People v. Lapique
People v. Lapique
Opinion of the Court
The defendant was convicted of forgery, and sentenced to nine years in the state prison. He appeals from the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.
1. Appellant contends that the information is insufficient, and that the demurrer thereto should have been sustained. The information charged defendant with forging an instrument in writing consisting of a promissory note for $800, purporting to be executed to one Louise Lagarde by one Maysounave, with intent to defraud the said Maysounave.
2. It is next urged that the evidence is insufficient to justify the verdict, in that it was not shown that defendant forged the signature to the note. Upon the trial Maysounave testified, in substance, that the name signed to the note in question was not signed by him or with his authority. The
4. That Maysounave was a man of some means, and the defendant knew the fact, was proper to be shown as indicating motive for the forgery. He would hardly forge the signature of a man known by him to be execution proof, if he intended to force payment by the alleged maker of the note, as it appears he attempted to do in this case. The objections to the questions as to the money in the bank to Maysounave’s credit, and as to his lodging-house being free from encumbrances, were therefore properly overruled. There was other evidence in the case tending to show that defendant knew the solvent condition of Maysounave.
5. The court instructed the jury that, “if the prosecution does not show or establish by proof sufficient to convince you beyond all reasonable doubt that the defendant had no authority to sign the name of Philip Maysounave, then you must acquit the 'defendant.” This instruction is complained of as assuming that defendant did sign the name of the complaining witness to the note. We see no such'assumption in it, even standing alone; but it does not stand- alone. The other instructions clearly imply that the jury must also be satisfied as to the false character of the signature, and that it was written by the hand of defendant. That the instructions must be read together, and so construed, has been frequently held. The prosecuting witness testified that he did not authorize anybody to sign the note for him.
6. The verdict of “guilty as charged in the information” is sufficient. By the instructions of the court, the only part of the information submitted to their consideration was the
There are some other objections urged by appellant, but, on examination, we think they are not of a character to require special discussion.
We find no prejudicial error in the record, and advise that the judgment and order appealed from be affirmed.
We concur: Haynes, C.; Smith, C.
For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion the judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.
Reference
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- PEOPLE v. LAPIQUE
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- Syllabus
- Forgery.—The Information Charged Defendant With Forging a Note purporting to have been executed to L. by M., and also with forging L.’s indorsement, and with uttering such forged instrument. At the trial the court withdrew the charges as to the indorsement and uttering, and instructed the jury to consider only the charge of forging the note itself. Held, that, the first charge being sufficient in itself, the contention of defendant on demurrer that the information was fatally defective by the insufficiency of the other charges was without merit. Forgery.—By the Withdrawal of the Alleged Defective Charges, and the instruction given to the jury that they should consider only the charge admitted to be sufficient, any error which may have been made in overruling the demurrer to the information was rendered harmless. Forgery.—On a Prosecution for Forgery, Wherein Genuine Specimens of the handwriting of defendant and of prosecuting witness were introduced, an expert on handwriting compared these exhibits, in the presence of the jury, with the signature to the note alleged to have been forged, and illustrated by drawings on a blackboard and by photographs the points of similarity and dissimilarity between them, and gave his opinion that the signature to the note was copied from the genuine signature of the prosecutor. There was evidence that defendant had had an opportunity to make such copy. Held, that, the genuineness of the signature being a question for the jury, the appellate court, not having the various examples of handwriting, blackboard illustrations and photographs before them, would not say that the evidence did not justify the jury in finding defendant guilty of forging the signature. Forgery—New Trial.—On a Prosecution for Forgery, wherein the prosecutor testified that he did not sign the note in question, and two other witnesses testified that he had admitted the signature to be genuine, newly discovered evidence that the prosecutor had admitted that the signature to the note had been placed there by himself is not ground for a new trial, since it was merely cumulative and impeaching. Forgery—Evidence of Motive.—On a Prosecution for Forgery, evidence that the party whose name was alleged to have been forged had money in bank and a house free from encumbrances, and that defendant knew him to be a man of means, is admissible to show the motive for the forgery. Forgery.—An Instruction to the Jury in a Prosecution for forgery that, “if the prosecution does not show or establish by proof sufficient to convince you beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had no authority to sign the name” of the prosecutor, “then you must acquit the defendant,” taken in connection with other instructions implying that the jury must also be satisfied as. to the false character of the signature and that it was made by defendant, is not erroneous, as assuming that defendant made the signature in question.1 Forgery—Instructions.—On a Prosecution for Forgery, under an information containing three separate charges, the first of which was sufficient, the court instructed the jury to disregard the second two charges, and to consider only the first. Held, that the jury was presumed to have obeyed the instruction of the court, and their verdict of “guilty as charged in the information” was sufficient.