People v. Thoms
New York Court of Appeals
John W. Thoms, under an indictment for having in his possession, with intent to utter, an altered hank bill, upon arraignment in the New York general sessions, pleaded not guilty.
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John W. Thoms, under an indictment for having in his possession, with intent to utter, an altered hank bill, upon arraignment in the New York general sessions, pleaded not guilty. Upon the trial, the district-attorney, having proved the finding of the altered bill upon defendant by the officer arresting him, and that' no promises or threats were made to defendant, offered to give in evidence the statements or confessions of defendant, to the officer after the arrest, to which defendant’s counsel objected, on the ground that they were made while under an excited state of mind, and therefore…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Coubt.
Denio, J.
The fact that the prisoner had the altered note in his possession was fully proved; and the only question was as to his knowledge of its character, and his intention respecting it. The prosecution affirmed that he possessed it with the intent to pass it as true. If he was concerned in altering it from a lower denomination, and especially if he carried on to any extent the business of detaching the numerals from genuine bills and affixing them to the notes of a lower denomination, it would naturally be presumed that he had some object in doing so, and none which could be…
2Cited by2 opinions
- The People v. . PhillipsNew York Court of Appeals · 1870
- People v. LyonNew York Supreme Court · 1884