Mathena v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas
Appeal from the County Court of Matagorda. Tried below before the Hon. W. S. Stewart, County Judge. The information charged that by means of false pretenses the appellant obtained a pair of pantaloons and a shirt, of the aggregate value of five dollars and a quarter, and the property of George Burkhart.
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Appeal from the County Court of Matagorda. Tried below before the Hon. W. S. Stewart, County Judge. The information charged that by means of false pretenses the appellant obtained a pair of pantaloons and a shirt, of the aggregate value of five dollars and a quarter, and the property of George Burkhart. The result of the trial was the conviction of the appellant, whose punishment was assessed at a fine of five dollars, and confinement in the county jail for twenty-four hours. The evidence for the State was, in substance, that on the day named in the information, the defendant went into…
1Opinion of the Court
White, Presiding Judge.
As a charge for the crime of swindling, as defined in our statute (Penal Code, Art. 790), the information in this case is fatally defective in several material respects, and the motion in arrest of judgment should have been sustained.
1. The information does not set out the false pretenses.
2. It does not allege that the pretenses were known by the defendant to be false, or that, being false, he knowingly made them.
3. It does not allege that the injured party was induced to part with his property by means of said false pretenses. Other objections might be urged to the…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Epperson v. StateTexas Supreme Court · 1874
- Pendry v. StateSupreme Court of Florida · 1881
- Maranda v. StateTexas Supreme Court · 1876