Planters Insurance Co. v. Williams

Citations

• 60 Miss. 916

Syllabus

<p>Malicious Prosecution. Probable cause defined. Character and quantity of evidence. Instruction.</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for an alleged malicious prosecution the following instruction was given for the plaintiff: “Reasonable and probable cause for a criminal prosecution depend very much upon the particular circumstances of each case; but the facts ought to show that the defendant exercised proper diligence and made honest and faithful inquiry into the facts and circumstances inducing belief in the guilt of the accused, and had knowledge of circumstances of his guilt sufficient to satisfy a reasonable mind that plaintiff was guilty and that his guilt could reasonably be expected to be established by a criminal prosecution ; and if the jury believe that no such facts existed, and no such faithful and honest inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the guilt of the plaintiff was made by the defendant, then there was no reasonable and probable cause for the prosecution against the plaintiff.” This instruction is erroneous (1) because it implies that one must not prosecute another except upon known evidence competent on the trial of the accused; and (2) because of the quantity of evidence required. It is not necessary to the justification of the defendant that he should have acted upon legal evidence, nor that the information relied upon should have satisfied his mind beyond a reasonable doubt, but only that it was sufficient to induce a reasonable belief of the guilt of the accused.</p>