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103 Ala. 57

Smith v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1893

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1893-11-15

<p> Indictment for Perjury. </p> <p>1. Jurisdiction, of city court; limitation thereof. — Where the. act establishing a city court confers upon it jurisdiction of causes of action arising within certain designated limits, the jurisdiction of such court is not limited to only such causes of action as arise within tire prescribed limits ; and where a cause of action against a railroad company for personal injuries arose outside of the territorial jurisdiction of such city court, but the railroad ran through, and the company did business within, the designated limits of its jurisdiction, the said court has jurisdiction of such cause of action.</p> <p>2. Evidence; when, original ¡¡leadings, <t-c. inasuit are admissible.— On a trial under an indictment for perjury, when it is shown that the. final record of the case in which it is alleged tire perjury was committed had not been made up, the original pleadings, rulings and judgment of the court in said case are admissible, in evidence.</p> <p>3. Same; subpa-na docket admissible. — On a trial under an indictment for perjury, where the clerk of the court testifies that the defendant was subpoenaed as a witness in the case in which the perjury is alleged-to have been committed, answered to his name, was sworn and examined as a witness, and that the names of the witnesses in the subpoena docket were checked off as the witnesses answered to their names, the subpoena docket in such case, with a check mark opposite, the name of the defendant, is admissible in evidence, as tending to show that the defendant was summoned, attended and was sworn as a witness in said case.</p> <p>4. Evidence of character; witness may be cross-examined, as to defendant’s being accused of certain ¡¡articular offenses. — A witness, who has testified to the good character' of the defendant, may be asked,' on cross-examination, whether or not he ever heard of defendant being accused of certain specific, offenses before the commencement of the then pending prosecution; such question being competent for the purpose of testing the credibility of the witness, and not as affecting the character of defendant.</p> <p>5. Indictment for perjury; sufficiency.- — An indictment for perjury in a civil case is sufficient under the statute, (Code, § 3908), when it substantially follows the form given in the Code (Cr. Code, p. 275, form 67), and alleges the substance of the proceeding in which the alleged false testimony was given, the name of the officer before whom the oath was taken, his authority to administer it, the facts testified to, the materiality of the testimony, and that it was willfully and corruptly falsé.</p> <p>6. Perjury; proof of one of several assignments of perjury sufficient to justify conviction.- — Where an indictment for perjury contains several distinct assignments of perjury, proof of any one of the material assignments will authorize a conviction, although as to the other assignments, the State may have failed in its proof.</p> <p>7 Charges to jury when properly refused. — Charges to the jury that invade the province of the jury, and such as are argumentative or misleading, are properly refused.</p>

Relies on Moulton v. State · Thompson v. State · Ingram v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1893-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 28 later decisions — most recently October 1975 · most notably 31 Ala. App. 571 - Mullins v. State (1944), Andrews v. State (1909)

1 federal appellate · 27 state decisions

100189319001910192019301940195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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COLEMAN, J.

¶1At a term of the Anniston city court, the defendant was tried and convicted of perjury. It is insisted that the city court of Anniston had no jurisdiction of the civil case on the trial of which it was averred the offense of perjury was committed. That was a suit brought to recover damages for personal injuries, brought by John Smith v. The Richmond & Danville R. R. Co. The cause of action for which the civil suit was brought arose in Jefferson county, Ala., and territorially was beyond the limits of the area over which the city court of Anniston had jurisdiction. It is, therefore, contended that the city court had no jurisdiction of the civil cause. The act establishing the city court of Anniston, confers jurisdiction upon causes of action “arising within said designated limits whether the parties reside therein or not,” but this provision does not limit, and was not intended to limit, the jurisdiction of the court to causes of action only arising within the designated limits. It has jurisdiction over all persons residing within the designated limits, without regard to where the cause of action arose, and in addition thereto to causes of action arising within the limits, whether the person resides therein or not, provided, of course, that he resides in the county of Calhoun. This is evident from reading the statute.— Acts 3888-89, pp. 871, 872.

¶2The evidence shows without conflict that the Richmond & Danville Railroad Co. was running its trains within the “designated limits,” and “was doing” business therein. — Code, § 2642 ; Sullivan v. Sullivan Timber Co. 15 So. Rep. 941. The exceptions were not well taken.

¶3The State introduced in evidence, against the objection of the defendant, the original pleadings, and the rulings of the court, and the judgment of the court in the case of John Smith v. The Richmond & Danville R. R. Co. Tt was proven that the final record in the case had not been made up. There was no error in admitting this evidence. — Williams v. The State, 68 Ala. 551.

