Commonwealth v. Brown

Citations

• 23 Pa. Super. 470
• 1903 Pa. Super. LEXIS 101

Syllabus

<p>Criminal lato — Parlies—Description of parlies — Indictment—School law.</p> <p>As the city of Philadelphia is coterminus with the county, and constitutes a single school district, and as each ward of the city constitutes what is called a “ school section ” for which there is a board of directors, an indictment against three directors is not defective because the defendants are described as “ directors of the public schools of the twenty-eighth ward of the city of Philadelphia. ”</p> <p>Criminal law — Conspiracy—Evidence.</p> <p>In order to render the offense of conspiracy complete there is no occasion that any act should be done, or that any one should be aggrieved or defrauded in pursuance or in consequence of the unlawful agreement.</p> <p>Criminal law — Conspiracy—Indictment—Extortion.</p> <p>An indictment charged in apt language a corrupt conspiracy to extort, receive and take money, by color of their offices, from certain persons, naming them, and others whose names were unknown, “ as and for fees and rewards, emoluments and pay for obtaining and procuring the election of them .... to the position of school-teacher's ” in the public schools of said ward. Held that the indictment was not bad because it did not state that the payment was not made voluntarily, or because it did not allege that the money taken was claimed to be as a fee for official services.</p> <p>An indictment against school directors for conspiracy to commit extortion by taking fees and rewards for procuring the election of persons to the position of school-teacher, the indictment is not bad because it does not contain the words “ extort ” or ‘ ‘ extorsively ” as descriptive of the offense, nor is it bad because it does not allege that any money was taken from the persons appointed school-teachers, as afee for official services.</p> <p>Criminal law — Extortion—Common-law offense — School law.</p> <p>Extortion is the corrupt demanding or receiving by a person in office of a fee for services w