Estes v. State
Estes v. State
Opinion of the Court
This defendant was tried in the Criminal Court of Fulton County on a nine-count indictment charging him with carrying on nine separate lotteries on specific dates. On his conviction of each count, nine separate consecutive sentences were imposed. His exception is to the judgment of the Superior Court of Fulton County overruling his petition for certiorari which contained, among others, an assignment of error contending -that the verdicts are contrary to the evidence. This case differs from the usual single-count lottery indictment where if it is shown that in the. county of venue, there are lotteries in continuous operation in which various
The evidence here showed sales made on each of the dates alleged in the indictment by an employee of the defendant which, as to each of those dates, established the elements of consideration and chance. Nowhere in the evidence, however, does it appear that the, prize, the third element of the scheme, was separate as to each of the dates alleged in each of the counts of the indictment. So far as can be determined from the evidence,.there may not have been more than one prize involved. There being nine counts in the indictment upon which the defendant was convicted, the evidence must show, in order to be sufficient to support the verdict as to each count, nine prizes. Evidence appears as to the manner in which this particular type of lottery was operated in this locality showing that chances are sold by employees of the operators on prizes to be determined by certain parts of numbers to be taken from the totals of stock and bond market sales as the same may appear in a future publication of a newspaper. The evidence here fails to show from which future publication the, prize numbers were to' be selected for the chances sold on behalf of the defendant. Had it shown a separate publication from which the prize number would be selected as to each count in the indictment, and had it shown that chances were, sold on behalf of the defendant relating to each such prize, then the evidence would support the indictment as to each of the nine counts on which the defendant was convicted. The evidence here is sufficient to show the elements of consideration, chance and prize generally, but not so as to show a complete lottery related to> any count. It
The State relies on Martin v. State, 73 Ga. App. 573 (37 S. E. 2d 411) and Smith v. State, 74 Ga. App. 777 (41 S. E. 2d 541) in support of its contention that this case ought to be affirmed. 1 There is nothing in those cases in conflict with what is here held. Those opinions hold that separate counts may be predicated on the keeping of separate lotteries in the same indictment, and this we reaffirm here. However, it has always been the law that where separate counts are contained in an indictment the evidence must be sufficient as to< each count and must be sufficient to show that the several counts relate to distinct transactions. Nine separate lotteries having been alleged to have been carried on by the defendant, and the defendant having been convicted for these nine separate and distinct crimes, the evidence in order to be. sufficient to support the verdict must show a separate crime as to each conviction; otherwise, a defendant may be convicted more than once for the same offense in violation of art. I, sec. I, par. VIII of our Constitution (Code, Ann., § 2-108).
The remaining assignments of error are not likely to recur upon another trial of this case, or are without merit.
The judge of the superior court erred in overruling the petition for certiorari.
Judgment reversed.
Concurring Opinion
concurring specially: Willie Harrison Estes (hereinafter called the defendant) was tried before a jury in the Criminal Court of Fulton County on nine counts of operating a lottery. Count 1 reads: “The grand jurors . . . charge and accuse William Harrison Estes alias Willie Estes with the offense of misdemeanor (lottery) for that said accused, in the County of Fulton and State of Georgia, on the 18th day of February, 1957, with force and arms, did keep, maintain, and operate a lottery known as the number game, for
Judge Bruce of the Criminal Court of Fulton County filed his answer to the petition for a writ of certiorari. The defendant filed exceptions to the answer substantially to' the effect that the answer was not full and complete.. Judge Bruce filed an amendment to his answer substantially as follows: (1) Respondent certifies to the fact that written requests to charge were presented to him within the. statutory time; (2) Respondent approves as true and correct the allegations that the petitioner “has complied with all the requirements of law, he has given bond in the amount assessed by the trial judge, which bond has been attested, accepted and approved by the clerk of said court.”
The Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County refused to enter an order sustaining the. exceptions of the defendant and overruled the defendant’s petition for a writ of certiorari. It is on exception to this judgment of the Superior Court of Fulton County that the case is here for review.
