66 Fla. 358 | Fla. | 1913
An information was filed in the Court of Record of Escambia County at the July Term, 1913, against the plaintiff in error and four others, on which a capias was issued and the plaintiff in error was arrested. On his petition alleging that he was in custody and deprived of his liberty without authority of law, the wrii of Hateas Corpus was issued. The sheriff answered that he detained the petitioner under the authority of the capias and attached as an exhibit to his return the information on which the capias issued. There was a motion to quash the return, which was overruled, and the petitioner was remanded to custody. A writ of error was allowed to this court, returnable on the 14th of October, 1913.
The second count charges that the same persons on the same day did agree, conspire, combine and confederate together to fraudulently falsify certain books and proceedings belonging to a public office within this State, to-wit, the registration books, and the registration and exemption certificates of and belonging to the office of the Registration Officer of the City of Pensacola, Florida, by then and there agreeing, conspiring, etc., to falsely, place
The third count is as follows: “And your informant-aforesaid, prosecuting as aforesaid, upon his oath aforesaid, further information makes, that Frank Maura, Frank R. Pou, Wallace G. Kennedy, John G. Rupert and George Andrews, of the County of Escambia, in the State aforesaid, on the 3rd day of April, A. 13. 1913, at and in the county of Escambia aforesaid, did then and there corruptly falsify a record, to-wit, the registration book of election District No. 13, of the City of Pensacola, Florida, by then and there corruptly and falsely placing and entering upon said registration book, as voters of the City of Pensacola, the names of H. E. Eldridge, Ben Skipper and W. H. Hammac, when in truth and in fact said persons last named did not then and there appear before-the Registration Officer of the City of Pensacola and fake the oath required by law, and were not eligible to register as voters of said City of Pensacola, by reason of their not possessing the qualifications required by law to entitle ihem to register as such voters, against the form of the statute,” etc.
The other counts chai;ge other acts by the petitioner and others alleged to be falsifications of the registration books in Pensacola, but we have sufficiently presented the charges so tha t the questions which have been raised may be understood' and disposed of. It is admitted by the plaintiff in eraor that the information charges violations of the provisions of Section 3183 of the General Statutes of 1906, and conspiracies to violate said section. Without
Plaintiff in error presents but two objections to this proceeding. It is contended, first, that Section 3483 General Statutes of 1906, was first enacted in 1832, and that at that time there was no such thing as a registration officer, or a registration book for the City of Pensacola, and therefore the Legislative intent in passing the statute did not embrace the offenses alleged in the information. The rule of strict construction applicable to criminal statutes is invoked to sustain this contention.
Under Chapter 5533 Acts of 1905, and of Chapter 5832 Acts of 1907, and Chapter 6087 Acts of 1909, the registration of the qualified electors of Pensacola, and the keeping of the registration books by a registration officer, are amply provided for, and such books are public records. Section 3483 General Statutes of 1906, has been the law of Florida since its original adoption. We know of no principle of law, and none is cited to us, which would exclude from its operation criminal acts embraced in its language, simply because the conditions giving rise to such acts, did not exist when the statute'was originally passed. If such a construction were indulged, the statute would not apply to the records of Criminal Courts of Record and other courts which have been created since 1832.
The judgment below is affirmed.