Commonwealth v. Beauman
Commonwealth v. Beauman
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The most important question submitted to us is whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction. The facts as narrated by the Commonwealth’s witnesses are as follows: George Kohlcheck, a Hungarian, has a store in Coatesville. One of the defendants, Beauman, came to his place of business and told that his name was Vardy and wanted to know if there was any Hungarian who came from the same town in Europe as he, Kohlcheck, did. The next morning Beau-
It is assigned as an error that the court allowed the bags which were found in the rooms occupied by those defendants to be shown in evidence with their contents. It appears that these three bags were in the two rooms when they were taken away by the police and that the two rooms were occupied by the defendants and used by them indiscriminately. We can see no reason why the court could have ruled these out because assuredly these men exercised dominion over the bags and the fact that the suit case was contained in the same rooms would be some evidence that it belonged to them and was in their possession.
We can see no error in the admission of the testimony of Detective Gomborrow who was a member of the police force of the City of Philadelphia. He was called upon to explain the use of the device which was found in the dress suit case. The jury by a mere inspection could not have knowledge of it. Certainly if such a device is found in the possession of a person charged with a crime, the use the device is put to, may be explained by some one having a technical knowledge of it.
As far as the objection made to the charge of the court, we can find no merit in it. The court is charged with having expatiated upon the Commonwealth’s testimony at great length and made briefer reference to the defense. There is no rule which requires the court to
All of the assignments are overruled, the judgment is affirmed and the record remitted to the court below and it is ordered that the defendants appear in the court below at such time as they may there be called and that they be by that court committed until they have complied with the sentence or any part of it which had not been performed when the appeal in this case was made a supersedeas.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Commonwealth v. Beauman and Perlman
- Cited By
- 2 cases
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- Published
- Syllabus
- Criminal law — Conspiracy to defraud — Evidence—Sufficiency. On the trial of an indictment for conspiracy to defraud, evidence that the defendants cooperated in an elaborate scheme to gain the confidence of a third person, and to lure him to their hotel room,. in which the police found a machine especially adapted to simulate the manufacture of paper money, with a quantity of new money and blank paper, is sufficient to support a conviction on an indictment charging conspiracy to defraud. Criminal law — Evidence—Baggage found in defendants room— Money-malcing machine — Expert testimony. It is not error in the trial upon an indictment charging conspiracy to defraud to admit as evidence traveling bags found in the hotel rooms occupied by the defendants, where one contained a, machine purporting to be used to make counterfeit money. A machine or device, of which the jury could have no knowledge, by a mere inspection, may properly be explained by a detective having knowledge of such machines where the dress suit case, containing the machine, is found in the possession of defendants charged with conspiracy to defraud. Criminal law — Charge of the court — Comment upon evidence— 'Undue emphasis — Length of comment. There is no rule which requires the court to measure its words so as to give the same length to the remarks applying to one side as to the other. An assignment of error, based upon the difference in the length of comment upon the evidence of the Commonwealth, and that of the defendants, is without merit where both sides were presented, and the defendants were given every chance that they were entitled to under the law.