People v. Flack

This is an appeal by James A. Flack and William L. Flack from a conviction of the crime of conspiracy. The indictment contains sixteen counts, which may be divided into two classes. The first class charge the defendants, together with three other persons, with falsely instituting and maintaining an action for divorce in the name of Mary E. Flack, the wife of James A. Flack, against her husband, without her knowledge or consent. The second class charge the defendants with deception and imposition upon the court, and the procuring of a judgment of divoice in the said action by illegal and fraudulent practices.

The indictment is founded upon the statute which (omitting clauses not now material) makes it a misdemeanor for two or more persons to conspire “ falsely to institute or maintain an action or special proceeding, or to commit any act for the perversion or obstruction of justice or of the due administration of the law” (Penal Code, § 168). The action of Flack v. Flack was commenced April 22, 1889, by the service of a summons and complaint upon the defendant therein. The complaint purported to be verified by the plaintiff, Mary E. Flack. It alleged the intermar

The evidence of James A. Flack, taken before the grand jury, was read in evidence by the prosecution on the trial of the indictment, and the defendant William I. Flack was sworn as a witness on his own behalf. They denied any conspiracy or fraud, and testified that the suit was commenced and prosecuted with the full knowledge and acquiescence of Mrs. Flack.

The evidence given on the trial to sustain that part of the charge, that the defendants conspired to falsely maintain the action for divorce, did not proceed upon a denial of the fact of adultery charged in the complaint. On the contrary, it was proved on the part of the" prosecution, and was conceded by the defendants, that the defendant James A- Flack had for more than fifteen years before the trial lived in adulterous intercourse with a woman whose real name was Sarah Cherry, but who had passed by the name of Susan T. Raymond, and by whom he had a son, who, at the time of the trial, was about fifteen years of age. The claim on the part of the People was that this woman was intentionally misnamed in the complaint, which falsely stated the name of the adulteress to be other than her real name, and also that they induced two witnesses who knew of the adulterous intercourse between James A. Flack and the woman Raymond, and by whose depositions taken before the. referee the adultery charged in the complaint was proved, to suppress the real name, and to testify that the person with whom James A. Flack lived in adulterous intercourse was known to them as Susan T. Reynolds. It is also claimed that they were induced to swear falsely that they had.known Mrs. Flack for five years. It was not denied, indeed, it was conceded, that the testimony of these witnesses was perfectly true as to the material fact of the

These two witnesses testified on the trial of the indictment that they had never known Mrs. Raymond to pass by the name of Reynolds, and they gave as a reason for suppressing the true name in their depositions that Mrs. Raymond, who, as agent for James A. Flack, presented the depositions to them for their signatures, on her attention being called by them to the discrepancy, said “ it was all right, the name Reynolds, a covering for the boy’s sake; it was done for the boy, leaving out the name Raymond, and the name Reynolds was put in instead of Raymond.” The defendant James A. Flack, in his evidence before the grand jury (which was introduced by The People), testified that the woman Raymond went at times by the name of Reynolds.

The counts of the second class, viz.: those charging deception and imposture on the court, and the procuring of the judgment of divorce by illegal and fraudulent practices, were sought to be supported mainly by proof of certain acts and transactions not disclosed on the face of the judgment record in the divorce action, but proved by witnesses relating to papers embodied in the record and upon which the judgment was founded.

The judgment, although regular upon its face, was, as was claimed by the prosecution, fraudulent by reason of the circumstances disclosed by this evidence.

It appears that on or about the second day of July, 1889, Mr. Meeks, who, on the 10th of June, 1889, had been appointed by an order of Judge Bookstaver referee in the action of Flack v. Flack, applied to the same judge, upon the request of Ambrose Monell, the attorney of record of the plaintiff in the action (Monell being then ill and absent from the city of Rew York), for a judgment of divorce, pursuant to the prayer of the complaint in the action. The

The papers originally presented to Judge Bookstaver were then changed and reformed. The original summons, signed by Ambrose Monell, as attorney for the plaintiff, was torn from the complaint and a new summons was attached thereto, signed by Wright as attorney for the plaintiff, and which differed from the original summons in the name of the attorney only; the signature of Monell, as attorney, signed to the complaint, was erased, and that of Wright was written by him over the erasure; the affidavit of default made by Monell on the 22nd of May, 1889, was detached from the other papers and a new affidavit of the same tenor, purporting to have made by Wright on the same 22nd of May, was drawn and signed, and sworn to by Wright; a new order of reference, purporting to have been made on the third day of June, 1889, “ on the motion of Benjamin Wright, attorney for the plaintiff,” appointing Joseph Meeks referee, was drawn, and also a new form

The new papers, and such of the original ones as had not been changed, were then fastened together, and subsequently were presented to Judge Bookstaver, who then granted the order for judgment, and judgment for absolute divorce was thereafter entered.

