State Ex Rel. Cogar v. Kidd

Miller, Justice:

This is an original action in prohibition brought by a defendant under indictment for embezzlement to test the constitutionality of the embezzlement statute, W. Va. Code, 61-3-20. Petitioner’s principal claim is the statute creates an impermissible presumption of guilt, vio lating his rights under Article III, Sections 5 and 10 of the West Virginia Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. We agree, but hold that the entire embezzlement statute is not thereby rendered unconstitutional.

The theory urged by the petitioner is the same…