20 S.D. 562 | S.D. | 1906
The information upon which the defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to imprisonment for life contains the following allegations: “That on the ioth day of August, A. D. 1905, at the township of Goodwill, in the county of Roberts, and state of South Dakota, Zach Flute, being then and there a human being, did then and there feloniously, without authority of law, and with premeditated design to effect the death of one Edward Peterson, the person killed, did then and there with a shotgun which was then and there loaded with powder and leaden bullets, and by him, the said Zach Flute had and held in both his hands, he the said Zach Flute did then and there feloniously and of his deliberately premeditated malice aforethought, shoot off and discharge at and upon and against the body of the said Edward Peterson, thereby and by thus striking the said Edward Peterson, with said leaden bullets, inflicting on and in the neck and back one or more mortal wounds, and did him the said Edward Peterson, then and there, and thereby unlawfully, feloniously, without authority of law, and with premeditated design-to effect the death of said Edward Peterson, mortally wound, from which mortal wounds so made as aforesaid, the said Edward Peterson then and there died, being then and there a human being, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and
It is contended that the facts stated do not constitute a public offense, because it is not alleged “that the defendant ever discharged at Peterson the loaded gun which it is averred that Flute held in his. hands.”. It is• now generally held, in pursuance of statutory provisions. that a statement of the acts constituting the offense in plain, concise, and intelligible language is all that is required so long as the defendant is not misled, and that incorrectness of grammatical construction will not vitiate an information where the meaning of the charge remains clear, 10 Ency. Pl. & Pr. 477; State v. Turlington, 102 Mo. 642, 15 S. W. 141. In this state all the forms of pleading-in criminal actions, and rules by which the sufficiency of pleadings, is to be determined, are those prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure. Rev. Code Cr. Proc. § 219. “The indictment or information must contain: (1) The title of' the action, specifying the name of the court-to which the indictment is presented, and file-names of the parties. (2) A statement of the acts constituting the offense, in ordinary-and concise' language, and in such manner as to enable a person of coihmon understanding to know what is intended.” Id. § 221. ‘It is sufficient if the statement of the acts constituting- the offense “is clearly and distinctly set forth in ordinary and concise language, without repetition, and in such a manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended.” Id. § 229, subd. 6. "No indictment or information is insufficient, nor can-the trial, judgment or other proceedings thereon be affected, by reason of a defect or imperfection in matter of form, which does not tend to the prejudice'of the substantial rights of the defendant upon the merits.'” -Id. 230. The principal office of an information is to inform the accused of the “nature and cause of the accusation against him”; to be thus informed being one of his most important constitutional rights. State Const, art. 6; § 7. The required object cannot be better attained than by stating the acts. Constituting the alleged offense “in ordinary and concise languge, without repetition, and in such a manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended.” , Our rules of pleading in criminal actions are simple, sensible, and cleárly consti
There are no other assignments of error.
The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.