State v. Smith

Citations

• 58 Wash. 235
• 108 P. 618
• 1910 Wash. LEXIS 924

Syllabus

<p>Gaming—Playing Game—Statutes—Construction. Playing at a game of poker, without having any interest in the place or conducting the game, warrants a conviction under Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2924, providing that each person who “shall deal, (play), or carry on . . . conduct ...” etc., shall be guilty, etc., the word “play” being part of the original law as enacted in 1881.</p> <p>Gaming—Verdict—Form—Sueeiciency. Where an information charged but one offense, the misdemeanor of playing, opening or conducting the game of poker as defined by Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2924, a verdict of “guilty of conducting a game of poker” is sufficient, although by Id., § 2172, the form of “guilty” or “not guilty” is contemplated.</p> <p>Same—Verdict—Sueeiciency—Oeeense Charged — Instructions. Upon an information charging only the misdemeanor of playing or conducting a game of poker, defined by Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2924, in which the court erroneously assumed that it charged the felony of keeping a gambling place as “owners, proprietors,” etc., and so charged the jury, submitting three forms of verdict, a verdict in the form instructed for the misdemeanor, showing that the jury clearly intended to find the defendants guilty under § 2924, is sufficient to sustain a conviction of the misdemeanor, although technically defective.</p>