Berrien v. State

• Decision Date: 10 September 1923
• Docket Number: (No. 3483.)
• Citation: 119 S.E. 300,156 Ga. 380
• Parties: BERRIEN. v. STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

156 Ga. 380

119 S.E. 300

BERRIEN.

v.STATE.

(No. 3483.)

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Sept. 10, 1923.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 27, 1923.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Certified Questions from Court of Appeals.

R. N. Berrien, Jr., was convicted of offenses and he brought error to the Court of Appeals, which certified questions to the Supreme Court. Questions answered.

The Court of Appeals certified the following questions to the Supreme Court for decision, as necessary to a proper determination of the case:

"(1) Where the Governor, under and by virtue of an act of the General Assembly approved August 13, 1915, which provides for the discount of the Governor's warrants in order to secure funds with which to pay the salaries of the teachers in the common schools of the state, issues a warrant payable to the superintendent of the public schools of Murray county, which is delivered to the state superintendent of schools, who sends it to the county superintendent to whom it is made payable, with the request that he indorse and return it, and this is done, and the state superintendent then delivers the warrant to A., who is to discount the warrant and remit the net proceeds to the county superintendent to whom the warrant is made payable, and where A. actually discounts the warrant, is the money, the net proceeds of the warrant, the property of Murray county or the property of the state of Georgia?

"(a) Under the facts stated above, was the state superintendent acting for the state or for Murray county when he delivered the warrant to A.; and, in a prosecution against A. for larceny after trust, would an allegation in the indictment that money was intrusted to him by the superintendent of schools of Murray county be supported by proof that the money was delivered to him by the state superintendent of schools?

"(2) Where, under the act referred to in the preceding question, the Governor advertises for bids for school warrants, and the bid of B. is accepted, and, after having been indorsed by the several county superintendents to whom they are made payable, a number of these warrants are turned over to A. by the state superintendent of schools, with instructions to discount them at a certain rate, and A., according to a course of dealings between him and the state for about two years, sends the warrants to B., the party whose bid is accepted, and B. pays the draft, and the proceeds of the draft pass into the hands of A., is this a bailment, or a sale of the warrants to A?

"(3) Under the facts as stated in questions 1 and 2, for whom was A. acting as agent?

"(4) Can...