ELIJAH DAVIS, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR

Fla. | 1906-01-01
Shackleford, O. J., and Cockrell, J., concur., Taylor, Hocker and Parkhill, JJ., concur in the opinion.
51 Fla. 37 Florida Supreme Court (1906) Positive Treatment
Cited by 43 cases

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Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court reversed Elijah Davis's burglary conviction, holding that an indictment charging burglary must explicitly allege the ownership of the building entered, not merely describe it. The court found the indictment fatally defective for failing to state that B. F. Pope owned the building, thereby failing to establish that Davis did not own it himself.


Holding

An indictment for feloniously and burglariously breaking and entering a building is fatally defective if it contains no allegation as to the ownership of the building. Merely describing the building as belonging to or being the storehouse of a particular person is not a sufficient allegation of ownership. The motion to quash should have been sustained.


Key Quotes

“The rule is well settled that the ownership of the building so burglariously entered must be alleged. The name of the owner of the * * * building which was broken and entered must be stated with accuracy.”

Establishes the fundamental requirement that burglary indictments must allege ownership with accuracy

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Facts & Procedural History

Elijah Davis was indicted in Calhoun County Circuit Court for breaking and entering a building on September 11, 1904, described as 'that certain build…

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Opinion of the Court
Whitfield, J.

Whitfield, J.

An indictment was presented by the grand jury in the Circuit Court for Calhoun county charging in a single count that Elijah Davis, on September 11, 1904, “with force and arms, at and in the county aforesaid, a certain building, to-wit: that certain building commonly known as and called the store house of one B. F. Pope there situate, feloniously and burglariously did break and enter, with the intent then and there to commit the crime of larceny,” &c.

A motion to quash the indictment Avas denied.

The defendant was convicted, and on writ of error here assigns as error the denying of tli e motion to quash the indictment.

In the case of Pells v. State, 20 Fla. 774, where it is charged that the accused feloniously and burglariously did break and enter, &c., “a certain building, to-wit: the main exhibition building of the Middle Florida Agricultural and Mechanical Fair Association” this court said: “The indictment is bad. * * * The ownership of the property is defectively stated. * * If the ownership of the property is not stated, non constat but that the building was the property of the defendant. * * * The rule is well settled that the ownership of the building so burglariously entered must be alleged. The name of the owner of the * * * building which was broken and entered must be stated with accuracy.” Heard's Criminal Law, 436; 3 Ency. Pl. & Pr. 757.

In the Pells case the indictment was held to be fatally defective because the allegation as to the ownership of the building did not sufficiently designate the owner. In this case there is no allegation as to the ownership of the property; the words used being merely descriptive of the building which it is charged the accused “feloniously and burglariously did break and enter,” &c.

The reasons for requiring the ownership of the building, the defendant is charged with feloniously and burglariously breaking and entering, to be alleged in the indictments are, (1) For the purpose of showing on the record that the building alleged to have been broken into was not the property of the accused inasmuch as one cannot commit the offense of breaking and entering his own building; (2) For the purpose of so identifying the offense as to protect the accused from a second prosecution for the same offense. State v. Trapp, 17 S. C. 467, S. C. 43 Amer. Rep. 614; 6 Cyc. 210.

Where an indictment for feloniously and burglariously breaking and entering a building contains no allegation as to the ownership of the building, the indictment is fatally defective and a motion to quash it should be sustained. See Commonwealth v. Perris, 108 Mass. 1.

An indictment which charges that the accused feloniously and burglariously did break and enter, &c., “that certain building commonly • known as and called the store house of one B. F. Pope,” and contains no allegation as to the 'ownership of the building, is fatally defective; and a motion to quash the indictment should oe sustained, since the quoted words are merely descriptive of the building and are not an allegation as to the ownership of the building. See State v. Hupp, 31 W. Va 355.

There is nothing in the cases of Tilly v. State, 21 Fla. 242, Leslie v. State, 35 Fla. 171, 17 South. Rep. 555, Rimes v. State, 36 Fla. 90, 18 South. Rep. 114, Charles v. State, 36 Fla. 691, 18 South. Rep. 369, Crosky v. State, 46 Fla. 122, 35 South. Rep. 153, in conflict with the rules here announced, since in every one of such cases there was an allegation of ownership of the building.

The indictment being fatally defective the judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded with directions to quash the indictment, the costs to be taxed against Calhoun county.

Shackleford, O. J., and Cockrell, J., concur. Taylor, Hocker and Parkhill, JJ., concur in the opinion.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (23 total)

  • Roy Smith alias Tom Green v. State, 96 Fla. 30 (Fla. 1928)
    …eged to have been entered is material and must be proved as laid. See Pells v. State, 20 Fla. 774; Burns v. State, 89 Fla. 494, 104 So. R. 783; Smith v. State, 80 Fla. 315, 85 So. R. 911; Vincent v. State, 66 Fla. 197, 63 So. R. 423; Davis v. State, 51 Fla. 37, 40 So. R. 179, Potter v. State, 91 Fla. 938, 109 So. R. 91. Reversed. Whitfield, Terrell, Strum and Buford, J. J., concur. Brown, J., absent on account of illness.…
  • Davis v. State, 54 Fla. 34 (Fla. 1907)
    …, convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison for the period of one year. From this judgment he seeks relief here by writ of error, returnable to the present term. This is the second time this case has been here. See Davis v. State, 51 Fla. 37, 40 South. Rep. 179. The first assignment is based upon the overruling of the motion to quash the indictment, and in support thereof, Davis v. State, supra, and Pells v. State, 20 Fla. 774, are relied upon. This position is untenable, as the owners…
  • Terra Ceia Ests. v. Nannie E. Taylor, 68 Fla. 261 (Fla. 1914)

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