State v. Porter
State v. Porter
Opinion of the Court
This is an action by the state upon a bail bond. Verdict and judgment were in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendants Meldrum and Barnes have appealed. In the. complaint in this action it is alleged in substance, that on the 30th day of July, 1901, a complaint was made before L. C. Harrington, county justice of the peace in and for Minnehaha county; that upon such complaint an order was duly issued by such justice for the arrest of the defendant C- M. Porter; that the said C. M. Porter was arrested, and. thereafter brought before said justice for trial, and, waiving an examination, was held to answer to the circuit court and admitted -to bail; that Qn
The question presented for our consideration is, was the court warranted in holding that C. M. Porter and Charles Porter were one and the same person, without further proof than that contained in the bail bond itself? The appellants contend that, in the absence of affirmative proof that Charles Porter and C. M. Porter are and were one and the same person, it was the duty of the court to sustain the motions made by the two sureties. The respondent, howeveu, contends, in support of the ruling of the court, that as Charles Porter was required by law to furnish a bail bond before the justice was authorized to discharge him, and, it appearing from the said bond that C. M. Porter executed the bail bond as principal and the two defendants as sureties, it will be presumed that Charles Porter and C. M. Porter, who executed the bond as principal, were one and the same person. We are of the opinion that the respondent is right in its contention.
By the Code of Criminal Procedure of this state, it is provided that a party held to answer may be admitted to bail upon giving the same by sufficient sureties; that the sureties must justify; and that upon the execution of the required bail bond the defendant, if in custody, shall be discharged therefrom. Sections 585, 588, 589, Code Cr. Proc. Whether or not the principal, Charles Porter, was required to execute the bail bond in person it is not necessary now to decide, as it is sufficient for the purposes of this decision that C. M. Porter, purporting to be the principal, executed the bail bond, and that upon the execution of the bail bond the party arrested as
The case of Andrews v. Wynn, 4 S. D. 40, 54 N. W. 1047, decided by this court upon demurrer cited by the appellants, m which it was held that the court would not take judicial notice that Edward H. Andrews and E. H. Andrews were one and the same person, or that E. H. is not the full Christian name of a person, is not in point; there being no allegation in the complaint in that case, directly or indirectly showing that E. H. Andrews and Edward H. Andrews were one and the same person. The case at bar, however, presents a very different question, as it affirmatively appears from the complaint, the bail bond being made a part thereof, that Charles Porter and C. M. Porter .were presumptively one and the same person, The circuit court, therefore, was clearly right in denying defendants’ motions, and the judgment of that court and the order denying a new trial are affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.