Commonwealth v. Shields
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal, No. 100, April T., 1912, by defendant, from judgment of O. & T. and Quarter Sessions, Westmoreland Co., May T., 1911, No. 179, on verdict of guilty in case of Commonwealth v. John E. Shields. Indictment for misdemeanor in office, embezzlement and perjury.
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Appeal, No. 100, April T., 1912, by defendant, from judgment of O. & T. and Quarter Sessions, Westmoreland Co., May T., 1911, No. 179, on verdict of guilty in case of Commonwealth v. John E. Shields. Indictment for misdemeanor in office, embezzlement and perjury. Before McConnell, J. The material charge was that the defendant had collected fees for serving writs which had issued from the common pleas of Fayette county against residents of Westmoreland county, and had failed to enter such fees in his books, or pay them over to the treasurer of Westmoreland county. At the trial the defendant…
1DissentHenderson, J.
I am unable to concur in the opinion of the majority of the court filed in this case. The instruction of the learned trial judge on the subject of embezzlement and perjury had a tendency to, and probably did, mislead the jury to the prejudice of the defendant. The evidence was clear and positive that the several amounts alleged to have been embezzled were costs received by the defendant’s chief deputy and by him deposited in the bank where the sheriff kept his account in his name as sheriff. There was no evidence that the money was not there at the time of the arrest, at the time when the…
2Cases cited3 opinions
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- United States v. BabcockU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Michigan · 1846
- Commonwealth v. BradyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1855