Commonwealth v. Stephens

Citations

• 64 Pa. Super. 429
• 1916 Pa. Super. LEXIS 315

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law—Conspiracy—Manipulation of corporations.. ,.</p> <p>Where on the trial of an indictment against three persons for conspiracy to fraudulently manipulate the affairs of ■ three corporations, all three defendants are convicted, a conviction against one 'will not be sustained by the appellate court, where the evidence tends to show that such defendant had no participation in the; qon.trol of the corporations; that many of the transactions disclosed by the testimony took place before he was in any way connected with the companies as selling agent of their stocks; that at the trial no discrimination was made with reference to the relevancy of the evidence, as between the defendants; and .that the jury received no instructions with regard to its bearing on the guilt or innocence of tbe different defendants.</p> <p>Acts and declarations of conspirators may be shown to affect their confederates, but such declarations or acts are not admissible to bind one not shown to be connected in some degree with the conspiracy. To render one liable under such a charge he must be proved to have participated in the general combination with all or some of the defendants.</p>