State Ex Rel. Scroggins v. Rice

The plaintiff in error seeks his release from the custody of the Sheriff of Tipton County by the writ of habeas corpus. He is held by authority of a final judgment of conviction for misdemeanor. He contends that the judgment of conviction is void because the indictment supporting it is void; rendered so because it fails to conclude with the words: “against the peace and dignity of the state.”

The Constitution, article VI, section 12, requires that every indictment shall be concluded with these words; that is, that the offense described therein shall be charged to have been committed against…