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115 Ala. 69

Dunmore v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1896

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1896-11-15

Tried before the Hon. John H. Sheepsy, Special Judge, The appellant, Stephen Dunmore, was indicted, tried and convicted for burglary. The facts pertaining to the only ruling of the trial court which is reviewed on the present appeal, are sufficiently stated in the opinion.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““Counsel may not in argument to the jury, state as matter of fact, that of which there is no evidence. Such statement is not within the latitude of discussion the law accords to counsel, and is in itself of evil tendency.” .”

quoted by 1 later decision, including 39 Okla. Crim. 430 - Green v. State

Relies on Cross v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1896-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently April 1975

12 state decisions

40189619001910192019301940195019601970decided

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 →

BRICKELL, C. J.

¶1While the prosecutor and Rice testified to the breaking and entry of the storehouse, and the circumstances may have justified the inference that in the breaking and entry the defendant had the intent to steal, there is not a scintilla of evidence that anything was stolen. The discovery of the defendant on his entry of the house, the alarm given by Rice, the immediate *70flight of the defendant, negative all just, or rational inference, that there was a consummated larceny. And yet, in the concluding argument to the jury, against the objection of the defendant, the solicitor was permitted to state that three witnesses, who had testified on behalf of defendant, “had gotten part of the stolen goods.” On the suggestion of the court, tlie solicitor said this was his inference from the evidence. Counsel may not in argument to the jury, state as matter of fact, that'of which there is no evidence. Such statement is not within the latitude of discussion, the law accords' to counsel, and is in .itself of evil tendency. Changing the form of the statement into an assertion that it was inferential does not relieve it from impropriety. There is not a fact to be found in the evidence from which the inference could be deduced. When there is a fact in evidence, counsel may urge before the jury the consideration of any inference, however weak or remote, which may arise from it — but the fact is the principal, the inference is the incident, and without the fact can not have existence.Cross v. State, 68 Ala. 476. The’eiror of the court in this regard, compels a reversal of’ the judgment, without a consideration of the other questions, which will scarcely arise on any future trial.

¶2Let the judgment be reversed and the cause remanded. The defendant will remain in custody until discharged by due course of law. ’ .

¶3Reversed and remanded.

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