Commonwealth v. Dudley

Citations

• 46 Pa. Super. 337
• 1911 Pa. Super. LEXIS 276

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Indictment—Pleading.</p> <p>1. Two persons may be charged with a joint offense in the saíne indictment, and one of the two may be charged in other counts of the same indictment with separate offenses of a similar character to those charged to both persons in the indictment.</p> <p>2. Where a person is indicted and the indictment contains several counts charging different offenses, one of which is conspiracy, the action of the court in admitting certain evidence relating to the conspiracy is not reversible error, although it may be so in fact where it appears that although there was a verdict of guilty upon the charge of conspiracy, the court did not sentence the defendant on this count.</p> <p>Liquor laws — Criminal law — Sale without license — Druggist—Physician’s prescription.</p> <p>3. On the trial of an indictment against a physician and a druggist for selling liquor without a license and for conspiracy, where several witnesses testify that they bought liquors from the druggist on the prescription of the physician, and that the physician was not their family physician, and had not made any physical examination on which the prescription was based, the court cannot instruct the jury as a matter of law that the presumption is that the witnesses obtained the liquor and used it legitimately. In such a case it is for the jury to say for what purpose the prescriptions were given.</p> <p>Criminal law — Verdict—Form of verdict — Recording verdict.</p> <p>4. The verdict of a jury in a criminal case is that which is recorded as the verdict, and the form prepared in the jury room, though handed to the clerk, is no part of the record, and has no significance.</p> <p>Liquor laws — Selling without a license — Physician—Fraudulent prescriptions — Druggist.</p> <p>5. A druggist and a physician may be convicted of selling liquor without a license, where a large number of witnesses testify that they purchased the liquor from the druggist on prescriptions from the