Grier v. State

• Decision Date: 01 March 1898
• Citation: 30 S.E. 255,103 Ga. 428
• Parties: GRIER v. STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

30 S.E. 255

103 Ga. 428

GRIER v. STATE.

Supreme Court of Georgia

March 1, 1898

Syllabus by the Court.

The taking and carrying away of personal goods from the dwelling house of another, with the knowledge, but without the consent, of the owner, is not an indictable act of trespass.

Error from city court of Columbus; J. L. Willis, Judge.

Sallie Grier was convicted of criminal trespass, and brings error. Reversed.

G. N Tiquer, for plaintiff in error.

E. J Wynne, for the State.

SIMMONS C.J.

Sallie Grier was indicated for the offense of criminal trespass. The material portion of the indictment was as follows: "For that the said Sallie Grier, on the 5th day of October, in the year 1897, in the county aforesaid, did then and there unlawfully, and with force and arms, one black dress, of the value of seven ($7.00) dollars, of the personal property of one Mrs. Emma Robinson, from the inclosed land of her, the said Mrs. Robinson, in the county aforesaid, take and carry away said personal property, without the consent of said Mrs. Emma Robinson, the owner thereof, contrary to the laws of said state." Upon arraignment, the accused demurred to the indictment, upon the ground that the accusation did not set forth and accuse her with the violation of any penal law of this state. The demurrer was overruled, and the accused excepted.

This indictment was evidently predicated upon paragraph 2 of section 219 of the Penal Code, which provides that "the taking and carrying away, or attempting to take and carry away, any article or property of any value whatever, from the land, inclosed or uninclosed, of another, without the consent of the owner," shall be deemed and held to be trespass and indictable. This is the codification of paragraph 2 of the act of 1866 (Acts 1865-66, p. 237), which makes an indictable trespass "the taking and carrying away, or attempting to take and carry away, any timber, wood, rails, fruit, vegetables, corn, cotton, or any other article, thing, produce of property of any value whatever, from the land, inclosed or uninclosed, of another, without the consent of the owner." This act, after the enumeration of certain things, adds "or any other article, thing, produce or property of any value whatever"; but it is a well settled rule of construction that where a statute enumerates by name certain specific things, and concludes with a general term of enlargement, this later term is...