgment:
“And now, after verdict against said defendant, Ruth Smith, in the above entitled cause, and before sentence, comes the said Ruth Smith by her attorneys, P. L. Gas-kins, Frank Wideman and J. E. Yonge, and moves the court here to arrest judgment herein and not to pro
“1. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, states or alleges no crime under the laws of the State of Florida.
“2. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, does not charge the defendant herein with the commission of any crime or the violation of any law or of any unlawful act under the statutes or laws of the State of Florida.
“3. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, does not allege that the defendant struck, cut, stabbed or wounded the deceased named in said indictment.
“4. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, alleges and shows on its face that the defendant struck, cut,' stabbed and wounded herself, the said defendant, and not the deceased person named -in said indictment.
“5. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, fails to allege that the deceased person named in said indictment died in the County of Duval, State of Florida.
“6. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, failed to allege the place where the deceased person, J. H. Goudy, died.
“7. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, fails to allege the time when the deceased person, J. H. Goudy, died.
“8. That the indictment, upon which the verdict herein has been rendered, fails to allege that the deceased person, J. H. Goudy, died within the period of one year and one day next after the infliction by the defendant up
“9. That there are other manifest errors apparent of record in the indictment upon which the verdict herein has been rendered.
‘To. That there are many other manifest errors in the record in this cause on account of which no judgment against the said defendant can be lawfully rendered herein.”
This motion was overruled, upon which ruling is based the sole assignment of error argued before us. There is no bill of exceptions incorporated in the transcript and the evidence adduced at the trial is not before us. It is contended by the defendant that the indictment is fatally defective in two particulars, which are stated in the 'brief as follows:
“First: That, the indictment is drawn so as to charge that the defendant struck and cut herself: Second: That, the indictment fails to charge that the deceased died within a year and a day after infliction of the mortal wound.”
Before taking up for consideration either of these points we would call attention to the repeated holding of this court: “It is the declared polic)'' of the Legislature, as well as of this court, to uphold indictments and informations whenever there has been a substantial compliance therein with the statutory requirements.” Barren-tine v. State, 72 Fla. , 72 South. Rep. 280, where prior decisions of this court are cited. I11 this cited case we were dealing with a motion to quash the indictment. In Barineau v. State, 71 Fla. 598, 72 South. Rep. 179, in which we were discussing a motion in arrest of judgment, following former decisions, we held:
“Defects in indictments and informations should be
“While the sufficiency of the allegations in an indictment to charge the offense may be tested by a motion in arrest of judgment, yet upon this motion the indictment should receive a liberal construction, and even an informal or imperfect allegation of an essential fact will be deemed a sufficient averment of the fact. A defective allegation not affecting the real merits, or a merely formal or clerical error, or an allegation of unnecessary matter not concerning the substance of the charge, would not be ground for arresting the judgment.
“Where an indictment does not wholly fail to allege a crime or an essential element of a crime, and sufficiently states the nature and cause of the accusation against the defendant, and is not so vague, indistinct, and indefinite as to mislead the accused and embarrass him in the preparation of his defense, or expose him after conviction or acquittal to substantial danger of a new prosecution for the same offense, such indictment will not on a motion in arrest of judgment after verdict be held legally insufficient to sustain a conviction.” To the like effect is Adams v. State, Fla. , 72 South. Rep. 473. We would also refer to Mills v. State, 58 Fla. 74, 51 South. Rep. 278; Edwards v. State, 62 Fla. 40, 56 South. Rep. 401; Sumpter v. State, 62 Fla. 98, 57 South. Rep. 202; Vicente v. State, 66 Fla. 197, 63 South. Rep. 423; Pennel v. State, 66 Fla. 203, 63 South.
We now direct our attention to the other contention of the defendant’ that the indictment -is fatally defective in that it “fails to charge that the deceased died within a year and a day after infliction of the mortal wound.” In treating this point we should keep in mind the principles announced by this court in the cases which we have already cited. We would also call attention to another principle which we have repeatedly announced, that every presumption is in favor of the correctness of the rulings of the trial court, and the burden is cast upon the party resorting to an appellate court to overcome this presumption and make the errors in the rulings of which he complains clearly to appear. See Lewis v. State, 55 Fla. 54, 45 South. Rep. 998; Clements v. State, 51 Fla. 6, 40 South. Rep. 432; Barber v. State, 52 Fla. 5, 42 South. Rep. 86. As we said in Pennel v. State, 66 Fla. 203, 63 South. Rep. 422, “While we do not intend to encourage loose pleadings in criminal cases, we are also disinclined to lend too ready an ear to captious criticisms of indictments, or such as do not go to a failure to allege some essential element of the crime or tend to embarrass
In the instant case the indictment charged that the fatal blow was inflicted by the defendant upon the deceased upon the 21st day of February, 1916. The indictment was presented on the 20th day of May, 1916, the trial was begun on the 17th day of June, 1916, and the
Judgment affirmed.
Taylor, C. J., and Cockrell, Whitfield and Ellis, JJ., concur.