WINSTON J. CRAWFORD, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR

Fla. | 1927-05-21
93 Fla. 1082 Florida Supreme Court (1927) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Winston Crawford was convicted of embezzling a $1,000 note belonging to Cynthia Cook. The Florida Supreme Court reversed his conviction because the State failed to prove the actual value of the note, which was essential to establish the crime and determine appropriate punishment.


Holding

The conviction must be reversed because the State failed to prove the value of the note, which is an essential element of the embezzlement offense. The mere promise of payment of $1,000 does not prove the note's value, and the jury was forced to conjecture about its worth.


Key Quotes

“The mere fact that the note promised payment of $1,000.00 is no proof that the note was worth $1,000.00.”

Establishes that facial value of a note does not prove actual value, which the prosecution must prove

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Crawford, as an agent for Cynthia Cook, used an endorsed note for $1,000 in his hands to purchase an automobile, paying the remainder in cash. The not…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
Brown, J.

Brown, J.

While the information in this case is not very clearly drawn, denial of the motion to quash the same does not constitute reversible error, when considered in the light of Section 6068, R.

G. S., as construed in the eases of Thalheim v. The State, 38 Fla. 169, 20 So. 938, and Brown v. The State, 109 So.

438. See also Smith v. The State, 112 So.

70. As will be seen from a reading of the Thalheim case, the generality of allegation of the offense of embezzlement as authorized by the statute referred to is permitted and held to be constitutional in view of the defendant’s right, upon proper application by him, when the indictment or information does not give him adequate notice of the charge he is expected to meet, to apply for and be furnished with a bill of particulars by order of court. The information in this case charges the embezzlement of $1,000.00 of the money of Cynthia Cook.

Under the statute referred to, where an indictment or information charges the embezzlement of money to a certain amount, without specifying any particulars of such embezzlement, evidence may be given, on the trial, of the embezzlement, within six months after the time stated in the indictment, of money, notes, cheek, draft or other security for money, of such person, etc.

Therefore, the additional words in the information, “of note in the amount of one thousand dollars, the value of one thousand dollars, lawful money of the United States of America, ’ ’ may be considered as surplusage, and yet leave the information sufficient as charging the offense of embezzlement under Sections 5146 and 6068 of Revised General Statutes. In other respects the information charges the offense substantially in the language of the statute.

The evidence in the case is not very clear and satisfactory, but it appears that there was evidence before the jury tending to establish all of the elements of the offense charged with the exception of the value of the note.

The evidence tends to show that the defendant used an endorsed note for $1,000.00, which was in his hands as the agent of Cynthia Cook, in the purchase of an automobile, the remainder of the purchase price being paid in cash. Neither the price nor value of the automobile was proven, nor the value of the note. The mere fact that the note promised payment of $1,000.00 is no proof that the note was worth $1,000.00.

We find no evidence in the record by which the jury could have arrived at the value of this note without going out into the realm of conjecture. There was no attempt to prove the embezzlement of money. The prosecution relied upon the embezzlement of the note itself, which was not due until many months after the time of the alleged embezzlement and of the trial. The burden of proof was upon the State to prove that this note had some value and what that value was. This is not only required by the language of the statute, but it is also important as regards the punishment, whether as of a felony or a misdemeanor. The information charged the value at $1,000.00, and it seems to have been assumed that because the note was given for that amount, it was worth such amount, or approximately so. The defendant was sentenced to two years in the penitentiary — the punishment appropriate where the value shown is large enough to authorize punishment as for grand larceny. The Court was therefore in error in denying the motion for a new trial.

Reversed.

Ellis, C. J., and Strum, J., concur. Whitfield, P. J., and Terrell and Buford, J. J., concur in the opinion.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Skipper v. Doyle Schumacher, 124 Fla. 384 (Fla. 1936)
    …egislature has in mind the general law and not some special Act due to transitory conditions. The property embezzled was alleged and proven to be of the value of one hundred dollars, and the sentence was within the lave” See also Crawford v. State, 93 Fla. 1082, 113 So. 90. The petition for the writ of habeas corpus further alleges in general language that the State of Florida contrived the conviction of the petitioner through pretense of a trial which in truth and in fact was only used as a means of depr…
  • Fouts v. State, 133 So. 81 (Fla. 1931)
    …e — Section 7249 (5148) Compiled General Laws of Florida, 1927. An information for embezzlement which charges the offense substantially in the language of Section 7249 (5148) Compiled General Laws of Florida, 1927, is sufficient. Crawford v. State, 93 Fla. 1082, 113 So. 90; Thalheim v. State, 38 Fla. 169, 20 So. 938; Teston v. State, 50 Fla. 137, 39 So. 787; Lake v. State, ___ Fla. ___, 129 So. 832. The second, seventh, eighth and eleventh assignments of error are not argued and appear to have been abando…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw