102 P. 641 | Utah | 1909
The appellant was charged, tried, and convicted of the-crime of forging and uttering as genuine a certain check. The case was before this court at a former term, and the-judgment of conviction for the same offense was reversed.. (State v. Brown, 33 Utah 109, 93 Pac. 52.)
It is also contended that the court erred in admitting in evidence the articles of incorporation of the Utah Apex Mining Company, upon the ground that the said articles were not authenticated as required by our statute. In answer to this it must suffice to say that there was no dispute with respect to the corporate existence of said company. The corporate existence was not assailed in a direct proceeding, and all the state was required to do was to show that the Utah Apex Mining Company was a corporation de facto; that is, that it was reputed to be such. Although we should concede that the court erred in admitting the articles of incorporation for the reason contended for by appellant, yet in view that the evidence that the Utah Apex Mining Company was a corporation de facto was undisputed, and was in accordance with our statute and in all respects sufficient to authorize the jury to find that said company was a corporation de facto, the appellant was not prejudiced by the admission of the articles.in evidence. The record does not present a case where the jury might have been misled by alleged incompetent evidence to the prejudice of the complaining party, and hence this assignment must likewise be overruled.
Another assignment is that the undisputed evidence shows that the defendant was insane when the alleged offense was committed, and hence was legally incapacitated to commit a crime. In view of the whole evidence and the somewhat pe
The evidence against the defendant tended to establish the following facts: On May 21, 1906, at the time the alleged was committed, the defendant was in the employ of the Utah Apex Mining Company as bookkeeper and purchasing agent. He had been so employed by Mr. W. C. Orem, the general manager of said company, for about four months prior to said date. Mr. Orem was business manager or superintendent of several other mining corporations, and the defendant also assisted Mr. Orem with respect to the business affairs of such other corporations. On the 20th day of May, 1906, the defendant purchased from a certain stock broker certain stocks, the purchase price of which amounted to $9562.50, and paid therefor by giving his personal check to the broker. On the day following the broker spoke to the defendant about the matter ini the street, and informed him that the bank refused to honor the check for want of funds. The defendant said that he had omitted to deposit funds, but would do so at once, and that the matter was all right. In order to make the deposit defendant went to Mr. Orem’s office, and drew a check for $6125 and signed the cheek “Utah Apex Mining Company, by W. C. Orem,. Manager,” and also made another cheek for $3437.50, and signed the name of the Butler-Liberal Com. Mining Co. thereto. These checks were forthwith deposited by the defendant, and the bank thereupon paid his check to the broker. On the same afternoon Mr. Orem ■was telephoned to by a certain bank with respect to the Butler-Liberal Company’s check. The bank, it seems, doubted
The foregoing substantially covers the evidence offered by the state. As already indicated, the defendant made no effort either to deny or explain the acts charged against him,
Defendant, at the time the alleged offense was committed, was upwards of thirty years of age. He had lived in Salt Lake City for many years, and was well known. He had been employed in responsible positions in banks, and otherwise, for many years, and had always lived at home with his parents and brother and sisters. The testimony is all to the effect that for a period of years before the alleged offense he was more than ordinarily alert ini business affairs, and was a very competent business man. The testimony, however, shows that some of his ancestors were insane. His father’s grandmother died in an insane asylum in England, and one of his father’s grandfathers committed suicide while insane. One of the father’s sisters was also insane at one time, and the father himself was afflicted for a number of years with some mental malady. Eor about two years prior to the alleged offense the defendant exhibited marked signs of mental disturbance or breakdown. It is not practical to set forth even a small part of the testimony of the many witnesses who testified with respect to defendant’s mental aberrations. We will therefore content ourselves by giving but a mere outline of what we deem the most salient features of the testimony.
Some time prior to the alleged offense, and during the Russo-Japanese War, the defendant conceived the opinion that the Japanese people were the strongest nation on the face of the earth, and that this was due to the fact that they consumed rice as the principal part of their diet. He, therefore, insisted that his mother and sisters must prepare rice for him, and he would eat but little else. He also seemed imbued with the idea that he knew why some men, and especially the Jews, became rich. He said that this was so because they thought of and talked about money constantly, and hence money came to them; that he thenceforth would think of, talk about, and love, money, and it would come to him as it had to those who did' so. Erom this on he continually referred to money, and said that it could be obtained from the ether or air; that, he would in a short time be worth many
In detailing his conduct at the time of, and after, his arrest all the witnesses say that he did not seem to realize that he had done anything wrong; that he would insist in all apparent sincerity that he had done nothing wrong or to be ashamed of, and that'his friends and family ought to be proud of him. It is further shown that after his arrest, and before his trial, and even after having been convicted, he insisted that there was nothing to the whole matter; that he “[presumably meaning the officers] had them on the run,” or that he “had them under his thumb.” After his conviction he said that he “had them now where he wanted them; that they would now have to come to him.” It was also made to appear that during the first and the last trial he did not seem to care anything about the matter; that he was wholly indifferent with respect to the result of the case, and when, the jury found him guilty, he apparently was oblivious to what had occurred, and that he was in no way concerned.
