People v. Collins
California Supreme Court
53 Cal. 185, 2 P.C.I.J. 62 (1878)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Collins (defendant) asked Parnell to enter a building at night, steal money that Collins knew was hidden within, and split the stolen money between them. Parnell went to the sheriff with the scheme. The sheriff instructed Parnell to pretend to go along with the crime, but in reality, to mark the money before giving it to Collins and signal to the sheriff once he had turned the money over to Parnell so that Collins could be arrested. Parnell entered the building, took the money and marked it, and gave half the money to Collins, after which Collins was arrested in possession of the marked money and charged with burglary. The court instructed the jury that if they found that Collins had an agreement with Parnell for Parnell to take the money, and that Parnell carried out the agreement, that Collins was guilty of burglary regardless of Parnell’s motives or intentions. Collins was convicted and appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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