Year: 1879

HIS CONVICTION IN THE COURT OF OYER AMI


TERMINER AFFIRMED By THE SUPREME COURT.


GENERAL TERM-JUDoE BRADY's DECISION.


After several months delay the Supreme Court.
General Term. yesterday rendered its opinion ON
the appeal taken In the Of Henry w. Genet.
Such publicity given to the facts the time of
the trial in the Court of Oyer and Terminer that it
hardly necessary at present to recite them de-
TAIL The indictment against him, stripped Of its
verbisge. charged him with obtaining money from
the city treasury ostensibly to be used In
paying for labor and material in the construc.
ton of the Harlem Court House. As is well
known he convicted. but pending the
passage Of sentence by Judge Daniels was remanded
to the custody Of the shorif. who placed him in
charge of two of his deputies from whom he effected
an escape leaving them suddenly In the lurch while
on visit to his wife aud afterward disappearing
from the public gaze for many months. The history
of his foreign travels has never been written and
probably never will be. 1t Is only known that ha
suddenly mado his reappearance In the city. aud
Judge Davis in the Court OF Oyer and Terminer. In
view of his voluntary surrender granted his release
ON s25 900 bail pending appeal on his behalf from
the verdict found against him to the Supreme Court.
General Term. AS Judge Davis had admitted him to
bail he did not sit at the General Term on the hear
ing of this appeal the judges hearing the being
Judges Brady and Ingalls, The opinion OF the Court.
one and as will be by tho abstract given
below uihrms the verdict of the Court OF Oyer and
Terminer.


SCOPE OF THE CRIME.


Having recited length the facts of tho in.
cluding the alleged arrangement made with MIR.
Davidson to furnish iron necessary for the
struction of the Court House and the obtaining by
MT Genet OF money on warrsn. TAI sd npoa cnntra .nS
Judge Brady says;-"It may seem strange that from
such array Of facts there can be any doubt that
1oFav ptartrto nf
sentation. false prctence IL the iron was not de-
lvered at the time the bill was made out and pre-
the manuer stated. The bill was false In every
particular. No iron had been delivered. NO carriage
supposed 70 have been created by an informal inter-
view with Mr.. Tweed. there was no contract for
sioners anybody slSe quite evident that the
commissioners in certifying such bill. representr
ing. as it aid the delivery Of ls the non-re-
were guilty of . negligence by which what was Z


fiction became in fact reality. 1t became reality
condition to be sent forward to be impressed with
the other acts in reference to IT, necessary to make
1t effective If the defendants connection with that
paper had however after its preparation and
presentation 1t might well be that he could not have
was accused. But it did not, because the evidence
shows that when the warrant based upon 1t had
gone through all the forms required in the fiscal de-
necessary to insure Its payment it was received by
him from the Comptroller. indorsed by him as the
IL
and upon presentation by him to the bank upon
which 1t was drawn was duly paid to him. 1t thus
appears that the defendant in effect prepared the bill
containing the false pretences presented 1t to tho
commissioners Of whom he was the counsel and
who might rs prudent men, have relied upon
his acts, and received the warrant based upon 1t
aud collected the amount The response Of the
defendant to the accusation thus made bX
the people is substantially that he by this method
undertook to procure the money for the purchase
from Mr.. Davidson in order to complete the con-
tract for the reason that Davidson had positively
declined to deliver the materials other than upon
payment for them, and that he had no intention at
that time any subsequent time to defraud III
any way wrong the city Of New York. but obtained
the money for Mr. Davidson and sought him to pay
1t over to him and SO offered when he found him.
aud that Davidson rel using to receive 1t he paid
It to Mr. Scallon, who used It in paying for
labor done upon the Court House. He has had
the benefit OF this exposition. but tho jury, upon
consideration OF all the facts and circumstances OF
the case have determined by their verdict that this
defence not satisfactorily established and could
not therefore. relieve him from the consequences OF
the offence of which he stood charged"


YAiR IMPARTIAL TRIAL.


Judge Brady next gives an exposition OF the stat
cusses in . clear and succinct manner. the usual
points Of law involved in the quoting numcr-
ous authorities corroborative of his opinion that
under the statute the conviction was proper:
He further discusses the various exceptions raised
during the trial, which he shows. In his view were
not well taken. He also takes mp the refusal by
Judge Daniels to charge az requested: He sustains
Judge Daniels In his ,refusas rs well ~ overrues
exceptions to the charge. His fnx conclusion IL
that Genet had fair and impartial trial that the
conviction was proper. and that the Judgment
should be confirmed.


As the case stands the next step in the programme
will be the sentence OF Genet under his conviction
and unless meantime stay OF proceedings 10
granted. pending appeal to the Court Of Appeals
he will have to pay the penalty Of the crime OF
which he has been convicted