Dempsey v. State

Shulman, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of the misdemeanor offense of wilful and voluntary abandonment of his illegitimate minor child. For the reasons set forth in Division 2, we reverse.

1. Appellant complains that the court’s instructions on the form and substance of a not guilty verdict were inaccurate and misleading, since the court failed to instruct the jury that if the jury found defendant not guilty on the grounds that defendant was not the father of the child, the verdict should specifically so state. Since the court’s instructions on the form of the verdict were in substance those…