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Form of indictment for a subsequent offence.
When the previous conviction is to be proved on the trial.
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116. In any indictment for any offence punishable under this Act, and committed after a previous conviction or convictions for any felony, misdemeanor, or offence or offences punishable upon summary conviction, it shall be sufficient, after charging the subsequent offence, to state that the offender was at a certain time and place or at certain times and places convicted of felony or of an indictable misdemeanor, or of an offence or offences punishable upon summary conviction, (as the case may be,) without otherwise describing the previous felony, misdemeanor, offence or offences; and a certificate containing the substance and effect only (omitting the formal part) of the indictment and conviction for the previous felony or misdemeanor, or a copy of any such summary conviction, purporting to be signed by the clerk of the court or other officer having the custody of the records of the court where the offender was first convicted, or to which such summary conviction shall have been returned, or by the deputy of such clerk or officer, (for which certificate or copy a fee of five shillings and no more shall be demanded or taken,) shall, upon proof of the identity of the person of the offender, be sufficient evidence of such conviction, without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the same; and the proceedings upon any indictment for committing any offence after a previous conviction or convictions shall be as follows; (that is to say,) the offender shall, in the first instance, be arraigned upon so much only of the indictment as charges the subsequent offence, and if he plead not guilty, or if the court order a plea of not guilty to be entered on his behalf, the jury shall be charged, in the first instance, to inquire concerning such subsequent offence only; and if they find him guilty, or if on arraignment he plead guilty, he shall then, and not before, be asked whether he had been previously convicted as alleged in the indictment; and if he answer that he had been so previously convicted, the court may proceed to sentence him accordingly; but if he deny that he had been so previously convicted, or stand mute of malice, or will not answer directly to such question, the jury shall then be charged to inquire concerning such previous conviction or convictions, and in such case it shall not be necessary to swear the jury again but the oath already taken by them shall for all purposes be deemed to extend to such last-mentioned inquiry: Provided, that if upon the trial of any person for any such subsequent offence such person shall give evidence of his good character, it shall be lawful for the prosecutor, in answer thereto, to give evidence of the conviction of such person for the previous offence or offences before such verdict of guilty shall be returned, and the jury shall inquire concerning such previous conviction or convictions at the same time that they inquire concerning such subsequent offence.
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