Barker v. State
Barker v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant was convicted on a charge of wilfully setting fire to another’s fence and fined $25.00 by the County Court of Ochiltree County.
This case was before the court in a former appeal in which it was held that the complaint and information ";ere defective in that they failed to allege that appellant set fire to the fence of another “so as to cause loss or injury to another.” The prosecution was ordered dismissed. A new complaint was filed, but the facts are the same as in the former appeal. The only question before us now is the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction.
But two witnesses testified, Mrs. J. W. Moore, Jr., the wife of the injured party, and E. N. Flathers, a neighbor. Mrs. Moore testified that she and her husband owned Section 299 in
“I never at any time saw C. W. Barker setting out fire any place except on his own land. I never saw him at any time near our fence that day nor setting any fire near our fence. I never saw him setting our fence afire and I would not say that he did set it afire. I first noticed the smoke just testified about about 1:00 or 1:30 o’clock in the afternoon.”
It appears from Blather’s testimony that he lived immediately south of the Moore tract and about the same time he was burning thistles on his land. Discovering the fire near the Moore land he went up close to it and saw that the thistles were afire, finding the thistles on Barker’s place burned next to his fence and that the fire had run out in Barker’s field quite a way. At this time the fire had not reached Moore’s fence. He later made investigation, at which time he found the Moore’s fence burning solid while the lane and appellant’s fence were also on fire. Some two or three weeks, probably longer, before this appellant had told this witness he was going to burn the whole lane out because the thistles were blocking his road. This witness further testified on cross examination as follows:
While this evidence might indicate some recklessness sufficient for a basis of a civil action for negligence, we find in it no evidence of intention on the part of appellant to set fire to the Moore fence. In fact, there is not a circumstance to create a suspicion that it was intentional. His own fence is definitely shown to be between the place where he started the fire and the fence for the burning of which he is being prosecuted.
Mrs. Moore didn’t see him and if she is unable to say that he set fire to her husband’s fence and the other witness gives no evidence to' that effect whatever, the jury would not be justified in reaching such conclusion. The criminal courts may not be resorted to for the purpose of punishing one for negligent conduct not defined by statutory law as criminal negligence and we know of no article of the statute under which a prosecution under the facts of this case may be maintained.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed and the cause remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.