Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

115 Ala. 67

Jones v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1896

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1896-11-15

Tried before the Hon. John R. Tyson. The appellant was indicted and tried for the murder of Amos Williams, was convicted of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. There is but one question presented on the present appeal, and the facts pertaining thereto are sufficiently stated in the opinion. The State was not allowed to recall the witness who had been introduced by the defendant and cross-examine him.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1896-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently June 1978

1 federal appellate · 4 state decisions

10189619001910192019301940195019601970decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

HARALSON, J.

¶1Dolphus Smith had been examined as a witness by the defendant, who testified to facts .tending to show an alibi. Albert Johnson, a witness for defendant, testified to a fact tending to show that Dolphus Smith might have killed the deceased. After the defendant had closed, the State recalled the said witness, Dolphus Smith, who was again sworn, and was asked by the solicitor, “Did you kill Amos Thomas?” to which question, the witness replied, “No, sir.”

¶2The defendant requested the court to charge the jury, “that when the State called Adolphus Smith, as a witness, and put him on the stand and examined him, the State endorsed him.” The charge was incorrect, and properly refused. The rule on the subject, as stated by the decisions of this court is, that a party can not impeach a witness he has introduced either by propounding questions, tending to show him incompetent or unworthy of credit,, or by the examination of other witnesses, proving him to .be incompetent, or unworthy of credit; but that the party may introduce other evidence ' to establish the facts of his cause, though thereby the witness is 'contradicted. — 3 Brick.' Dig. 828, §§ 98-100.

¶3Affirmed.

/115/ala/67 · .json · Public domain