Smith v. Koziolek

Citations

• 51 Pa. Super. 211
• 1912 Pa. Super. LEXIS 205

Syllabus

<p>Malicious prosecution — Information—Evidence—Arson.</p> <p>1. In an action to recover damages for an alleged malicious prosecution for arson the complaint made by the defendant against the plaintiff before a justice of the peace is admissible in evidence as charging a crime, if it states that by reason of threats the defendant had cause to suspect and did suspect the plaintiff of setting fire to a barn.</p> <p>2. In an action to recover damages for an alleged malicious prosecution for arson information communicated to the defendant long after the prosecution was terminated is inadmissible inasmuch as it throws no light on the state of mind of the prosecutor at the time the prosecution was brought. The test is the prosecutor’s belief of the existence of probable cause at the time of the prosecution based on reasonable grounds.</p>