Smith v. People

Citations

• 103 Ill. 82
• 1882 Ill. LEXIS 149

Syllabus

<p>1. New trial—m a criminal case. The guilt or innocence of the accused in a criminal case is always a question for the jury, and their finding will seldom be disturbed unless when it is manifest that they have been misled by the instructions of the court to the prejudice of the defendant.</p> <p>2. LARCENY-possession of stolen goods as evidence of guilt. Possession of property recently stolen is prima facie evidence of guilt, and is sufficient to warrant a conviction for its larceny, unless the attending circumstances or other evidence so far overcome the presumption thus raised as to create a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused, when an acquittal should follow.</p> <p>3. Instruction—whether it assumes facts. On the trial of one for larceny of goods, the possession of which by the accused four days after the theft was not disputed, the court instructed the jury “that the possession of stolen property soon after the commission of the theft is prima facie evidence that the person in whose possession it is found is guilty of the wrongful taking, and is sufficient to warrant a conviction, unless the other evidence in the case or the surrounding circumstances are such as to raise a reasonable doubt of such guilt:” Held, that the instruction was proper, and not open to the objection that it assumed the existence of any fact necessary to be proven which was disputed on the trial.</p>