Cox v. Commonwealth
Cox v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The defect complained of in the indictment should have been taken advantage of by demurrer. The judgment will not be arrested when a public offense is charged. To steal hogs is larceny, and the guilty party is subjected to punishment. If the offense is not stated with that particularity to make it a good indictment the accused must demur. The facts as stated, if true, make the party guilty of a criminal offense; and it is only in a case where the indictment fails to charge any offense that the motion to arrest the judgment can be sustained. The evidence conduces to show that the hogs strayed from the possession of the alleged owner. The court, in Instruction No. 5, assumes that the hogs were stolen, and the abstract proposition of law, as there presented, requires the accused to explain his possession or his guilt is established. It also directs the attention of the jury more particularly to this cir
Judgment reversed and cause remanded with directions to award the appellant a new trial.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.