Petty v. State

• Decision Date: 05 February 1912
• Citation: 143 S.W. 1067
• Parties: PETTY v. STATE.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

143 S.W. 1067

PETTY v. STATE.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

February 5, 1912.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Polk County; Jeff T. Cowling, Judge.

George Petty was convicted of weighing cotton in violation of the statute, and he appeals. Affirmed.

J. I. Alley, for appellant. Hal L. Norwood, Atty. Gen., and Wm. H. Rector, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

WOOD, J.

The Legislature of 1905 passed a special act providing for the election of a county cotton weigher for Polk and certain other counties. Sections 1 and 6 of this act were amended in 1907 to read as follows:

"Section 1. That at the next general election for state and county officers and every two years thereafter, there shall be elected in the same manner and under the same restrictions as is provided by law for the election of other officials, a county cotton weigher for the counties of Howard, Columbia, Polk, Montgomery, Nevada, White and Clark, who shall hold his office for the term of two years, or until his successor shall have been elected and qualified: Provided, the law now in force in Columbia shall remain in full force and effect in Columbia county."

"Sec. 6. Any cotton weigher elected under the provisions of this act, or any deputy appointed, shall receive as compensation for his services, ten cents for each bale of cotton weighed, and five cents for each wagon load of cotton, cottonseed, or other product that he may be called upon to weigh, and he shall make no extra charge for any kind of produce he may be called upon to weigh, said fees to be paid by the purchaser. And it is further provided, that if any person or persons, other than the said cotton weigher or his legally appointed deputy shall weigh or attempt to weigh any cotton sold or marketed in the town or village where the said cotton weigher or his legally appointed deputy keeps his scales and is acting in his official capacity, such person or persons shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than twenty five dollars ($25.00) and each bale of cotton so weighed or attempted to be weighed shall constitute a separate offense."

The indictment in this case was drawn under section 6, as amended by the act of 1907, and, omitting formal parts, is as follows: "The grand jury of Polk county, in the name and by the authority of the state of Arkansas, accuse George Petty of the crime of violating the cotton weighing law, committed as follows, to wit: The said George Petty, in the county and state aforesaid, on the 10th of November, A. D. 1910, the said George Petty, not being then and there duly elected, qualified, and acting cotton weigher, or his deputy, for Polk county, Arkansas, and not having then and there the right and authority under the law to weigh cotton sold and marketed in the town of Mena, Polk county, Arkansas, did unlawfully weigh cotton sold and marketed in the town of Mena, Polk county, Arkansas, when one J. H. Sims was then and there the duly elected, qualified, and acting cotton weigher for Polk county, Arkansas, and, having then and there his scales for the purpose of weighing cotton sold and marketed in said town of Mena, Polk county, Arkansas, the said J. H. Sims, cotton weigher as aforesaid, was then and there acting in his official capacity as such cotton weigher, and attempted to weigh cotton sold and marketed in the town of Mena, Polk county, Arkansas, as aforesaid, all of which the said George Petty, then and there well knew, against the peace and dignity of the state of Arkansas."

A demurrer to the indictment was overruled and exceptions saved. A plea of not guilty being entered by the defendant, the cause proceeded to trial.

It was in evidence and undenied that J. H. Sims was the duly elected, qualified, and acting cotton weigher for Polk county, and had scales, situated in the town of Mena, for the purpose of weighing cotton. It is also undenied that George Petty bought cotton and weighed it in the town of Mena, where official scales were situated.

The appellant testified, in substance, as follows: "I am the defendant. I have no recollection of weighing any cotton myself; but my clerks and employés weighed cotton on my scales. There was no cotton weighed by them on my scales, except my own cotton, after I had already bought and branded it. I bought it before it was weighed, and settlement was to be made according to my scales. I reweighed some that had been weighed by Mr. Sims. I already had scales located at this place long before there was a weigher, or even scales established by him. Sims had his scales about 120 feet from the platform, and the people had to come with their cotton and wait for Sims to weigh it, and reload it on the wagon and carry it to the railroad platform, before any of the men...