Black v. State
| Decision Date | 25 March 1919 |
| Parties | BLACK v. STATE. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Error to Circuit Court, Liberty County; E. C. Love, Judge.
J. C Black was convicted of the embezzlement of moneys of the State of Florida and the County of Liberty while holding the office of County Tax Collector, and he brings error. Affirmed.
Syllabus by the Court
Where an indictment for embezzlement under the statute is not so vague, indefinite, and uncertain as to embarrass the defendant, and is sufficient to advise the defendant of 'the nature and cause of the accusation against him,' allegations that the embezzlement was 'felonious' and 'fraudulent' may be harmless surplusage.
Charges favorable to a defendant may not be harmful, though technically inaccurate.
The legislation providing that proof of one fact shall constitute prima facie evidence of the main fact is within the general power of government to enact rules of evidence; and neither due process of law nor equal protection of the law is denied if there is a rational connection btween the fact and the ultimate fact presumed, and the party affected is afforded reasonable opportunity to submit to the jury all the facts on the issue.
Where the statute defining embezzlement provides that 'the failure, neglect, omission or refusal of any officer to pay over or deliver' money received 'for more than thirty days after the same has been collected or received, shall be prima facie evidence of the conversion,' and there is evidence of such failure, as well as positive evidence tending to show the conversion charged, the findings of the amounts unlawfully converted under the charge may be sustained.
Where no material errors of law or of procedure appear, a judgment of conviction will be affirmed.
COUNSEL John H. Carter, of Marianna, for plaintiff in error.
Van C Swearingen, Atty. Gen., and C. O. Andrews, Asst. Atty. Gen for the State.
The indictment herein is as follows:
A motion was made to quash the indictment on grounds:
'That said indictment is vague, indefinite, and uncertain, and charges facts which are insufficient in law to constitute any offense on the part of a public officer under the laws of this state.
'That the acts...
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Crosby v. State
... ... or conversion, was sufficient under the charge of the ... indictment and the evidence. The words "felonious" ... and "fraudulent" as employed in the indictment in ... connection with the charge of withholding and converting the ... money are harmless surplusage. Black v. State, 77 ... Fla. 289, 81 So. 411 ... The ... defendant requested other special charges upon the subjects ... of reasonable doubt, the presumption of innocence, and the ... purpose for which evidence of other and similar defalcations ... by the defendant were admitted at the ... ...
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Shelton v. Coleman
...Campbell v. Skinner Mfg. Co., 53 Fla. 632, 43 So. 874.' The following is from the opinion of this court in the case of Black v. State, 77 Fla. 289, 81 So. 411, 413: providing that proof of one fact shall constitute prima facie evidence of the main fact, is within the general power of govern......
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State v. Dayton, 68--79
...with indictments for embezzlement, and a Maryland case and six federal cases dealing with conspiracy indictments, viz: Black v. State, 77 Fla. 289, 81 So. 411; Revell v. State, 85 Fla. 402, 96 So. 156; Scarlett v. State, 201 Md. 310, 93 A.2d 753; Ex parte Montgomery (D.C.1917), 244 F. 967; ......
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Straughn v. K & K Land Management, Inc.
...(1965). Second, there must be a right to rebut in a fair manner. Goldstein v. Maloney, 62 Fla. 198, 57 So. 342 (1911); Black v. State, 77 Fla. 289, 81 So. 411 (1919). We find that the instant statute meets both tests. The reduced taxation for farmland is based on a legislative determination......