The evidence shows substantially: John Hopkins, a witness for the State, testified substantially that during the time the defendant was accused of playing the numbers game he was an investigator in the office of the Solicitor-General of the Criminal Court of Fulton County; that he is familiar with the lottery known as the number game; that he had been with the county at that time approximately 14 years; that during that time he became familiar with the lottery known as the number game through making arrests of people charged with lottery, trying
Jake Phillips testified that he has been in the lottery business as a pickup man in 1953 for Mr. Horace Ingram; that he went to work for Willie Estes in 1953 and has worked continuously until the last of March 1957; that he would start at 6 in the morning picking up numbers until around 1, then take them to the Odd Fellows Building and turn them in to Willie Estes or another fellow known as the station man; that the witness was supposed to get ten percent for his work; that he had several hits and Willie would pay him; that he would then give the money to the winning person; that he was arrested twice while he was a pickup man for the defendant Estes and that Estes got him out on bond; that one time when he was arrested he took the bond money out of the money he had collected that day and turned the other money over to -the defendant Estes. The witness testified: “Specifically, I was engaged as a pickup man in this lottery operation known as the number game for the defendant Willie Estes here, on February 18th of this year, on February 19th, February 20th, February 21st, February 26th, February 27th, February 28th, and on the 1st of March 1957.” The witness further testified that he was a pickup man for Catherine. Clark.
Catherine Clark testified that she knew the defendant as far back as 25 years ago; that she had been engaged in the lottery known as the number game since 1955, as a writer; that she would take bets from people and that after they were all written down for a certain day she would put them somewhere and in
J. W. Gilbert testified on behalf of the State that the defendant signed bonds for lottery operators and when questioned as to why the defendant was so interested in signing the bonds the defendant said if the lottery business was closed out “you all are fixing to put 15,000 people out of work.”
Dorris Austin, a probation officer, testified that the. defendant gave Catherine Clark some money.
The defendant stated that he had never been in the lottery business and that he. befriended Catherine Clark and others.
1. Code § 26-6501 reads: “Any person who, either^by himself or his agent, shall sell or offer for sale, or procure for or furnish to any person any ticket, number, combination, or chance, or anything representing a chance, in any lottery, gift enterprise, or other similar scheme or device, whether such lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme shall be operated in this State or not, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Code § 26-6502 reads: “Any person who, by himself or another, shall keep, maintain, employ, or carry on any lottery or other scheme or device for the hazarding of any money or valuable thing, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
For emphasis I here reiterate part of the testimony of the witness Phillips who testified that Phillips went to work for the defendant Willie Estes in 1953 and worked for him continuously until the last of March 1957; that he would start at
Under the allegations of the petition and the evidence appertaining thereto it is my opinion that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the verdict under all the counts. It has been many times held that a defendant may be convicted on proof that he did any of the several acts concerned in carrying on the gambling device known as lottery. The transaction need not be completed. In Dodys v. State, 73 Ga. App. 311, 316 (36 S. E. 2d
The majority opinion relies on Williams v. State, 65 Ga. App. 843 (16 S. E. 2d 769). That case can not be the basis for the reversal of the instant case, in my opinion, because in that case the conviction of the defendant was not upheld by this court because the officer wlm played the machine, testified that “he received no prize of any kind, saw no one else receive any prize, and did not know that the machines would automatically pay off in coins or other things of value, although one of them, he could not recall which, was constructed with two-coin compartments, and a place for coins to come out, and the officer did not know that it was operated so that coins would come out.” On page 844 of Williams v. State, supra, in addition to what I have quoted hereinabove, the court said: “Under the statute now under consideration it is unlawful to maintain, keep, employ and carry on a ball machine, or other device operated similarly to such described slot machines. But the evidence in -the instant case was insufficient to so classify the device here involved.” It will thus be seen that the court specifically held that the Williams case was not binding authority for an appellate court to hold that it was legal to “maintain, keep, employ and carry on a ball machine, or other device operated similarly .- '. .”
While it is not necessary to allege and prove violation of the lottery law by actual operation, as stated in the majority opinion, and as shown in Elder v. Camp, 193 Ga. 320, supra, cited in the majority opinion (and by other cases cited in this special concurrence and by cases not cited by the special concurrence or by the majority opinion) in the instant case there was positive testimony that the numbers racket was in operation and being participated in by the defendant on all the days alleged in the indictment.
