Wooddell v. Territory of Arizona
Wooddell v. Territory of Arizona
Opinion of the Court
(after stating the facts as above). [1] It is assigned as error that the Supreme Court of Arizona affirmed the decision of the trial court in overruling a demurrer which was interposed to the indictment because of uncertainty and indefiniteness, and it is urged that the demurrer should have been sustained for the reason that the indictment does not define any trust nor set out any facts constituting the trust. The indictment is brought under section 460 of the Penal Code of Arizona of 1901, which provides:
“Every broker, agent or person otherwise intrusted with or having in~his . control property for the use of another party who fraudulently appropriates it to any use or purpose not in the due or lawful execution of his trust * * * is guilty of embezzlement.”
In De Leon v. Territory, 9 Ariz. 161, 80 Pac. 348, the Supreme Court of Arizona, upon an indictment which was drawn in the language which is used in the indictment in the case at bar, held that the indictment for embezzlement need only allege, and the evidence need only show, that the defendant was intrusted with property for the use of another, and that he fraudulently appropriated it to some purpose not in the due execution of his trust, and that it was unnecessary to allege or show the particular use or purpose for which the money was intrusted to the defendant. That decision is conclusive of the contention which the plaintiff in error here makes.
“It is only a question of whether he got this money to invest from this woman, and used it for his own purposes. If he borrowed the money and spent it, he is not guilty of embezzlement. That is the sole question. So what property he had there does not make any difference.”
The evidence was offered as tending to rebut the imputation of fraud. It has been held that the fact that the defendant is financially embarrassed, that he is in straitened circumstances, and owes money,may be shown by the prosecution in embezzlement cases as tending in some degree to show a motive for the embezzlement. Govatos v. State, 116 Ga. 592, 42 S. E. 708; Bridges v. State, 103 Ga. 21, 29 S. E. 859; Bulloch v. State, 10 Ga. 47, 54 Am. Dec. 369; United States v. Camp, 2 Idaho (Hasb.) 231, 10 Pac. 226. But it has also been held that the defendant in an embezzlement case may not intro
It is assigned as error that the Supreme Court of Arizona did not find that the trial court erred in instructing the jury. The assignment does not inform us of the nature of the error in the instructions which are complained of, nor does it appear from the transcript that any ex
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- WOODDELL v. TERRITORY OF ARIZONA
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Embezzlement (§ 32*) — Statutes—'Indictment. Pen. Code Ariz. 1901, § 460, declares that every broker, agent, or person otherwise intrusted with or having in his control property for the use of another, who fraudulently apiiropriates it to his own use not in the due or lawful execution of his trust, is guilty of embezzlement. Held, that an indictment alleging that defendant was intrusted with property for the use of complainant, and that he fraudulently appropriated it to a purpose not in the due execution of his trust, was sufficient without alleging the use or purpose for which the money was intrusted to him. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Embezzlement, Cent. Dig. §§ 47-50; Dec. Dig. ¡S 32.*] 2. Embezzlement (§ 38*) — Property of Accused. In a prosecution for embezzlement of money claimed to have been delivered to accused to invest for prosecutrix, and which he claimed had been loaned to him, evidence that accused had property and money at the time of the alleged embezzlement was inadmissible. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Embezzlement, Gent. Dig. § 61; Dec. Dig. § 38*1 3. Criminal Law (§ 1059*) — Appeal—Exceptions— Scope. An exception to the exclusion of evidence is insufficient to preserve an objection to the remarks of the court in ruling on the objection. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Criminal Law, Cent. Dig. § 2671; Dec. Dig. § 1059.*] 4. Embezzlement (I 44*) — Evidence. Where, in a prosecution for embezzlement of money alleged to have been delivered to accused to loan out on security, complainant testified that she had confidence iu accused and delivered the money for investment, her testimony was not rendered so incredible as to be insufficient to support a conviction because she did not claim to have given any instructions as to the investment and made no inquiry as to how or for what, length of time or with whom the investment was to be made, etc. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Embezzlement, Cent. Dig. §§ 67-70; Dec. Dig. § 44.*]