Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 1).pdf/299

 the demand or reception of excessive fees except when taken as a bribe, and the indictment should allege that the asking or receiving was an inducement for the act done: People v. Kalloch, 60 Cal. 116; Hutchinson v. State, 36 Texas 293; Lawson’s Crim. Def., vol. 4, p. 286.

George F. Goodwin, attorney-general, and W. E. Purcell, states attorney, of Richland county, for the defendant in error: Section 6303 applies to all cases where excessive fees are asked or taken.

, J. The indictment under which plaintiff in error was tried and convicted is framed tinder § 6303, Comp. Laws, which is as follows: “Every executive officer who asks or receives any emolument, gratuity, or reward, or any promise of any emolument, gratuity or reward, excepting such as may be authorized by law, for doing any official act, is guilty of a misdemeanor.” After a verdict of guilty, a bill of exceptions was allowed embracing the evidence, rulings, and exceptions and defendant moved thereon for a new trial. The motion was denied, whereupon a writ of'error issued, and the whole record is brought up for review. In the view taken by this court of the whole case, it will be unnecessary to set out the testimony or the several rulings made thereon, in detail. According to the theory of the evidence advanced by the prosecution, the following facts were established at the trial, viz: That plaintiff in error, on May 25, 1889, was a county commissioner of Richland county, and, on that day, he presented a bill against said county to the county board for $107.80, which bill was audited, ordered paid, and, on the same day, was paid in due course to plaintiff in error out of the county treasury. The record of the proceedings of the board describes the bill as a bill for “Com. services and work.” The bill was made up of a number of items. The following items embraced in the bill, are claimed to be illegal demands against the county, and the theory of the prosecution is that the act of asking for and receiving pay for such items constitutes the crime defined in said section of the statute: (1) “April 29th, county committee work to Hankinson and Lidgerwood, three days with team, $18.” (2) “May 11th, committee work to Dwight, one day with team, $6.” (3) “May