Under all the evidence in the instant case and in many other cases where we have upheld conviction of a defendant for par
It will thus be seen that the indictment charged the defendant with participating on each and every separate day that the stock market was in operation from February 19 through March 1, 1957, both inclusive. The evidence shows that the bets were placed, the papers show that the stock market totals were printed and there is no reason for this court not to1 assume that each separate day the betting was started and completed (even if completion was necessary). The evidence shows conclusively
Moreover, there are a number of cases pertinent to the case at bar which were decided before the creation of the Court of Appeals (Yol. 1 of the Court of Appeals Reports shows that the first case was decided by the Court of Appeals on January 11, 1907). In Thomas v. State, 118 Ga. 774, 775 (45 S. E. 622) (decided before the creation, of the Court of Appeals) the Supreme Court said in passing upon a lottery case: “As the statute makes penal the keeping, maintaining, or carrying on such a device, it was sufficient to show the keeping or maintenance of such a scheme, without going further and proving an actual drawing.”
The majority opinion is attempting to say that the stock market totals for the day must appear on the day the indictment accuses the defendant of participating in the operation of the lottery. This is diametrically opposite to' what even the majority opinion admits, that an actual drawing need not be proven. If the majority opinion is making certain of the figures covering the total stock and bond sales of each day an essential element of proof of participation in the lottery, to my mind this is tantamount to saying that the actual drawing must be proven on each day. So far as I can see from the record now before me, there was an actual drawing on each day even though such need not be proved, as has been many times held.
In Morgan v. State, 119 Ga. 964 (3) (47 S. E. 567) (also decided before the creation of the Court of Appeals) the Supreme Court said: “A person may commit but one offense of carrying a weapon concealed upon his person, although he carries it thus concealed from place to place and in the presence of different people at the different places; but whenever the continuity of the act constituting the offense -is broken, that particular offense is at an end, and another like offense is committed when the weapon is again concealed by him upon his person.” On page 965 of that same opinion the court said: “The defendant had a pistol concealed in his pocket on the day charged ini the indictment, in the presence of the person named in the present bill of
The majority opinion has attempted to differentiate this case from the ruling which I am making in my concurring opinion by phraseology quoting excerpts only from that case and attempting to make such apply to the facts of the instant case. I have gone extensively into the ruling in Morgan v. State, 119 Ga. 964, supra. Certainly if two offenses of carrying concealed weapons
In Loomis v. State, 78 Ga. App. 153 (51 S. E. 2d 13) the defendant was accused in five counts all of which contain substantially the following language: In that he did unlawfully, without authority, exercise and attempt to exercise the functions of a policeman and police officers, to wit: The Chief of Police of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, a municipal corporation. (Count 5 substitues Sheriff of Fulton County in lieu of Chief of Police of the City of Atlanta). Each count alleges a usurping of police powers at various points in Atlanta, Georgia. This court upheld the trial court in convicting the defendant on all counts. The Supreme Court denied certiorari. It appears that the offense in each count was substantially the same.
In Bryan v. State, 120 Ga. 201, 202 (47 S. E. 574) (also decided before the creation of the Court of Appeals) Judge Lamar said in speaking for the court: “The words ‘keep’ and ‘maintain’ are frequently used as synonymous, but if under the Penal Code, § 398, the offense may be committed by keeping or maintaining or by keeping and maintaining, proof that he had been guilty of either of the prohibited acts would sustain a charge that he had kept and maintained.” (Italics mine). From these decisions it will be readily seen that the defendants there were convicted on counts charging the defendants with committing the same crime on different days. The defendant in the instant case committed a. crime with each act committed on each day and the evidence is sufficient to1 convict him of participating in the lottery known as the number game contrary to the provisions of the Code prohibiting the operation of the lottery.
If, as is testified to by a witness in the case at bar, 15,000 people will be out of work should this case be decided against them, it is reasonable to assume that if this case is decided in favor of the defendant that the number of people entering into and operating the numbers racket will noticeably increase since it will be much harder to prove participation than it has been
Smith v. State, 74 Ga. App. 777 (41 S. E. 2d 541) holds exactly the contrary to the interpretations put on this case by the majority opinion. The' original record in that case shows that the defendant, upon trial, was found guilty on six counts alleging participation in -the operation of the lottery under each of the counts. There was no difference in the counts—in fact they were identical except as to the dates. In that case on page 788 this court said in regard to special ground 12: “This ground assigns error because the court charged the jury that each count of the indictment alleged a separate and distinct offense, whereas the defendant contends that there was only one offense charged in the fifteen counts. This contention has been decided adversely to the contentions of the defendant in the case of Martin v. State, 73 Ga. App. 573 (4-8) (37 S. E. 2d 411). The indictment in the instant case was drawn in the main in the language used in the Martin case. The court did not err in overruling this ground of the petition for certiorari.”