If the judge had granted judgment upon the application first made, no question could have arisen as to its regularity, except that it would have been open to the plaintiff to contest the authority to bring the action in her name. None of the questions would then have arisen which were made the subject of investigation on the present trial, growing out of the changes made in the papers. These changes, though made apparently for the sole purpose of accomplishing the substitution of Mr. Wright as attorney for the plaintiff in place of Mr. Monell, in order to meet the objection of the judge, were nevertheless wholly irregular and unauthorized, and the roll, as finally made up, did not represent the actual truth. Mr. Wright was not legally substituted as attorney in place of Monell, and was not authorized to appear for the plaintiff in the action ; the affidavit of the service of the summons relates to a different summons from that annexed to the roll; the new summons had never, in fact, been served, and the affidavit that twenty days had elapsed since the service thereof was untrue; the proofs of adultery were taken under the order of reference of June 10,1888, and not under the order of July 3, 1888; the referee’s report reported acts performed by him as referee before the order of reference contained in the roll was made. This series of blunders, irregularities, or frauds, whichever they were, was committed by Meeks, one of the defendants, in connection with Wright. Both were sworn as witnesses on the trial. They differed in respect of some of the details, but both uneqivocally denied any intentional fraud upon the plaintiff in the action or upon the court, and asserted that their only purpose was to effect a substitution of

We are of opinion that errors was committed by the learned trial judge, in his charge to the jury, which require a reversal of the judgment below. Before proceeding to a particular consideration of the objectionable features of the charge, a brief reference to the law of conspiracy will aid in understanding the points upon which our judgment proceeds. The gist of the crime of conspiracy consists in a corrupt agreement between two or more individuals to do an unlawful act, unlawful either as a means or as an end (Bishop's Crim. Law, § 171, et esq., and cases cited). The agreement may be established by direct proof or by inference, as a deduction from conduct which discloses a common design on the part of the persons charged to act together for the accomplishment of the unlawful purpose. At common law the crime of conspiracy was complete when a corrupt agreement was made, although not followed by any overt act, and no step had been taken in furtherance of the oject of conspiracy. The statute of New York has modified the' common law in this respect, by requiring that to constitute the crime of conspiracy there must be both an agreement and an overtact to effect the object of the agreement, except where the conspiracy is to commit certain felonies specified (Penal Code, § 171).

The formation of a common design by two or more persons is never simpliciler a criminal conspiracy. This may be, and often is, perfectly innocent. The criminal quality resides in the intention of the parties to the agreement, construed in connection with the purpose contemplated. The mere fact that the conspiracy has for its object the doing of an act which may be unlawful, followed by the doing of such act, does not. constitute the crime of conspiracy, unless the jury find that the parties were actuated by a criminal intent. In many cases this inference would be irresistible; in others the jury might find that, although the

This principle of the law of conspiracy is illustrated in the case of the People v. Powell ( 63 N. Y. 88 ), which was the case of an indictment for a conspiracy by the defendants, Commissioners of Charities of Kings County, to purchase supplies without advertising for proposals as required by statute. The court charged that if the jury should find that the defendants entered into an agreement to purchase supplies without advertising, and did purchase them in pursuance of such agreement, the case against them was made out. This court affirmed the order of the general term, which reversed the judgment of conviction for misdirection in the charge, this court saying, “but to make an agreement between two or more persons to do an act, innocent in itself, a criminal conspiracy, it is not enough that it appears that the act which was the object of the agreement was pro. hibited. The confederation must be corrupt. The agreement must have been entered into with an evil purpose, as distinguished from a purpose simply to do the act prohibited, in ignorance of the prohibition. This is implied in the meaning of the word conspiracy.” And later on it was said, “it was open to the jury to find, upon the evidence, that no criminal intention existed, and if this had been found, to have acquitted the defendants.”

The conspiracy charged in the Powell case was to do an act malum prohibitmm merely, and the reference to that fact in the opinion was to show the distinction between a direct indictment for doing an act prohibited by law, but

In McKenna v. People ( 81 N. Y., 360 ), which was the case of indictment for murder, it was held that, however clear the circumstances might be, the question of guilty intent must be left exclusively to the jury, and in that case a conviction for manslaughter was reversed for error in the instruction to the jury, “ that the jury, if they believe the evidence offered in behalf of the people to be true, would be justified in finding the prisoner guilty.” This court said that the charge may have been understood by the jury as involving the opinion of the court upon the intent, as well as the other elements, of the crime, and was likely to mislead and prejudice them, but that in any view “it was stated much stronger than it ought to have been, and was calculated to make an erroneous impression upon the minds of the jurors.”

