The jury having found that the defendant did not take the fee charged in the indictment corruptly, have by their verdict negatived the very gist of the indictment, it is equivalent to a verdict of ‘not guilty.’ The defendant must, therefore, be discharged.
State v. Bright, 5 N.C. 634, 2 Car. L. Rep. 634 (1816)
July 1816
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Supreme Court of North Carolina
5 N.C. 634, 2 Car. L. Rep. 634
State v. Bright.
This was an indictment against the defendant, who is Register of Lenoir County, for taking a greater fee for copying a deed than the law allows. Upon ‘not guilty’ being pleaded, the jury found that the defendant took more than his legal fee, but that he did not take it corruptly.
A motion was made in behalf of the defendant, that the verdict be entered up as one of acquittal; and a motion was made on the part of the State, for a venire facias de novo.