Case Name: The State v. Williams, Appellant
Court: Supreme Court of Missouri
Jurisdiction: Missouri
Decision Date: 1893-06-27
Citations: 117 Mo. 379
Docket Number: 
Parties: The State v. Williams, Appellant.
Judges: All the judges of this division concur.
Reporter: Missouri Reports
Volume: 117
Pages: 379–380

Head Matter:
The State v. Williams, Appellant.
Division Two,
June 27, 1893.
Criminal Practice: arraignment. A judgment of conviction in a criminal case will be reversed, where it appears the defendant was not arraigned before he was put upon trial.
Appeal from Barry Circuit Court. — Hon. Joseph Cravens, Judge.
Reversed and remanded.
W. Cloud and T. B. Steel for appellant.
The defendant should have been arraigned- after the withdrawal of his plea of not guilty, and overruling the demurrer. 'State v. Beeves, 97 Mo. 668.
B. F. Walker, Attorney General, for the state.
The record in this case fails to show that defendant was arraigned or entered a plea to the indictment at any time during either trial of this case. Under the repeated ruling of this court, this is essential, and the cause must be reversed and remanded. State v. Agee, 68 Mo. 264; State v. Montgomery, 63 Mo. 296; State v. Sawnder's, 53 Mo. 234; Revised Statutes 1889, sec. 4141.

Opinion:
Gantt, P. J.
— The indictment in this ease was returned by the grand jury of Lawrence county on the fourth day of February, 1891. The defendant was convicted at the October term, 1891. The bill of exceptions was filed January 19, 1892, and the clerk of the circuit court of Barry county, certified this record on the thirtieth day of January, 1892, and yet this transcript was not filed in this court for want of docket fee until May 2, 1893.
There was no arraignment of defendant before he was put on trial, and, of course, this cause must be reversed, for that reason.
It would seem that some method should be adopted to prevent a recurrence of this delay in a criminal case. The defendant should not be permitted to delay a public prosecution by simply neglecting to. pay the docket fee.
A rule or this court recently adopted requires the clerks to promptly certify these appeals, or be held in contempt; but when they have done their duty, no reason can be given why the appeal in the present condition of this docket should not be speedily heard and determined.
Judgment reversed and cause remanded.
All the judges of this division concur.