State v. Messner

Citations

• 43 Wash. 206
• 86 P. 636
• 1906 Wash. LEXIS 679

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law — Conspiracy—Definition. Conspiracy is not a statutory hut a common law offense, in this state; and includes either a combination to do an unlawful act or to do a lawful act by unlawful means.</p> <p>Same — Information—Sufficiency. An information charging a conspiracy to cheat and defraud by obtaining a mortgage, under false pretenses, need, not .set out the false pretenses or description of the property; since if the object of the conspiracy is the accomplishment of an unlawful act, the means by which such act is accomplished need not he set forth.</p> <p>Same — Trial—Instructions. In a prosecution against three defendants for a conspiracy, it is error to instruct that the jury must find the defendants guilty, if it appears that they, or any two of them, conspired as alleged in the information; and such an instruction would he specially injurious to one of the defendant» who was not connected with all the acts of the other conspirators, and against whom there was no corroboration of the testimony of the prosecuting witness.</p> <p>Same — Defendant’s Theory of Case. In a prosecution for a conspiracy to raise money on a mortgage for the purpose, as claimed by the prosecuting witness, of securing bail, bribing oficiáis, and aiding in an escape, it is error for the trial court, after instructing on that theory of the case, to refuse to give instructions requested by the defendant as to his theory of the case, it appearing in the evidence that he was endeavoring to raise money for a cash bail and to pay the fees of the attorneys upon an appeal.</p> <p>Same — Evidence—Sufficiency—Corroboration. It would seem that, upon a prosecution for a conspiracy, the testimony of the prosecuting witness, who was one of the conspirators and discredited, must he corroborated as to the unlawfulness of the purpose of the conspiracy.</p>