State v. Greenland

Decision Date12 July 1904
Citation125 Iowa 141,100 N.W. 341
PartiesSTATE v. GREENLAND.
CourtIowa Supreme Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal from District Court, Decatur County; H. M. Towner, Judge.

Defendant was indicted with Richard Pray and Port Woodard for the larceny of five steers and one cow belonging to one Jerry Moran. Richard Pray, being first tried, was acquitted. Greenland was then tried and convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of three years. From this sentence the defendant appeals. Affirmed.V. R. McGinnis, G. W. Baker, and Hoffman & Jackson, for appellant.

Chas. W. Mullan, Atty. Gen., Lawrence De Graff, Asst. Atty. Gen., and A. P. Olsen, Co. Atty., for the State.

McCLAIN, J.

The evidence of defendant's guilt relied on by the prosecution was wholly circumstantial, but tended to show that the other two persons indicted jointly with him were in his employment, and acted under his direction in taking at least three animals--two steers and one cow--belonging to Jerry Moran, on the morning of July 26, 1902, from a pasture in which they were kept with other animals belonging to said Jerry Moran and his brother Dennis Moran, about 2 1/2 miles north of defendant's home, and driving them along the highway to defendant's home about 5 o'clock in the morning, and putting them in with other cattle which were after breakfast on that morning driven eastward from defendant's home to the town of Van Wert, where they were loaded into a car and shipped to Chicago; the car having been engaged beforehand by Greenland. The evidence further tended to show that at the Chicago Stock Yards the cow was sold for Greenland, to be slaughtered, and the two steers, with other steers, were sold to a commission firm, from whom these two steers were purchased by an agent for one Leatherman, and shipped to him, at Rockville, Ind., where they were found by Dennis Moran and brought back to Decatur county, the county of defendant's residence. The two steers which were brought back from Indiana were identified by Jerry Moran and Dennis Moran as two of the steers which had disappeared from their pasture, and other witnesses testified as to the similarity of marks of these two steers with the marks of the steers which had disappeared from the pasture. Many witnesses were introduced by the prosecution, whose testimony, as it was claimed, tended to identify these two steers as animals taken from the Moran pasture, and driven with the other cattle from defendant's place to Van Wert, and shipped to Chicago.

It will be impossible to discuss the testimony in detail. It is contended for defendant that the case should have been taken from the jury, and a verdict directed for the defendant, on the ground that there is no evidence that these two animals, nor any others, were taken from the Moran pasture by the defendant, or under his direction. It is enough to say that the weight and sufficiency of the evidence was for the jury, and that, in our judgment, there was evidence justifying the jury in reaching the conclusion that the two animals which were brought back from Indiana had been taken from the Moran pasture under defendant's direction, and shipped away with his own cattle, and that they were animals belonging to Jerry Moran. We do not feel called upon to analyze the evidence for the purpose of testing the weight and credibility to be given to the testimony of each witness, for that was properly the function of the jury. We have no occasion to determine whether, on the testimony of the witnesses as embodied in the record, we should have been satisfied, as jurors, to find that defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That consideration was for the jurors, who heard the testimony of the witnesses and saw their conduct on the trial, and not for the judges of this court, who have before them only an abstract of the evidence. It is sufficient to say that there was ample evidence to support the verdict.

There are a few other questions, however, properly presented for our consideration, which...

To continue reading

Request your trial
1 cases

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT