Hendry v. State
Hendry v. State
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff in error was indicted, tried and convicted of the larceny of cows, the property of one Adam Mercer, and sentenced to the penitentiary for •one year. Two assignments of error are insisted on for a reversal of the judgment; the first being the rejection of certain testimony sought to be elicited by plaintiff in error from the witness, Ziba King, and the second, relating to the sufficiency of the evidence to .sustain the verdict.
Ziba King, testifying for the prosecution, stated that he ran a butcher shop at Punta Grorda, and that some-dime in May, 1894, defendant delivered to him at his butcher shop in DeSoto county, about nineteen head •of cattle, and among them were six or seven in the mark and brand of Adam Mercer; that witness knew the mark and brand of Mercer, and defendant stated at the time of the delivery of the cattle that he was authorized to sell them. Witness bought the cattle from defendant and paid him for seventeen head, most
We have entertained some misgivings as to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict, but after a careful examination have concluded that it is of such a nature, when viewed in an unfavorable light against the accused, as to sustain the conviction. The credibility of witnesses, in case of conflict, we leave to the .settlement of the jury; nor can we say how much ••credence must be given to the evidence of the
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John Hendry, alias Tobe Hendry, in Error v. The State of Florida, in Error
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. In the prosecution of an accused for larceny of cattle a witness-for the prosecution who stated that he was familiar with the rules and customs of stock men in the county in which the crime was alleged to have been committed was asked on cross-examination if it had not been the custom among cattle owners of the county for many years to drive to market and-sell the cattle of their neighbors -when they were on fiiendiy terms with each other, without any special authority for so doing, and with the understanding that they would be paid by the men who drove the cattle such price as they could obtain for them in the market, with or without a reasonable-compensation for the driving, and, on objection by the State, the question was excluded. Held, That it not having beeu made to appear, and there being no offer to show, that the-accused was a cattle owner in ihe county on friendly terms with the owner of the cattle alleged to have been stolen, or in any situation to avail himself of the custom sought to be proven, there was no error in the ruling. 2. There can be no legal custom to justify one man in stealing the property of another, as such a custom would be contrary to law and bad. •3. The testimony examined and held to be sufficient to sustain the verdict.