State v. Grant

The .question presented by the writ is one of law. A sentence of seven to nine years upon a bill of indictment for an attempt to break and enter is not authorized. The crime charged is a misdemeanor. The maximum punishment for the offense is imprisonment for two years. The commitment issued by the Assistant Clerk of the Greene County Superior Court states, “The commitment was for breaking and entering.” The commitment must give way to the basic document— the indictment — which charges only an attempt to break and enter.

Ordinarily, when a judgment is imposed in excess of that permitted by law,…