State v. Yargus

Citations

• 112 Kan. 450
• 211 P. 121
• 27 A.L.R. 1093
• 1922 Kan. LEXIS 466

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Criminal Law — Motion in Arrest of Judgment — Grounds Therefor. Under the Kansas statute only two grounds exist for a motion in arrest of judgment in a criminal case — lack of jurisdiction in the court over the offense charged and failure of the indictment or information to state facts sufficient to constitute a public offense.</p> <p>2. Same — Charge Murder in First Degree by Means of Poison — Finding— Guilty of Murder in Second Degree. A defendant who is convicted of an offense which is less than that charged, but which is necessarily included within it, cannot obtain a reversal on the ground that the evidence showed him to be guilty of the greater offense if any, because the error in that respect is not prejudicial, inasmuch as it benefits instead of injuring him. For this reason one who is prosecuted upon a charge of murder by means of poison and found guilty of murder in the second degree cannot upon appeal effectively complain on the ground that murder committed by the administration of poison is necessarily of the first degree, even assuming that to be the case.</p>