Young v. State
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
| Citation | 348 So.2d 544 |
| Docket Number | 8 Div. 924 |
| Parties | Ronald Spencer YOUNG, alias v. STATE. |
| Decision Date | 26 July 1977 |
Travis W. Hardwick, Decatur, for appellant.
William J. Baxley, Atty. Gen., and James S. Ward, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
The appellant was tried and convicted under the following one count indictment (omitting formal parts):
"The Grand Jury of said County charge that before the finding of this indictment Ronald Spencer Young, alias Ron Young, alias Roy Young, alias Spencer Young, whose name is to the Grand Jury otherwise unknown, did unlawfully on to-wit: April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, obtain or attempt to obtain a quantity of Dilaudid, by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge, or by the concealment of material fact, or by giving a false address, to-wit: Route 2, Lacey's Springs, Alabama, against the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama."
Appellant filed a timely demurrer to this indictment alleging in substance that:
(1) The indictment fails to state an offense under the law of the State of Alabama;
(2) The indictment fails to inform the defendant of the nature of the offense of which he is charged (3) The indictment fails to apprise the defendant of the specific offense of which he is called upon to defend.
The trial court overruled the demurrer, and issue was joined on the plea of not guilty. We find error.
I
Title 15, §§ 247, 248, 249, Code of Alabama, 1940, authorizes alternative or disjunctive averments in criminal pleadings in three instances:
(1) "When the offense may be committed by different means, or with different intents, such means or intents may be alleged in the same count in the alternative." (§ 247)
(2) "When an act is criminal, if producing different results, such results may be charged in the same count in the alternative." (§ 248)
(3) "Where offenses are of the same character, and subject to the same punishment, the defendant may be charged with the commission of either in the same count in the alternative." (§ 249)
Where, however, two or more offenses are charged in the same count disjunctively, "each separate alternative charge must contain a substantive offense under the law, charged with that degree of certainty which our statute (Title 15, § 232, Code of Alabama, 1940) requires, namely, 'in ordinary and concise language, without prolixity or repetition, in such a manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended, and with that degree of certainty which will enable the court, on conviction, to pronounce the proper judgment.' " Noble v. State, 59 Ala. 73, 78 (Emphasis Supplied); See Mastoras v. State, 28 Ala.App. 123, 180 So. 113; Lipscomb v. State, 34 Ala.App. 421, 41 So.2d 440.
The instant indictment, in one count, contains twelve alternative charges against the appellant, anyone of which if proven would have sustained his conviction. The indictment substantially tracks the language of Title 22, § 258(47), Code of Alabama, 1940, except the offenses of possessing, selling, giving away, and furnishing a controlled substance were omitted, as were the offenses of obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by using a false name, or by forging or altering a prescription or written order. To illustrate the scope of this indictment, we list the charges it lodges against the appellant, for we must examine the indictment under the rules of common law as if it contained twelve counts. Hornsby v. State, 94 Ala. 55, 10 So. 522; See Gayden v. State, 38 Ala.App. 39, 80 So.2d 495, aff'd, 262 Ala. 468, 80 So.2d 501:
(1) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully obtain Dilaudid by fraud;
(2) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully attempt to obtain Dilaudid by fraud;
(3) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully obtain Dilaudid by deceit;
(4) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully attempt to obtain Dilaudid by deceit;
(5) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully obtain Dilaudid by misrepresentation;
(6) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully attempt to obtain Dilaudid by misrepresentation;
(7) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully obtain Dilaudid by subterfuge;
(8) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully attempt to obtain Dilaudid by subterfuge;
(9) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did unlawfully obtain Dilaudid by the concealment of a material fact;
(10) That on April 21, 1975, at or near Hartselle, Alabama, the appellant did...
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Poole v. State
...be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense."); Nelson v. State, 50 Ala.App. 285, 278 So.2d 734 (Ala.Crim.App.1973); Young v. State, 348 So.2d 544, 546 (Ala.Crim.App.1977) ("We must be ever mindful that the right of an accused to demand the nature and cause of the accusation is one of the......
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State v. Gooden
...right to due process; the defendant must fully and intelligently understand the charge to adequately prepare a defense. Young v. State, 348 So.2d 544 (Ala.Crim.App.1977). Furthermore, because the charge is derived from a criminal statute, the statute itself must be sufficiently definite and......
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Newberry v. State
...due process; the defendant must fully and intelligently understand Page 997 the charge to adequately prepare a defense. Young v. State, 348 So.2d 544 (Ala.Crim.App.1977). Furthermore, because the charge is derived from a criminal statute, the statute itself must be sufficiently definite and......
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Horton v. State, 7 Div. 84
...Under a fraud allegation, the facts which constitute the alleged fraud must be set out with reasonable particularity. Young vs. State, 348 So.2d 544 The defendant had pleaded not guilty to the indictment, but in doing so he had through his attorney reserved the right to file a demurrer to t......
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Poole v. State
...be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense."); Nelson v. State, 50 Ala.App. 285, 278 So.2d 734 (Ala.Crim.App.1973); Young v. State, 348 So.2d 544, 546 (Ala.Crim.App.1977) ("We must be ever mindful that the right of an accused to demand the nature and cause of the accusation is one of the......
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State v. Gooden
...right to due process; the defendant must fully and intelligently understand the charge to adequately prepare a defense. Young v. State, 348 So.2d 544 (Ala.Crim.App.1977). Furthermore, because the charge is derived from a criminal statute, the statute itself must be sufficiently definite and......
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Newberry v. State
...due process; the defendant must fully and intelligently understand Page 997 the charge to adequately prepare a defense. Young v. State, 348 So.2d 544 (Ala.Crim.App.1977). Furthermore, because the charge is derived from a criminal statute, the statute itself must be sufficiently definite and......
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Horton v. State, 7 Div. 84
...Under a fraud allegation, the facts which constitute the alleged fraud must be set out with reasonable particularity. Young vs. State, 348 So.2d 544 The defendant had pleaded not guilty to the indictment, but in doing so he had through his attorney reserved the right to file a demurrer to t......