Commonwealth v. Atwood
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The defendant was indicted for that he, with one other person . to the jurors unknown, on, &c., at, &c., with force and arms had in their possession a certain false, forged, and counterfeit promissory note for the payment of money, purporting to be a promissory note of the president, directors, and company, of the Mechanics and Farmers’ Bank, in the city of Albany, a corporation by law there established, and purporting to be signed by, &c., which false, &c., promissory note…
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The defendant was indicted for that he, with one other person . to the jurors unknown, on, &c., at, &c., with force and arms had in their possession a certain false, forged, and counterfeit promissory note for the payment of money, purporting to be a promissory note of the president, directors, and company, of the Mechanics and Farmers’ Bank, in the city of Albany, a corporation by law there established, and purporting to be signed by, &c., which false, &c., promissory note is to the following purport and effect, viz., &c., and the said M. A. and the said other person to the jurors, &c., at,…
1Per curiam
We cannot reject as surplusage what may have been the ground of the conviction. A substantive charge, not sufficiently alleged in an indictment, can never be rejected as surplusage. Neither can we apply the allegation of falsity, &c., concerning the Albany bills, to the bills of the Boston Bank. It is not easy to fix any meaning to the word others; but it would be going too great a length to say that it included the words false, forged, and counterfeit. If the allegation, that the defendant well knew the bills to be false, &c., applies to the Boston bills, then no scienter is laid as to the…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Flagg v. City of WorcesterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1851
3Cited by10 opinions
- In re HopsonNew York Supreme Court · 1863
- Commonwealth v. HopeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1839
- Commonwealth v. TuckMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1838
- State v. PalmerSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1852
- People v. JohnsonMichigan Supreme Court · 1916
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