The learned trial judge, in his charge to the jury, after adverting to the rule that the jury were the exclusive judges of the facts, *and that the responsibility for their determination devolved exclusively upon them, and after defining the law of conspiracy, proceeded as follows: “I now hold in my hands the document which has brought you here to-night, and has brought me here—the judgment roll in this action. I feel bound to say to you, gentlemen, that this judgment record is a record of a fraudulent divorce. Of this there can be no doubt whatever. It would be a misapplication of language to call it an irregular proceeding. It is unquestionably fraudulent, and the two questions for you to determine are, first, whether the suit which resulted in this decree was fraudulently and falsely insti

The judge then referred to the various steps taken in the preparation of the roll, the substitution of a new attorney, the erasure of the name of Mon ell in the original complaint, and the writing in of the name of Wright, the attaching of the affidavit of service of the original summons and complaint to the new summons prepared by Wright, and concluded this summary as follows: “ In the same way I might go through the entire record. There it is. We cannot get away from it. It is a bald, naked fact that it is fraudulent, and the question is: Are these defendants responsible for it in the sense of the conspiracy act?” Later on in the charge the learned judge, recurring to the circumstances connected with the preparation of the judgment roll, said: “ These were .not irregularities. They were devices which must be characterized as fraudulent, and upon them the final decree was obtained.” It seems impossible to treat the charge as anything less than an instruction to the jury that the acts connected with the preparation of the roll were fraudulent and that it was left to the jury simply to determine whether they were performed by the defendants, or whether, if performed by one of the defendants, the others were responsible therefor under the law of conspiracy.

The claim that the learned judge intended simply to charge that by reason of the facts disclosed the judgment

The defendant Meeks and Wright, the attorney, both denied any fraudulent intent. It could not be ruled as matter of law that what they did were fraudulent devices to procure the decree. It was for the jury to say whether these acts were blunders or frauds. The question at issue was whether the acts were done in pursuance of a fraudulent conspiracy to wrong the plaintiff in the action, or to impose upon and deceive the court into granting the judgment. Whether the procedure was authorized by law, or the practice of the court, was proper and important to be considered by the jury upon the question of criminal intent, but however irregular or unauthorized the proceedings were, the inference of intent to be drawn therefrom was one of fact, and not of law. The objection to the charge to which we have adverted was not, we think, obviated because here and there in the course of his protracted charge are to be found expressions in which the learned judge seemed to qualify the expressions referred to. It is a rule founded upon good sense and the most obvious propriety, that is construing a charge, either in a civil or criminal case, the whole charge is to be considered together, and that a judgment will not be reversed for an erroneous instruction which was corrected by the judge where it appears wit-h reasonable

The learned judge, in his main charge, made no reference to the question of criminal intent as an element of the crime of conspiracy. It would seem that he was of opinion that the law presumed a criminal intent if the acts done were unlawful. We think valid exceptions were also taken-to the instructions upon this subject and to rulings made subsequent to the. main charge. The record shows that one of the counsel for the defendants, after the main charge had been concluded, said to the court: “You do not mention the presumption of innocence.” The court, after instructing the jury upon the point to which its attention had been called, then said: “ I ought to say, not as a supplement to the proposition, but as an independent proposition, that ignorance on the part of the defendants, or any of them, of the meaning of this statute (Conspiracy statute), cannot be a shield to them if you believe they have committed the acts. If you believe beyond a doubt that they have committed the acts which constitute the ofíense, as I have defined it to you, then they are guilty.” On exception being taken to this instruction, the court said : “ I refer to that because you will recollect that each of these defendants, when put upon the stand, were asked if they had conspired, if they had perverted the law, or perverted the administration of justice, and William L. Flack at one time said he did not know what that meant. Of course, gentlemen, this is of no consequence. The question is whether they have done the

Assuming that if the discussion upon the point of criminal intent had been closed at this point, it would have corrected the error in the previous charge, it was not so closed. The jury, after they had retired, returned to the court and requested of the court a definition of criminal intent. The court replied that “a criminal intent is the doing of an unlawful act, intending to do it.” After further colloquy between the court and the jurors and counsel, the court, referring to what constitutes crime, said : “If he (a defend

Assuming that'the jury should find that the defendant James A. Flack instituted the divorce suit without actual authority from Mrs. Flack, nevertheless, the jury had a right, in passing upon the question- of criminal intent, to consider whether he supposed that her consent to a bill of separation justified a proceeding for an absolute divorce. So, also, in respect to the misnaming of the adulteress in the complaint and in the depositions prepared for the witnesses, and inducing them to swear to them, the jury might consider whether the real purpose was “ a covering for the boy’s sake,” without any criminal design. They had a rjglit to consider, also, whether ’the acts of Meeks and Wright, in making up a new judgment roll and procuring the judge to grant the decree, were fraudulent acts, or were performed, as they testified, without any fraudulent purpose, however unjustifiable or unauthorized those acts may have been.

