Jackson v. State
| Decision Date | 28 July 1890 |
| Citation | 7 So. 862,26 Fla. 510 |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
| Parties | JACKSON v. STATE. |
Error to circuit court, Madison county; J. F. WHITE, Judge.
Syllabus by the Court
An indictment for a statutory offense may charge the offense in the words of the statute; but when the words used in the indictment are equivalent to the words used in the statute the judgment will not be arrested upon the ground, alleged in the motion to arrest the judgment, that the indictment does not charge an offense under the laws of the state.
COUNSEL B. B. Black well, for plaintiff in error.
William B. Lamar, Atty. Gen., for defendant in error.
The plaintiff in error and others were jointly indicted for gambling, and upon being arraigned Jackson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to confinement in the county jail for the term of three months.
Motion to arrest the judgment was made--First, because the indictment does not charge an offense under the laws of the state of Florida; second, because the indictment does not charge the facts and circumstances of the offense named in the said indictment, and defined by the statute upon which it is based. This motion was overruled, and the case comes before this court upon writ of error to the circuit court of Madison county. The refusal of the circuit judge to arrest the judgment is assigned as error.
The indictment, omitting the formal parts, charges that the defendant and others (naming them) 'on the 12th day of April, A. D. 1890, at and in the county, circuit, and state aforesaid, with force and arms, in the woods near the town of Ellaville, said county and state, unlawfully then and there played and engaged in a game of cards for money, which said game of cards was then and there a game of chance. * * *'
This indictment is under section 1, c. 3764, Act June 7, 1887 which is as follows: 'If any person, by himself or herself, servant, clerk, agent, or in any other manner, shall have, keep, exercise, or maintain a gaming table or room, or gaming implements or apparatus, or house, booth, tent shelter, or other place for the purpose of gaming or gambling, or in any place of which he or she may, directly or indirectly, have charge, control, or management, either exclusively or with others, shall procure, suffer, or permit any person or persons to play for money or other valuable thing or things at any game whatsoever, whether heretofore prohibited...
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