State v. Paul

• Decision Date: 03 September 1918
• Docket Number: 4363
• Citation: 169 N.W. 739,41 S.D. 40
• Parties: STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOSEPH PAUL, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

41 S.D. 40

169 N.W. 739

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOSEPH PAUL,

Defendant and Appellant.

South Dakota Supreme Court

Appeal from Circuit Court, Davison County, SD

Hon. Frank B. Smith, Judge

#4363--Affirmed

Charles F. Tym, Porter & Grantham

Attorneys for Appellant.

P. A. Zollman, C. C. Caldwell, Attorney General

Attorneys for the State.

Opinion filed Sept. 3, 1918. Rehearing denied November 4, 1918

McCOY, J.

Appellant was convicted of the criminal offense of obtaining property under false pretenses, and brings the cause before this court on appeal. After conviction the appellant made motion in arrest of judgment on the ground that the information does not describe or state a public offense. The information in substance alleged that Joseph Paul, the appellant, on the 25th day of October, 1917, in the county of Davison and state of South Dakota, did willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously, with intent to cheat and defraud one Miller, obtain from one Stahl, at the request of Miller, the said Stahl then and there being indebted to said Miller, by false and fraudulent pretenses, a check drawn by said Stahl upon the Mitchell National Bank of Mitchell, S. D., in favor of said Paul, for the sum of $12 and of the value of $12, in which said bank at said time the said Stahl had sufficient money to pay said check, and that the said sum of $12 lawful money of the United States, the property of said Miller of the value of $12 was thereafter and before the beginning of this proceeding paid by said bank upon said check to the said Paul, or his assigns which check and property were obtained by false and fraudulent pretenses as follows: That at the said time and place the said Paul exhibited and showed to the said Miller a watch which he offered to sell to said Miller, and then and there falsely and fraudulently stated and represented that said watch was an Elgin watch, manufactured by the Elgin National Watch Company of Elgin, Ill., and that the case of said watch was guaranteed by said Elgin National Watch Company to be a gold-filled case, and to wear 25 years, that said watch was worth $12, and that said, Paul had sold to the jeweler Woelfel, of Mitchell, $1,200 worth of the same kind of watch, at that price, that the works in said watch contained 21 jewel's, all of which statements were believed and relied upon by said Miller, who was deceived thereby, but which statements were false and untrue, and known to be false and untrue by said Paul at said time, that said watch was not an Elgin watch, and was not made by the Elgin Watch Company of Elgin, Ill., or any other Elgin Company of Elgin, Ill., and was not of the value of $12, or other amount to exceed $3, that said works of said watch did not contain 21 jewels, or any other amount of jewels, and said case was not gold-filled, and that the said Paul never sold to said Woelfel $1,200 worth of said watches or any other amount; that said case and works are not guaranteed by the Elgin Watch Company; and that, induced by said false and fraudulent representations, the said Miller purchased said watch of said Paul, and the same was delivered to him by said Paul, and he paid said Paul therefor with the check of said Stahl drawn on said bank, and of the value of $12 as hereinabove set forth; all of...