The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-11-05
SUPREME COURT
AND All SING CASE

1
The Supreme Court yesterday render
ed decision in the case of All Sing
convicted in the Circuit Court of be
ing present at a gambling game. Al
Sing with sixty-seven others was ar
rested over year ago by the Terri
torial grand jury then in session. Th'
jurors surrounded the place whore the
gambling was going on, and held the
| gamblers inside until the police, who
were sent for, arrived. When the mer
came up for trial the question of theil
identification arose and the bail bonds
that they signed were offered in evil
denee by the prosecution over the OBJ
| lection of the defendants. to prove
their identity. Judge Robinson admit
ted the bail bonds for this purpose.
The Supreme Court said this was error.
All Sing gets new trial. The 81 9th
ers failed to perfect their appeals to
the Supreme Court and do not get the
benefit of this decision. Most of them
were fined and have paid their fines.
Two of them are now in Jail.
The text of the decision is as fol-
lows:
The Territory of Hawaii V. All Sing
and g. others. Error to Circuit Court,
First Circuit. Argued october II, 1901.
Decided November 4, 1907.
Hartwell, c. j., Wilder and Ballou,
u.
characterization of document
A bail bond. purporting to be signed
by a defendant, offered in evidence for
the purpose of identifying him by
means of a recital therein, is inadmis-
sible unless accompanied by evidence
that it was executed by the defendant.
OPINION OF THE COURT BY
BALLOU, j.
The defendant All Sing, who We
have held is the only person having
any standing in the prosecution of the
above entitled writ of error (ante, page
1922, was convicted in the district court
of Honolulu and again on appeal in the
circuit court of the first circuit OF
violating R L. Sec. 3175 by being pres
ent at a place where certain gambling
games were being carried on. The
assignments of error relied upon relate
to the lack of identification of the ac-
cused and error in admitting in evil
dence a bail bond for the purpose of
such identification.
The record shows that a room in
which gambling was going on was
raided by several members of the
grand jury, and sixty-eight Chinese
who were there present were arrested.
These were taken to the police station,
where they were released upon deposit
ing cash bail. 1t does not appear from
the record when the arrested persons
first gave their names. Some days
later All Sing and sixty-seven others,
by name, were tried in the district
court of Honolulu and convicted. On
the same day an appeal bond was
given purporting to be signed by the
persons convicted and their surety,
The condition of this obligation is
such that whereas the above bounden
principals were arrested upon a charge
of violating Section 3175 of the Revised
Laws of Hawaii, by being present at
a place where certain gambling games
were being carried on known as fan
tan and PAL kau were being carried
on at which money or something of
value was lost and won and, whereas
the said principals were upon the 9th
day Of November, A. d. 1906, convicted
of said charge. by the Honorable S.
H. Derby, Second District Magistrate
of the District Court of Honolulu,
County of Oahu. and sentenced TO pay
a fine of twenty-five, dollars (s25OO)
and the costs of said prosecution, and
said principals have appealed
from the judgment of said Court to the
Circuit Court of the First Judicial Cir /
cult at its next term etc.
At the trial in the circuit court some |
Of the defendants were identified by /,
name or appearance as having been in /
the room on the occasion testified to- |
In the case of others, including All |
Sing, no witness was called either to |
IDENTIFY them as having been present |
1t the gambling game or as having |
been among those who were arrested /
and taken to the police station. For |
evidence of Identification the prosecu-
ion relied upon the introduction in
evidence of the bail bond above refer
ed to, claiming that its recital was an
omission that the persons named and
igning as principals were arrested,
and this, coupled with the evidence
hat the persons arrested were guilty
II the offense, and the presumption Of
IDENTIFY Of persons from identity of
lanes, was sufficient to support a
conviction.
The evidence furnished by the bail
'ond is meager and unsatisfactory so
ar as it connects the persons signing
With the misdemeanor in question. 1t
Ices not specify any time or occasion
N which they were arrested and it
nay be doubted whether such a recital
Inserted incidentally in a document
for an entirely different pur-
'ose and signed by persons unfamiliar
With the language in which it was
written could be held sufficient to sup
'ort conviction in the absence OF. all
ther Identification