60 N.J.L. 552 | N.J. | 1897
Michael Eyan was convicted in the Court of General' Quarter Sessions of the JPeace of the county of Bergen, upon an indictment based on the act of March 30th, 1888 '{Gen. 8tdt, p. 1097, 254), which'indictment reads as follows:
“ Bergen county, to wit: The grand inquest of the State of New Jersey, in and for the county of Bergen, upon their respective oaths, present, that-Michael Eyan, Edward Lyons and Charles Adams, late of the township of Union, in the said county of Bergen, on the seventh day of March, in the year'of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-live, and on diyers other days and times between that day and the twenty-fourth day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, with force and arms at the township aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction of this court, did keep and maintain a certain house, and in the said house, on the said day and on the said other days and times were then and there unlawfully, feloniously, willfully, corruptly and with evil intent engaged in a certain .illegal and unlawful- scheme and device, and in furtherance of the said illegal and'unlawful scheme and device the said Michael Eyan, Edward Lyons and Charles Adams, were then and there unlawfully, willfully, feloniously, corruptly and with .evil intent engaged in and aiding, assisting and abetting in offering and purporting to offer for sale, exchange and distribution to one Hugh Mullins and divers other persons whose names are unknown' to this grand inquest certain counterfeit coin, paper money and other token of value, commonly called green articles, green coin, paper goods, bills, green paper goods, green goods, business that is not legitimate, cigars and green cigars, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace of this state, the government and dignity of the same.” '
Upon writ of error the Supreme Court affirmed such conviction and the judgment of affirmance is now before this court. ■
We are asked to review the trial under the act of May 9th, 1894 (Gen. Stat., p. 1154, pi. 170), which enacts that “the entire record of the proceedings had upon the trial of any criminal cause may be returned by the plaintiff in error therein with the writ of error, and when so returned shall, form a part thereof, and on the argument such entire record shall be considered and adjudged by the appellate court.” The language of this statute is not technical. The record intended is a written history of the proceedings at the trial including the evidence adduced. No provision is made for authentication of this record unless one is implied by the direction that it shall be “returned.” A fair construction of the statute is that the plaintiff may cause this record to be returned by the trial court. It certainly must, in some way, be authenticated, and we see no other satisfactory way than by that court’s certificate.- Proper practice would seem to be for the plaintiff in error to require in his writ this so-called record, which will naturally then be embraced in the court’s return. In the present case, there was furnished merely a written stipulation by the attorneys that the printed book, contains a correct report of the evidence taken at the trial and"copies of the exhibits. We regard this as insufficient to bring the statute into operation.
The decision of the cause, therefore,'must turn on the bills of exceptions. The Supreme Court refused to consider exceptions- to testimony declared in that court to be “reprehensible.” The reason given -for such refusal was that the inference to be drawnfrom the several bills of exceptions must be that the defendant’s objections were made to the questions and answers, i. e., 'to answers that were responsive to illegal questions to. which no objection was made at the time of asking. If such must be the inference, the conclusion of the court was
The general rule is that the state may not, for the purpose of showing that a defendant would be likely to commit the crime charged against him, prove that he had committed other crimes, although of like nature. Clark v. State, 18 Vroom 556, 558. Upon the trial of a person for one crime, evidence that he has been guilty of other crimes is irrelevant. Meyer v. State, 30 Id. 310; Parks v. State, Id. 573; Leonard v. State, ante p. 8. There are exceptions to this rule, most of which are well summarized by Mr. Justice Dixon in the case of State v. Raymond, 24 Id. 260, 264. The testimony now being considered comes within none of them, nor within any other that I have been able to find.
The judgment of the Bergen Sessions and. that of the Supreme Court affirming it must be. reversed.
For affirmance—None. • -
For reversal—The Chief Justice, Collins, Djepue Dixon, Gummere, Ludlow, Adams, Bog-ert, Hendrickson, Nixon. 10. .