United States v. Davis, 231 U.S. 183 (1913)

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United States v. Davis

No. 395

Argued October 17, 1913
Decided December 1, 1913
231 U.S. 183

ERROR TO THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

Syllabus

On a direct appeal from an order quashing an indictment, this Court assumes the correctness of the meaning affixed to the indictment by the court below and determines only whether the statute was correctly construed.

Section 29 of the Penal Code is practically a reproduction of § 5421, Rev.Stat., which in turn represents § 1 of the Act of March 3, 1823, c. 38, 3 Stat. 771, and this Court follows the construction already given by this Court to the last named statute to the effect that it embraces fraudulent documents as well as those that are forged or counterfeited. United States v. Staats, 8 How. 41.

The enumeration of certain classes of forged and false documents in § 5421, Rev.Stat., does not exclude other fraudulent documents which might be used to perpetrate the wrong which it is the purpose of the statute to prevent.

The facts, which involve the construction of §§ 28 and 29 of the Penal Code (§§ 5421 and 5479, Rev.Stat.), are stated in the opinion.