People v. Eagan
Before: Britt
Synopsis
Criminal Law — Election Frauds — Indictment — Conspiracy — Completed Offense—Duplicity.—An indictment under the “Act to promote the purity of elections,” charging that six defendants, who were officers at an election precinct, confederated and conspired together to sign, certify, and attest, as true and genuine, the tally lists and returns of the precinct, each knowing that the returns signed and certified by him were false and untrue in certain particulars specified, in falsely increasing the votes of one candidate for county clerk, and falsely diminishing the votes of another candidate for the same office, does not state a conspiracy as a substantial offense, but charges only one completed felony, in which the precedent acts of conspiracy were merged, and is not demurrable for duplicity.
Id.—Insufficiency of Circumstantial Evidence — Opportunity for Fraud—Facts Consistent with Innocence—Failure of Proof— Question of Law.—Circumstances relied upon to establish the guilt of one accused of crime must not only be consistent with that hypothesis, hut also inconsistent with any other rational conclusion; and, where there were other election officers, who were not before the court, but who had equal opportunity for fraud with the defendants charged with the offense, the mere testimony of each of five codefendants as witnesses for the people, that he had himself honestly performed his part of the work, is insufficient to convict the other defendant, there being no evidence, aside from error in the returns, that the other defendant ever indicated, by word or act, an intent to falsify the vote, or that he had any motive to do so; and he, having testified in his own behalf that he had honestly performed his part of the work, and had no knowledge of any error when he joined in certifying the returns; but, in such case, every fact proved is consistent with the reasonable conclusion that the false return resulted, without his connivance, from the acts of persons who had equal opportunity with him, and, there being no evidence to exclude this inference, there is a failure of proof in a particular necessary to conviction, and the question is one of law for the court.
Britt, C. Six persons, inclusive of appellant, who were officers of election in and for a certain precinct of [289]the city and county of San Francisco at the general election held November 6, 1894, are jointly accused by the indictment in this cause of felony committed in violation of the “Act to promote the purity of elections.” (Stats. 1893, p. 24.) Eagan was tried separately and convicted.
1. It is provided in section 27 of said act that “ Every person who willfully adds to or subtracts from the votes actually cast at an election, in any official or unofficial returns, or who alters such returns, is punishable by imprisonment, etc.” Disentangled from the verbiage with which it is embarrassed, the substance of the charging part of the indictment is that defendants confederated and conspired together to sign, certify, and attest, as true and genuine, the tally lists and returns of said election in said precinct, and did knowingly act in violation of the laws relating to elections, by signing, certifying, and attesting, as true and correct, tally lists and returns which showed that M. 0. Haley had received sixty-three of the votes cast at said election in said pre-cinct for the office of county clerk, and that 0. F. Curry had received one hundred and forty-three of such votes; whereas in truth and in fact Haley had received ninety-one votes for said office, and Curry had received one hundred and two votes; that each of the defendants knew the returns signed and certified by him to be false and untrue in the particulars specified, contrary to the form of the statute, etc. The indictment might have been improved in the quality of distinctness, but there is no duplicity in it as urged by appellant; the defendants are accused of a single offense, viz., adding to the votes cast for Curry and subtracting from those for Haley, contrary to the provision of said section 27. The allegation that the defendants confederated and conspired, etc., was not the statement of a substantive offense, as appellant supposes; a completed felony was charged, and in this the precedent acts of conspiracy were merged; when several acts together constitute one offense, they may be alleged in a single count, and the [290]present indictment does no more than this. (1 Bishop’s Criminal Procedure, sec. 438; People v. Gusti, 113 Cal. 177.)
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