Commonwealth v. Miller
Decision Date | 17 November 1812 |
Parties | The Commonwealth v. Benjamin Miller |
Court | Virginia Supreme Court |
The prisoner was indicted in the Superior Court of law of Norfolk county for the murder of Jonathan Godfrey. The indictment was in the usual form. On his trial, the prisoner was found guilty of murder in the first degree. He thereupon moved the court to arrest the judgment for the following reasons " that it is essential in all cases civil or criminal brought before a court of limited jurisdiction, that the facts to show the jurisdiction should appear on the record that before any person charged with treason or felony can be tried before a superior court of any county, the law passed the 24th day of January, 1804, requires that he shall be examined in the manner prescribed by law by the court of the county, or corporation where the offence is committed, and that it is not charged in the indictment, and does not appear by the records of this court, that he the said Benjamin Miller has been examined in the mode prescribed by law before the court of the county, or corporation where the offence charged in the indictment is alleged to have been committed and that the indictment is defective in not charging specially such facts as shew the offence to have been murder in the first degree." The question arising on this motion in arrest of judgment was adjourned.
Present judges White, Carrington, Brockenbrough, Semple, Allen and Randolph.
November 17th, 1812, present judges White, Carrington, Brockenbrough, Semple, Allen and Randolph, the following opinion was given.
A similar judgment (as to the first point made in the above mentioned...
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Hobson v. Youell
...support a verdict of murder in the first degree. This question was presented to the general court in the case of Commonwealth v. Miller, reported in 1 Va. Cas. [at page] 310 , and that court unanimously decided 'that the indictment is not defective in not charging specially such facts as wo......
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McGrady v. Cunningham
...the first degree and murder in the second degree. Even before the statute was enacted it had been held in Virginia in Commonwealth v. Miller, 1 Va. Cas. 310 (3 Va. 310), decided in 1812, that it was unnecessary for an indictment for murder in the first degree to charge specially facts that ......