State v. Hayes

Citations

• 17 S.D. 128
• 95 N.W. 296
• 1903 S.D. LEXIS 16

Syllabus

<p>1.. Comp. Laws 1887, § 6523, provides that rape committed on a female under 10, or on one incapable, through unsoundness of mind, of giving legal consent, or accomplished by force, shall constitute rape in the first degree, and that all other cases, including intercourse with females under 16 and over 10, shall constitute rape in the second degree. Section 7428 provides that, whenever a crime is distinguished into degrees, the jury, if they convict, must find the degree of crime. An information for rape contained no allegation that the female was under 10, or incapable of giving consent or that the offense was accomplished by force. Held that, as the crime of rape in the first degree was not charged, it was not necessary for the verdict to find the degree of the crime.</p> <p>2. Under Comp. Laws 1887, § 7242, declaring that the information must be direct and certain as regards the party charged, the offense charged, and the particular circumstances, when they are necessary to constitute a complete offense, and section 7249, providing that the information shall be sufficient if it contains a statement of the acts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language, and in such a manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended, an infonnation for rape which conforms with the section last quoted is not insufficient because not containing the word “ravish.’’</p>