¶4The court did not err in admitting the supoena docket of the case of John Smith v. The Richmond & Danville R. R. Co. The purpose of this evidence was to show *70that the defendant was summoned as a witness, that he attended and was duly sworn. The testimony of the clerk, that he checked the names of the witnesses who were sworn and examined, and the check opposite the name of the defendant in connection with this testimony, were competent as tending to show that the defendant was sworn as a witness in the case.

¶5There was evidence tending to show that defendant was duly sworn as charged in the indictment, and there was no error in refusing the general charge for the defendant.

¶6A witness, who has testified in chief to the good character of the defendant, maybe asked on cross examination whether or not he has heard of certain offenses, specifying them, charged against the defendant, before the beginning of the then pending prosecution. This is allowable only on cross examination, not as evidence affecting the character of the defendant, but as evidence affecting the credibility of ‘the witness testifying to good character. — Moulton v. The State, 88 Ala. 116 ; Ingram v. The State, 67 Ala. 72 ; Moore v. The State, 68 Ala. 362 ; Holmes v. The State, 88 Ala. 26 ; Thompson v. The State, 100 Ala. 70 ; Lowery v. The State, 98 Ala. 45.

¶7The indictment in form strictly conforms to that given in the Code, to the statute, and to the requirements of the law as held in many cases. — Or. Code, p. 275, § 3908; Jones v. The State, 100 Ala. 35; Walker v. The State, 96 Ala. 53; Barnett v. The State, 89 Ala. 165; Hicks v. The State, 86 Ala. 30 ; Williams v. The State, 68 Ala. 551.

¶8The indictment charges as matters falsely sworn to, “that he, Sam Smith, saw John Smith buy a ticket at Anniston for Birmingham on said train; that he, Sam Smith, got on said train at Anniston, and sat in the same car with John Smith, and a little in front of him ; that after leaving Irondale, the conductor went to said John Smith and demanded his fare to Birmingham;” and other substantive averments are made in the indictment, but this enumeration is sufficient for the purpose of considering the exceptions to portions of the general charge given by the court, and the refusal of the court to instruct the jury as requested by the defendant. The proposition involved in the exceptions is this, whether before the State could demand a conviction it was necessary to satisfy the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, *71that defendant committed perjury as to each and every averment of the matter alleged to be material and falsely sworn to, or whether upon proof that the defendant was guilty as to one or more of such averments, the jury should convict, although, as to the other averments, the State may have failed in its proof. The court held that the latter was the correct rule, and in effect instructed the jury, if they found that the defendant was guilty of perjury in swearing that he saw John Smith buy a ticket at Anniston for Birmingham as laid in the indictment, it was their duty to convict him, although there might be material matters charged in the indictment, as to which the jury might be satisfied that defendant had sworn truly. We are of opinion that the court ruled correctly on this proposition.

¶9In 2 Wharton Or. Law, § 1301, the law is stated thus : “All the several particulars, in which the prisoner swore falsely, may be embraced in one count, and proof of the falsity of any one will sustain the count." In Bishop’s Criminal Procedure the rule is thus stated: “When there are several assignments of perjury, proof of any sufficient one will sustain the count." The text is supported by the following authorities, which are precisely in point: State v. Bishop, 1 D. Chipman’s Rep. (Vt.) 120; Com. v. Johns, 6 Gray (72 Mass.) 274; State v. Hascall, 6 N. H. 352.

¶10In the case of Harris v. The People, 64 New York 148, it was charged that the defendant falsely swore that at the time of the fire there was upon the premises ‘ ‘ a stock consisting of 60,000cigars, 185,000 cigarettes, 400 lbs. weight of Havana tobacco and 640 lbs. of Virginia tobacco." It was claimed on the trial that there was a variance in the number of cigars proven, and as averred. The court used this language : “The variance was to one of a number of distinct items as to which Harris was charged with swearing falsely, and if the jury had found that he swore falsely as to the other items, or as to any one of them a verdict of guilty would have been proper. When an indictment charges that the prisoner has stolen a number of articles * … or has obtained goods by a number of false pretenses, or has sworn falsely in an affidavit as to several facts, it is not necessary to prove all that is charged. It is sufficient to prove enough to make out the offense charged." The princi*72pie is recognized in the opinion in the case of Williams v. The State, 68 Ala., supra. Our conclusion is that where the indictment charges several distinct assignments of perjury, proof of either material assignment will authorize a conviction.

¶11• Construing the charge given by the court, ex mero moiu, as a whole, we think it defines the law correctly as to what constitutes perjury. We find no error in the instructions given to the jury, to guide them in weighing the evidence of the witnesses, and in framing their own conclusions.

¶12Charges twenty-two and twenty-three, requested by the defendant, are objectionable in. that they invade the province of the jury, and are argumentative and misleading. The other charges requested assert propositions of law inconsistent with those declared in this opinion.

¶13There is no error in the record.

¶14Affirmed.

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