Rogers v. State
Rogers v. State
Opinion of the Court
Henry 0. Rogers was convicted of forgery. The record informs us of the loss of the original indictment in this case, and that the county attorney filed a written statement, suggesting the loss and asking leave of the court to substitute said indictment, and that the court, upon being satisfied that a copy submitted by the county attorney was correct, ordered that said leave be granted, and the county attorney was allowed to substitute said original indictment by the copy then shown and submitted to the court, which was filed by the clerk. Upon this indictment the defendant was tried and convicted. The defendant moved in arrest, and this motion was overruled and the defendant. excepted.
The question presented is, was the conviction under this substitution or copy legal ? The counsel for defendant insists that it was not, because from the record it appears that all that was done in regard to this matter was to suggest the loss, ask and obtain leave of the court to substitute a certain copy which was submitted to and inspected by the court; but that in fact there was no judgment of'the court declaring the fact of substitution.
The record must speak the fact affirmatively that the substitution as proposed by the county attorney was made. It may be urged, however, that there appears •from the record enough from which to presume that in fact the substitution was made. If, in fact, the court did not order and adjudge the substitution there was no indictment in the case; hence we cannot indulge in presumptions; the record must speak that fact, not by way of inference, but directly and affirmatively. Turner v. State, 7 Texas Ct. App. 596; Crosswell v. Byrnes, 9 Johns. 286; Beardall v. State, 9 Texas Ct. App. 266.
On cross-examination this witness DeBray testified as follows: “I only testify what is in the books. They are records of the office and show that application was made.” On re-examination by the State, this witness testified: ‘ ‘ The book is a memorandum of original entries. I think the handwriting is Mr. Goldbeck’s.”
Counsel for the defendant objected to this evidence: 1st, because the same is incompetent and irrelevant; 2d, because the person who made such entry has not been
Was this evidence competent? A majority of this court hold that it is, upon this principle, or rule of law: The rule that the prisoner shall be confronted with the witnesses against him does not preclude such documentary evidence, to establish collateral facts, as would be admissible under the rules of the common law. U. S. v. Bennie, Baldwin, 240; U. S. v. Little, 2 Wash. C. C. 205; U. S. v. Ortega, 4 Wash. C. C. 531; Cooley’s Const. Lim. 3d ed. p. 318, and note; also 1 Bish. Crim. Proc. secs. 1131, 1132, 1133.
The writer is not prepared to assent to the conclusion that this evidence is competent or admissible. Since the destruction of the library at this place, we have not been able to examine, as we should like, the subject under the light of authorities; we are not, therefore, prepared to give our reasons at this time. There is no division on the relevancy of the fact, if shown in the proper manner, that defendant procured the translation, etc. The point of difference is the manner of making the proof.
The forgery being made without the State, appellant’s counsel argues with great force and ability that defendant, though he may have acted with those engaged, and have furnished the necessary information to consummate the forgery, and though eveiy act of defendant was done in Travis county, cannot be tried and convicted of the forgery in this State, and that proof that the forgery took place in another State does not support the allegation that it occurred in Travis county.
The first question presented, to wit, that the defendant cannot be tried and convicted in this State, is treated at great length in Ex parte H. O. Rogers, 10 Texas Ct. App. 655.
There are quite a number of assignments made by the appellant which to consider seriatim would require time that would not be profitable; the questions presented having been exhaustively discussed in the case of Ex parte H. O. Rogers v. State, and several other cases of ■ the same school.
The record failing to show that the indictment was in fact substituted, ‘the court should have sustained the motion in arrest. The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded.
Reversed and remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.