People v. Martin
| Citation | 78 Colo. 200,240 P. 695 |
| Decision Date | 26 October 1925 |
| Docket Number | 11257. |
| Parties | PEOPLE v. MARTIN. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Error to District Court, City and County of Denver; Henry Bray Judge.
Action by the People of the State of Colorado against William H Martin. Judgment quashing information, and the People bring error.
Reversed and remanded, with directions.
Foster Cline, Dist. Atty., A. L. Betke, Asst Dist. Atty., and Paul M. Segal, and Harold Clark Thompson, Deputy Dist. Attys., all of Denver, for the People.
This is a case in which a motion to quash an information was sustained, following which ruling the defendant was discharged and his bondsmen released. The district attorney brings the cause here on error, under section 7113, C. L. 1921, to review the decision of the trial court upon such question or questions of law as were presented by defendant's motion to quash.
The information contained two counts. The first charged, or attempted to charge, the commission of the crime defined by section 6930, C. L. 1921, which is commonly referred to as 'false pretenses.' The second count charged, or attempted to charge, the commission of a crime defined by section 6856, C. L. 1921, which crime is commonly designated as the 'confidence game.'
The second count is in the language of the statute (section 6857, C. L. 1921), which prescribes the form of an indictment under section 6856, supra. The motion to quash attacks this count on the ground that it is 'a conclusion of law' and 'is vague, indefinite, uncertain, and insufficient.' In Bridge v. People, 63 Colo. 319, 165 P. 778, it was held that an information in the language of the statute here involved is sufficient. Section 16 of article 2 of the state Constitution provides that the accused shall have the right 'to demand the nature and cause of the accusation.' Statutes, such as ours, prescribing the form of an indictment or information under the 'confidence game' statute, have been held not to violate such a constitutional provision. Graham v. People, 181 Ill. 477, 486, 55 N.E. 179, 47 L.R.A. 731. It was error to sustain the motion to quash as to the second count of the information.
The first count of the information was assailed in the motion to quash upon two grounds: First, that it is vague and indefinite, etc.; and, second, that 'any statements made by this defendant were statements of the defendant's opinion, subject to verification, and were merely ordinary sales talk statements and not criminal.'
As to the first ground, what has been said as to the second count applies here. The information is as complete and definite as that upheld in Tracy v. People, 65 Colo. 226, 176 P. 280.
The second ground, above mentioned, presents the principal question in this case, namely, Was the alleged false pretense one of such nature as to be criminally actionable as such? The allegations in the information, so far as material here, are as follows:
...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Lazar v. State
...N.E. 126, affirming the constitutionality of the act. Of interest, see Collins v. Traeger, 9 Cir., 27 F.2d 842, 846. In People v. Martin, 1925, 78 Colo. 200, 240 P. 695, the Supreme Court of Colorado held constitutional an Act, C.L.1921, § 6856, similar to the Illinois Act, and bottomed on ......
-
Wright v. People
...is not obnoxious to the constitutional provision to which reference is made. Lace v. People, 43 Colo. 199, 95 P. 302; People v. Martin, 78 Colo. 200, 240 P. 695. 'The meaning of the phrase 'et or its abbreviation 'etc.' depends largely on the context of the instrument, the description and e......
-
Compton v. People
... ... our Constitution, has been violated; it requires that ... defendant may 'demand the nature and cause of the ... accusation.' He did not demand it, however, and, even if ... demanded, this guaranty was not violated, for he was ... sufficiently informed. People v. Martin, 78 Colo. 200, 202, ... 240 P. 695 ... 11. A ... verdict of guilty raises a presumption that everything ... necessary to a conviction was established by the evidence ... Doyle v. People, supra. There is nothing in the record to ... overcome this presumption ... Judgment ... ...
-
Lesser v. Porter
...v. Chase, 60 Colo. 155, 151 P. 913; Highfill v. Ermence, 73 Colo. 478, 216 P. 533; Muse v. Marx, 78 Colo. 90, 239 P. 881; People v. Martin, 78 Colo. 200, 240 P. 695; Cahill v. Readon, 85 Colo. 9, 273 P. 653. present case comes within the rule announced in those cases. In the circumstances, ......