Some of his lodge members further testified that for some years prior to 1906, when the alleged offense was committed, he arose to the highest position of trust and confidence in the
Upon the foregoing evidence the court submitted the case to the jury, upon instructions none of which are complained of here. In one instruction the court, in substance, told the jury that the defendant was presumed to be sane, and that the burden of establishing insanity by a preponderance of the evidence was upon him; but, when sufficient evidence
In view of the fact that the state made no effort to.explain or dispute the overwhelming mass of testimony introduced with respect to the defendant’s mental condition at the time of and before and subsequent to, the commission of the alleged offense, the question arises: Is there any evidence respecting the sanity of the defendant, except the legal presumption that he was sane ? The attorney-general contends that whether this presumption was overcome or not was a question of fact for the jury; and, since they have found against the defendant upon the issue, the finding is conclusive upon this court. It is further contended that this court has held that in criminal cases we cannot disturb the verdict of a jury if there is any evidence to. support it, and that the presumption constitutes such evidence. No doubt this court
The question as to whether the jury may disregard affirmative evidence tending to establish insanity, and may base their verdict wholly upon the mere legal presumption of sanity, has, so, far as we know, never been passed on by this court. No doubt the presumption of sanity
Counsel for the state contend that the jury were authorized to take into, consideration defendant’s acts and conduct before and at the time he committed the offense; that in doing what he did his acts seemed rational. In other words, that the defendant acted as others guilty of like acts ordinarily do when he committed the forgeries. Hence the jury were justified in finding him guilty. It seems to us, however, that when his acts are analyzed, they hardly support this contention. On the day preceding the forgeries, the defendant, a mere bookkeeper or clerk, without ready means, so far as the record discloses, makes a purchase of stocks worth nearly $10,000. He gives his personal check for the amount when he had no funds with which to meet the check. In order to obtain funds he has recourse to his employer’s checkbooks, and issues cheeks in a manner that any sane man, acquainted with present business methods, as defendant was, must have known that he would be detected, just as he was detected, in a very short time after issuing the cheeks. If it had been a transaction of a few dollars only, one would not ordinarily assume that there necessarily was anything wrong with defendant’s mind. But when a mere clerk, without funds, buys stock in such large amounts, one naturally ought to. inquire into the reason for such a transaction; and, when this is done, there is, there can be, but one reasonable explanation, and that is upon the hypothesis that there must have been something wrong with the actor’s mental condition!. But if we assume that defendant intended to forge the checks, which he no doubt did, this is not alone sufficient to make an insane
The jury in this case either misunderstood the court’s instructions, or misapplied them to the evidence, or wilfully or inadvertently disregarded all the evidence upon the question of insanity. While we disclaim any right to pass upon the weight of the evidence in either criminal or civil law cases, we nevertheless may not ignore the duty of determining whether the jury have entirely ignored the evidence, and for that purpose may scrutinize the evidence to ascertain whether there is any evidence in support of a material issue essential to a conviction. In this case the only defense was insanity. The state-was, nevertheless, required to prove every essential element constituting the alleged offense. True, the state in the first instance was not required to adduce any evidence that the appellant was sane, since the presumption of sanity made a ■prima facie case upon that issue. But after the appellant by an overwhelming mass of evidence, had rebutted the presumptions 'of sanity, the jury were not authorized to arbitrarily disregard the evidence of insanity, all of which was, in effect, conceded by the state to be true, and make a finding in favor of the state, based upon a presumption which had been entirely overcome. When this presumption was overcome, there was absolutely no evidence to support the verdict, for the reason that, apart from the presumption of sanity, the evidence upon this issue is all one way, and is clearly-
It is, however, asserted that the presumption still is sufficient evidence to support the verdict. As we have already .pointed out in this jurisdiction, it is the duty of the defendant to bring the defense of insanity into the case. Unless he produces sufficient evidence of insanity to overcome the presumption of sanity, the presumption prevails. While the defense of insanity may thus perhaps not be characterized as an affirmative defense, because it is included within the plea of not guilty, a mere negative, yet it partakes of that nature, for the reason that unless the defendant produces evidence in support of it the state may rely upon the presumption alone, and this presumption is, in and of itself, sufficient, unless it is overcome by sufficient affirmative evidence. It is for this reason that many of the courts, including
An insane person cannot legally be guilty of a criminal intent. By the defendant’s proof of insanity the presumption of sanity failed, and the legal capacity to commit
In conclusion we desire to add that in view of this record the trial court, before receiving the verdict, should have directed the jury’s attention to the fact that they had either misunderstood the instructions, or had wholly
The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded to, the district court, with directions to grant defendant’s motion for a new trial.