Richardson v. State

Citations

• 72 Fla. 154
• 72 So. 665

Syllabus

<p>1. The plaintiff in error should file in the appellate court his assignment of errors within three days after the filing of the copy of the record, in compliance with the provisions of Sections 1706 and 4044 of the General Statutes of 1906. If for any reason the assignment cannot be filed within the time specified, the plaintiff in error should apply to the appellate court for further time.</p> <p>2. When a grand jury conceives that the foreman whom they had selected was disqualified from signing an indictment to be returned by such jury, the better procedure is for the grand jury to come into court and report the apparent disqualification and obtain a ruling of the court thereon and an order to select another one of its members to act as foreman. The fact that this course was not pursued, but that the grand jury came into court and announced the disqualification of their foreman and that they had selected another one of their members as foreman constitutes at most a mere irregularity which is not sufficient to vitiate an indictment subsequently returned by such jury which is signed as foreman by the member last selected.</p> <p>3. Verdicts in criminal cases should be certain and import a definite meaning free from ambiguity; but any words that convey beyond a reasonable doubt the meaning and intention of the jury are sufficient, and all fair intendments should be made to sustain them. If the intention of the jury is clearly manifested in the language used mere inaccuracies of expression will not vitiate the verdict.</p> <p>4. The safer and better practice in preparing a verdict in a criminal case is to use the word “defendant” therein and also to state the name of the defendant, yet, if the intention of the jury is clearly manifested in the language used, the verdict will be upheld.</p> <p>5. Where no errors of law or procedure are made to appear to the appellate court upon a writ of error and, upon examination, such court finds that the evidence is sufficient t