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133 Ala. 96

Hurst v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1901

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1901-11-15

Tried before the Hon. O. J. Semmes. The appellant, Lee Hurst, was jointly indicted with Walter Jordan for the murder of Bobert McWhorter. A severance was had, and Lee Hurst was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to the penitentiary for life.

Relies on Linnehan v. State · Thomason v. Dill · Ellis v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1901-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 9 later decisions — most recently October 1940

9 state decisions

5019011910192019301940decided

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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TYSON, J.

¶1The questions propounded to defendant on cross-examination, notwithstanding they called for his secret, unexpressed motives or purposes, were not illegal and his responses to them were competent and relevant. Whilst it is true, as a general rule, secret intentions or unexpressed motives of a witness cannot be called for, the rule applies more particularly where a party seeks, in his own behalf, to prove by his own or his witness’ testimony, the secret, unexpressed motives or purposes of the person testifying. On cross-examination, where great latitude is allowed, the questions asked in this.case were properly allowed. This principle was pointedly declared in Linnehan v. State, 120 Ala. 293, *99Yarbrough v. State, 115 Ala. 92. See also Thomason v. Dill, 30 Ala. 444.

¶2TJie case of Ellis v. State, 105 Ala. 72, relied upon by appellant, is not in conflict with these views. The point here under consideration was not involved, nor decided. 'While it was attempted to be raised in that ease, the objection to tlie question was held ¡to be insufficient for that purpose.

¶3Affirmed.

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