In Martin v. State, 73 Ga. App. 573 (referred to in Smith v. State, supra) this court said: “3. The first count in the accusation charged a misdemeanor, as follows: ‘That -the said Wesley Barron, alias Fred Martin, in said County of Fulton, on the 16th day of August, 1943, did keep, maintain, and operate a lottery known as the number game, for the hazarding of money; the date herein alleged being an essential averment as to this transaction; contrary to the laws of said State, the peace, good order and dignity thereof.’ . . . Each of the other 14 counts in the accusation is the same, except that each alleges a different date, and each of course alleges that such date is ‘an essential averment as to this transaction,’ alleged in the particular count.
“4. With regard to similar misdemeanors covering a period of time within the statute of limitations, which is two years, the prosecution may elect to charge a particular offense at a particular time, or charge a general offense which would cover in one count the whole period of two years prior to the filing of the accusation, and proof of the commission of the misdemeanor on any date within two- years prior to the filing of the
“5. The prosecution here elected to charge a particular congruous offense at a particular time in each count, and the words in each count, ‘the date herein alleged being an essential averment as to this transaction,’ make the date in each count essential to identify the particular transaction described in that count.
“6. Such averments in each count distinguish the offense charged therein from all the other offenses charged in the other counts of the indictment on the other particular days alleged in such other counts. . .
“8. Under an accusation in the form in which this was drawn, there is no one day common to two counts, and the accusation does not charge a general offense; but each count charges a particular offénse, and when the defendant is convicted on each of the 15 counts, 15 punishments as for a misdemeanor may be inflicted.”
To the same effect see: Hudgins v. State, 22 Ga. App. 242 (95 S. E. 875); Cook v. State, 22 Ga. App. 789 (97 S. E. 258); Williams v. State, 8 Ga. App. 583 (70 S. E. 47).
I think I might assume that the lottery racket is not operated by idiots. The operators have at least brains enough not to go around collecting money and go through the whole process on a day when there would be no way of determining the manner of winning. Why should they do this? The players would soon catch on and stop playing.
There is no- record, so far as my research has been able to determine, where an indictment for the numbers racket has ever been drawn covering a day when there was no stock market report. I have searched the Georgia Reports and Georgia Appeals Reports records and I have checked the days on old calendars and have checked covering indictments alleging lottery o-peration on specific days and find that each and every day the stock market was in operation, as shown by published returns. Even in England where they let the hogs root for truffles they take the muzzles off occasionally and let the hogs
There is no merit to the contentions regarding paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of the petition for certiorari, which refer to the evidence.
2. Paragraph 4 subparagraph (a) of the petition for certiorari contends that the verdict was contrary to law, and contrary to the evidence in that the witness Jake Phillips was impeached by proof of conviction of a felony, a crime involving moral turpitude, and he was not corroborated by creditable evidence. . This was clearly a question for determination by the jury under the record of this case. See Brown v. State, 10 Ga. App. 50 (72 S. E. 537). It must be kept in mind that even if a witness is successfully impeached it is a jury question as to whether his testimony has been corroborated. Moreover, a jury has a right to believe the testimony of a witness, even though impeached, and even in the absence of any corroboration. See Brown v. State, supra. See also Powell v. State, 101 Ga. 9 (5) (29 S. E. 309, 65 Am. St. R. 277); Hudgins v. State, 7 Ga. App. 785 (68 S. E. 336); Chatham v. State, 8 Ga. App. 842 (70 S. E. 188) and Calhoun v. State, 17 Ga. App. 515 (87 S. E. 762). This assignment of error is not meritorious.
