Opinion

Commonwealth v. Davis

  • 104 Mass. 548
Court
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Filed
Mar 15, 1870
Status
Published
Author
Morton
On the bench
Morton
Cited by
3 cases
Authority
More cited than 84.8%

The opinion

Morton, J.

The instructions of the court that “ upon the undisputed evidence in the case Brown did not sustain such a relation to the property in question as would make his felonious appropriation of it an act of embezzlement, but that his taking of the same, if the jury found the other elements necessary to constitute the offence, would be larceny,” were correct. Brown was a mere servant of the owners of the property alleged to be stolen by him. We cannot see in the case any testimony which tends to show that he had even the bare custody of the goods, much less the legal possession. They were in the possession and custody of the owners, and the felonious taking and appropriation of them by Brown was clearly larceny and not embezzlement. Upon the facts in this ease an indictment against him for embezzlement could not be sustained. Commonwealth v. Berry, 99 Mass. 428 . Exceptions overruled.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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