People v. Chappell
| Decision Date | 22 July 1873 |
| Citation | 27 Mich. 486 |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
| Parties | The People v. Jacob R. Chappell |
Heard July 15, 1873
Exceptions from Saginaw Circuit.
Verdict set aside, and a nolle prosequi entered.
Byron D. Ball, Attorney General, for the People.
Wisner & Draper, for respondent.
Respondent was convicted under an information charging him with maiming one Daniel Forrest by discharging a loaded pistol, pointed and aimed intentionally, but without malice.
Upon the trial the testimony tended to show that the weapon was used either in self defense (which was indicated by strong proofs), or with a criminal intent, and maliciously. The court, among other things, was asked to charge that if the act was done with malice, the defendant could not be convicted under the information. This was refused, and the court said in response to the request:
The statutory offense with which he was charged was under section 3 of "An act to prevent the careless use of fire-arms."--Comp. L., § 7550. The statute was designed to punish a class of acts done carelessly, but without any design of doing mischief, and the various sections must, under our constitution, be construed so as to conform to the title. The absence of malice is as necessary an ingredient in the statutory definition as the use of fire-arms. And the offense is purely statutory.
It is a rule of statutory construction that no conviction can lawfully be had under a charge of statutory offense if any of the named qualifications are not proven.--Koster v. People, 8 Mich. 431. This rule is well settled, and can not be departed from without a plain violation of the legislative enactment. The penalty prescribed can only be imposed on offenders who have come within the prohibition. If their acts are of another nature, they must be charged according to the facts, and not in contradiction to them.
The provision in section 7919 of the Compiled Laws, that no person shall be acquitted of a misdemeanor because the facts prove a felony, can have no application to any case where the offense proven would be directly...
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People v. Heflin
... ... Doss, 78 Mich.App. 541, 553-554, 260 N.W.2d 880 (1977) (emphasis added) ... 6 People v. Chappell, 27 Mich. 486, 487-488 (1873), People v. McCully, 107 Mich. 343, 344, 65 N.W. 234 (1895), and People v. Peterson, 166 Mich. 10, 13, 131 N.W. 153 (1911) ... 7 Id., 78 Mich.App. at 549-554, 260 N.W.2d 880 ... The Court of Appeals also held that the prosecutor failed to prove that the killing ... ...
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People v. Heikkala
...the firearm was pointed or aimed at the person intentionally, that it was discharged without malice, and that the death ensued. People v. Chappell, 27 Mich. 486. While intent is not an ingredient of the killing itself, the intentional pointing or aiming of the firearm must be found. The pre......
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People v. Doss
...In finding that the absence of malice is an essential element of manslaughter, the Court of Appeals placed great reliance on People v. Chappell, 27 Mich. 486 (1873), wherein defendant was charged with maiming another by discharging a loaded pistol, pointed and aimed intentionally, but witho......
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People v. Doss
...433 in Chapter 37, Firearms. The essential terminology of the statute remained the same. The statute was interpreted in People v. Chappell, 27 Mich. 486 (1873), where defendant was charged with maiming another by discharging a loaded pistol, pointed and aimed intentionally, but without mali......