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Commonwealth v. Stevens

Commonwealth versus Charles Stevens

Commonwealth v. Stevens, 1 Mass. 203 (1804)
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Court
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · State Highest Courts
Decided
November 15, 1804
Citations
1 Mass. 203
Headnotes
The word “ tenor ” hinds the party to a strict recital; but the number of a bank bill, and the words at the top of it expressing its amount, are not parts of the bill, and need not be set out in an indictment for forgery.
Summary
The defendant was indicted for forging a thirty-dollar bill of the Bevei ly bank, and for uttering the same. In both counts, the bill was laid to be of the tenor following, viz., [and set out the bill.] The defendant pleaded not guilty.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court

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The Court (Dana, C. J., Sedgwick, Sewall, and Thacher, justices) ruled that the number of the bill, and the words “ thirty dollars ” at the head of it, were not parts of the bill, and, therefore, not necessary to be set out; and they mentioned the case of Robert Bailey, at the last September term in Hampshire, in which the Court were' unanimously of the same opinion. [Ante, p. 62.]

The defendant’s counsel then objected to the bill going in evidence, because in the first count there was no allegation of an intent to defraud, and in the second count, a part of the date, viz., the words and figures, “ the 24th day of J” were omitted in the indictment.

The Court said the first objection would be proper in arrest of judgment, and that the second was fatal as to giving the bill in evidence, the word tenor binding the party to a strict recital.

The defendant consented to an amendment of the second count, and pleaded guilty to that count; the Attorney-General consenting to enter a nolle prosequi on the first count in the indictment.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 10 cases

View all citing references →
1807–1808: 11849–1850: 11853–1854: 11859–1860: 11879–1880: 11881–1882: 11895–1896: 11901–1902: 11903–1904: 11917–1918: 118072026peak 1807 · 1

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Commonwealth v. Wilson68 Mass. 70 (1854)
  2. Rosen v. United States161 U.S. 29 (1896)
  3. Lewis v. Blume116 N.E. 271 (Mass. 1917)
  4. Porter v. State15 Ind. 433 (1860)
  5. Langdale v. People100 Ill. 263 (1881)
  6. Wilson v. State85 Miss. 687 (1904)

Most recent

  1. Lewis v. Blume116 N.E. 271 (Mass. 1917)
  2. Wilson v. State85 Miss. 687 (1904)
  3. Commonwealth v. Pioso17 Pa. Super. 45 (1901)
  4. Rosen v. United States161 U.S. 29 (1896)
  5. Langdale v. People100 Ill. 263 (1881)
  6. United States v. Bennett24 F. Cas. 1107 (1879)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 0

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