For the reasons stated we think the defendants are entitled to a reversal of the judgment of conviction.

Judgment reversed and a new trial granted.

All concur, except Earl and Gray, JJ., dissenting.

Where an adulterated article, which can be used as food, or as a drug, or for other purposes, is sold, there must be, to warrant the conviction of the seller (Laws 1881, ch. 407), proof that the article was sold as food or as a drug according to the allegations of the complaint, and also that the article was sold with a criminal intent or under circumstances which show criminal negligence (People v. Fuller, 1 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 172 ).

To warrant the conviction of an inspector of election who wilfully excluded the vote of a certain voter at an election where he was legally entitled to vote, it must appear that the inspector acted wilfully, that is, with a knowledge aforethought and a wicked intent (People v. Boas, 1 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 132 ).

When one voluntarily or wilfully does an act which has a tendency to destroy another’s life, the actual and necessary conclusion from the act is, that he intended to destroy such person’s life (People v. Majone, 1 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 86 ).

Whether the intent to kill has been made the subject of such deliberation as to create the crime of murder in the first degree is ordinarily incapable of direct proof, but may be ascertained from the circumstances (Id.).

To constitute the crime of obtaining property by false pretences in addition to proving the false pretences, and that the money was paid, or the property parted with in reliance thereon or under the inducement thereof, it must also be proved that the false pretences were made with intent to cheat and defraud another (People v. Baker, 2 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 218 ).

Whether or not there is a fraudulent intent is to be found as a fact by the jury. It is not a presumption of law, and a charge which informs the jury that from a certain state of facts the law presumes a fraudulent intent, is erroneous (Id.).

Under the statute, it is the duty of the judge to leave to the jury the consideration of the question of intoxication in determining the motive and intent, and this on an indictment for murder in the first degree, whether the defendant acted with deliberation or premeditation (People v. Mills, 3 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 184 ).

A charge upon a trial for murder, that there should be a conviction of murder in the first degree or an acquittal, is error, as taking from the jury the right and power to determine the intent, deliberation, and premeditation (People v. Kelly, 3 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 35 ).

The giving of a check by a person upon a bank in which he has no deposit or credit, is not larceny under section 529 of the Penal

Where a specific intent is required to make the act criminal, the doing of the act does not raise a presumption that it was done with that intent (People v. Platt, 4 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 53 ).

Upon a trial for the abduction of a female under sixteen years of age, if the abducted female was in fact under that age at. the time of the commission of the offence, it is immaterial whether or not the defendant at that time knew she was under such age (People v. Stott, 4 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 306 ).

The violation of the provisions of section 8, oh. 185 of the Laws of 1885 (the Oleomargarine Act) depends upon an intent to impose one article for another, both in the prohibition as to the manufacture and as to the sale of the simulated article (People v. Kerin, 4 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 140 ).

Proof of the corrupt intent in a prosecution for bribery is just as essential in order to convict as proof of the fact itself of giving or offering money (People v. Kerr, 6 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 406 ).

Where the intent of an act is an essential element thereof, evidence of the advice of counsel honestly given is competent (People v. Burton, 1 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 297 ; People v. Campbell, 18 W. Dig. 256.

As to the judge’s charge, the following recent authorities are relevant :

Comments by the trial judge on the testimony, so long as the judge leaves all the questions of fact to the jury and instructs them that they are the sole judges of matters of fact are not the subject of legal exception (People v. Carpenter, 4 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 39 ; People v. O’Neil, 6 Id. 274 ; People v. Druse, 5 Id. 10).

Where it is undisputed that a crime has been committed, of which complainant was the victim, a statement by the trial judge in his charge that the crime was one of the most atrocious known to the law, is not error where the judge expresses no opinion on the guilt of the defendant, and leaves all the facts to the jury under proper instructions (People v. McInnery, 3 N. Y. Crim. Rep. 47 ).

If the charge as a whole, gives the correct rule of law upon a given question, the judgment will not be reversed, and if the language employed be capable of different constructions, that construction will be considered adopted which will lead to affirmance of the judgment unless it appears that the jury were or might have been misled (People v. McCallam, 5 Id. 143 ).

Under an indictment under the general statutes of South Carolina, section 3084, for the breach of a written contract to serve as a

As to intent, see Abbott's Brief for the Trial of Criminal Cases, § 788-786.

In an article, “The Decision of the Flack Case in the Court of Appeals,” in the New York Law Journal, of January 17, 1891, the present editor ventured to criticize the case at bar upon the ground that the rulings of the trial judge characterized by the court of appeals as erroneous, in any event could have only affected the defendant Meeks, who did not appeal, and did not injure the defendants Flack.