People v. McLeod

SHAW, J.

Defendant was, upon an information filed charging him therewith, convicted of the crime of perjury. He moved for a new trial upon all the statutory grounds and the court, by a general order, granted the motion, from which the people appeal.

It appears from the information that J. M. Brennan and Edith W. Brennan brought suit against defendant to recover a sum of money which they alleged he, as their attorney, had, prior to April 7, 1914, collected from one A. Levin upon a judgment obtained in an action, wherein Edith W. Brennan was plaintiff and said Levin defendant, all of which allegations were denied by defendant in a verified answer filed in said action so brought against him, and that upon trial thereof iefendant, as a witness in his own behalf, testified “that prior to the said 7th day of April, 1914, he, the said John'R. McLeod, had not received anything on account of said judgment

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theretofore entered in said Superior Court in said action No. B-7786, and entitled Edith W. Brennan, Plaintiff, vs. A. Levin, Defendant,” which testimony was then and there material to the inquiry then being made; that in truth said testimony so given by defendant was knowingly and willfully false, the fact being that he had, prior to said April 7, 1914, collected and received on account of and in settlement of the said judgment so rendered and entered against A. Levin, credits and sums of money in the aggregate of $1,575.

As shown by the mixed and muddled up record presented in support of the appeal, the plaintiff, in proof of the facts alleged in the information as constituting the offense, offered what on its face purported to be a judgment rendered on March 16, 1914, and entered March 21, 1914, in favor of plaintiff in the case of

Brennan

v.

Levin,

for the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars and interest, which, as shown, is followed by what appears to be a minute order, giving title and number of the case, that “it appearing to the court that the judgment herein entered on the 21st day of March, 1914, in Book 295 of Judgments, at page 236, contains an error in the computation of the amount therein found to be due, it is ordered that said judgment be, and the same is vacated and set aside.” It thus appears that this, the only judgment rendered in the case of