Thompson v. Missouri, 171 U.S. 380 (1898)

Thompson v. Missouri


No. 623


Submitted April 21, 1898
Decided May 31, 1898
171 U.S. 380

ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI

Syllabus

The Act of the Legislature of Missouri of April 8, 1895, Missouri Laws 1895, page 284, providing that

comparison of a disputed writing with any writing proved to the satisfaction of the judge to be genuine shall be permitted to be made by witnesses, and such writings and the evidence of witnesses respecting the same may be submitted to the court and jury as evidence of the genuineness or otherwise of the writing in dispute,

is not ex post facto under the Constitution of the United States when applied to prosecutions for crimes committed prior to its passage.

The case is stated in the opinion.