Paragraph 4 subparagraph (b) of the petition contends that the court erred in admitting testimony of a witness for the State, John Hopkins, such testimony being to the effect that on February 18, 1957, and on other dates set out in the indictment there was a lottery known as the number game being carried on in Fulton County. Counsel for the defendant objected to the testimony on the ground that it is a conclusion, an opinion, and not supported by cross-examination of the witness, when the witness swears that he does not know of one single person engaged in the lottery business on that date. The court overruled the motion to strike this testimony. The witness Hopkins did not accuse the defendant in the testimony of the witness. Almost the identical question was passed upon in Mills v. State, 71 Ga. App. 353, supra, wherein this court, after setting up al
Paragraph 4 subparagraph (c) of the petition for certiorari assigns error because it is alleged that the court expressed an opinion regarding evidence that the defendant gave Catherine Clark, a witness for the State, $150 to pay on a fine for her. Counsel for the defendant moved to strike the question regarding such payment as being a leading question propounded to Catherine Clark as to such payment. The court ruled that the question propounded at that time was a repetition of a previous question to which no objection was made by counsel for the defendant. Catherine Clark testified that she was engaged in the lottery game as a writer, that Phillips paid off most of the time but that the defendant paid off two or three times; that she was arrested, a $300 fine was imposed against her; that her husband and her nephew paid $150 of the fine and “Mr. Estes let me have the other $150.” No objection was made to this testimony, but immediately following this testimony the solid-
Paragraph 4 subparagraph (d) assigns error because it is alleged that the court erred in refusing to grant a mistrial because of improper, inflammatory, and prejudicial argument to the jury by the solicitor which counsel for the defendant interpreted as an attempt on, the part of the solicitor to put the character of the defendant in issue. The solicitor invited testimony to show that the defendant was in any other business other than the lottery game and this is what counsel for the defendant objected to as being prejudicial. The court denied the motion for a mistrial and instructed the jury as follows: “I instruct you gentlemen to disregard altogether the statement of the solicitor to the effect that you have just heard stated into the record again by the solicitor in order that the court may understand exactly what the objection points to. What the solicitor has said has no bearing on any of the issues in this case and must be absolutely disregarded in toto by you gentlemen.” See Dorsey v. State, 204 Ga. 345, 351 (49 S. E. 2d 886) wherein the Supreme Court said: “Ground nine of the amended motion complains of the following argument of counsel for the State: ‘Gentlemen of the jury, this defendant did not produce a single witness to back him up on his claim of innocence. If he had not been guilty, he could have gotten somebody to testify for him.’ The defendant in his statement to the jury said, ‘Everyone that knows me knows that I would not do a thing like that . . . I have worked for Mr. Collier about three years. . . he knows I would not do a thing like that. I worked at Davison-
Paragraph 4 subparagraph (e) assigns error because it is alleged that the court erred in refusing to grant a mistrial because of certain testimony of the defendant regarding a conversation with an investigator when the defendant’s participation in the lottery game was under consideration. The investigator testified' that the defendant came to him and discussed the charges against the defendant regarding the defendant’s participation in the lottery game and in the course of the conversation the investigator asked the defendant how he had put up bond money for lottery worker’s if he, the defendant, was not connected with the operation of the lottery game also, that it looked as if many of the defendant’s friends were connected with operating the lottery game. The investigator said that the defendant told him that the solicitor’s office was about to put “fifteen thousand people out of work if you break up the lottery” and that the defendant then just “went all to pieces.” After reading all the evidence on this point I cannot see that this conversation is of major importance and that any discussion of it by the court did not harm the defendant. Of course, the court had no right to clarify the evidence, and he did not do so. This assignment of error is not meritorious.
Paragraph 4 subparagraph (f) assigns error because it is alleged that the court erred in failing to give ini charge the essential ingredients necessary to constitute the offense of operating a lottery, after the court was requested in writing to so charge. When I read the charge of the court as a whole, it seems to. me that the charge covered every necessary phase of the case, in view of the pleadings and the evidence before the court. This assignment is not meritorious.
Paragraph 4 subparagraph (g) assigns error in that it is al
It is my opinion that the court did not err in any of the rulings, except in one particular and that is this: The evidence in the instant case does not show that on any specific day bets which were taken, recorded and turned in to the defendant by the witnesses were bets as to the outcome of market reports on that same day.
It is my opinion that in the trial of a case of lottery on a multiplicity of counts alleging and involving different dates, unless the State proves the date of the drawing for each day alleged in each count of the indictment, the evidence will not show a completed crime for each day shown in the indictment.
I have made this special concurrence somewhat lengthy because I felt that it was necessary to- show that the instant case brings up one point (covered in the, two- paragraphs immediately hereinabove) which has never been brought up before and that one thing makes this case different from all other cases herein-
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