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16 Ala. App. 545

79 So 804

Crawley v. State

Alabama Court of Appeals

Decided June 11, 1918

Alabama Court of Appeals · decided 1918-06-11

<p>1. Criminal Law @=>368(2) — Evidence—Res Gest.®.</p> <p>In prosecution for assault with intent to murder, evidence relative to defendant’s wife’s screaming immediately before gun was fired held admissible as part of res gestse.</p> <p>2. Criminal Law @=>368(1) — Evidence—Res Gestíe.</p> <p>In prosecution for assault with intent to murder, testimony by the wife of prosecuting witness relating what took place between her and her husband at the time of the shooting was admissible as part of res gestee.</p> <p>3. Witnesses @=>376 — Testimony on Redirect Examination — Interest oe Witnesses.</p> <p>Where state witness testified on cross-examination that his feelings toward defendant were good and that be had come all the way from another state to testify, it was proper for witness, on redirect examination, to testify that be had been subpoenaed; such evidence being admissible to rebut the proposition of undue feelings and interest against defendant on his part.</p> <p>4. Criminal Law @=>417(10) — Evidence— Self-Serving Declarations.</p> <p>In prosecution for assault with intent to murder, testimony by defendant’s wife as to defendant’s conduct and statements prior to the shooting was inadmissible, being self-serving.</p> <p>5. Criminal Law @=>815(13) — Instructions Excluding Issues.</p> <p>In prosecution for assault with intent to murder, instructions which would have precluded a consideration by jury of an assault, or an assault with a weapon, misdemeanors comprehended and included in the felony charge, were properly refused.</p> <p>6. Criminal Law @=>829(1) — Instructions Covered by Charge.</p> <p>An instruction fully covered by the oral charge was properly refused.</p> <p>7. Criminal Law @=>814(8, 9) — Abstract — Instruction.</p> <p>In prosecution for assault with intent to murder, defendant’s instruction that jury could not convict if it found that defendant did not know prosecuting witness was in the room when the shot was fired was properly refused as abstract, where there was no evidence that defendant did not have such knowledge.</p> <p>8. Criminal Law @=>798(1) — Misleading Instruction — Reasonable Doubt.</p> <p>In prosecution for assault with intent to murder, instruction that burden is upon state to satisfy each juror beyond all reasonable doubt that each and every material allegation is true held1 misleading.</p> <p>9. Criminal Law @=>1066, 1124(4) — Appeal — Record — Bill of Exceptions — New Trial.</p> <p>Under Acts 1915, p. 722, court’s refusal to grant new trial will not be reviewed, where no exception to court’s ruling was taken, and bill of exceptions does not contain the motion, the order thereon, or the evidence taken in support of the motion.</p>

Relies on Powell v. Folmar · Lacey v. State · Stoball v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1918-06-11

How this case has been cited

Cited by 27 later decisions — most recently June 1931 · most notably 19 Ala. App. 24 - Holcomb v. State (1922), 19 Ala. App. 209 - Conn v. State (1923)

27 state decisions

240191819201930decided

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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BRIOKEN, J.

¶1 The defendant was indicted, tried, and convicted for the offense of assault with intent to murder, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in the penitentiary.

¶2 The errors complained of on this appeal relate to the rulings of the court upon the evidence, and the refusal of the court to give several written charges requested by the defendant, and also to grant a new trial..

¶3 [1,2] There was no error in overruling the objection to the testimony of state’s witness I-Iightower relative to the wife of the defendant screaming immediately before the gun fired, as this testimony related clearly to the res gestse and was therefore admissible ; and for like reason the objection to the testimony of Mrs. Hightower as to what took place between her and her husband at the very time of the shooting was also properly overruled.

¶4 [3] On cross-examination of state’s witness Hightower, he testified that his feelings towards the defendant were perfectly good, yet he had come all the way from Atlanta to attend the trial. It was not error, therefore, for the court to allow this witness, on redirect examination, to state that he had received a summons to attend the trial from the sheriff through the mail. It was clearly apparent that the defendant sought by this examination to show interest ánd feeling' upon his part as against the defendant, and it was perfectly proper that this witness should be allowed to state the above facts relative to having received the summons to rebut the proposition of undue feelings and interest on his part.

¶5 [4] The statements and conduct of the defendant prior to the shooting were of a self-serving character, and the court did not err in not permitting Mrs. Pat Crawley, wife of • the defendant, to testify to these facts.

¶6 [5] Charges A, B, and D were each properly . refused. The indictment charged the defendant with assault with intent to murder, which charge also involves an assault, or an assault with a weapon, etc., misdemeanors comprehended and included in the felony charge, and these refused charges precluded the jury from a consideration of either of these offenses, and there was no error in their refusal.

¶7 [6, 7] Charge G was properly refused. This charge was fully covered by the oral charge of the court, and it was also abstract ; there being no testimony in the case that the defendant did not know Grover Hightower was in the room' at the time he fired the shot.

¶8 [8] Charge E was misleading and was properly refused. When applied to a charge of assault with intent to murder, or other offenses of which there are different degrees, a similar charge has been held to be had repeatedly by this court and by the Supreme Court. Lacey v. State, 13 Ala. App. 212, 242, 68 South. 706; May v. State, 79 South. 677; 1 John Null v. State, 79 South. 678; 2 Littleton v. State, 128 Ala. 31, 29 South. 390; Stoball v. State, 116 Ala. 454, 23 South. 162. Furthermore, the principle of law attempted to be embodied in this charge was fairly and substantially covered by the oral charge of the court.

¶9 [9] The action of the court in refusing to grant a new trial is not presented in a manner authorizing a review of the ruling of the court on this question. Acts 1915, p. 722; Ross v. State, ante, p. 393, 78 South. 309; King v. State, ante, p. 103, 75 South. 692; Henry, alias Booze O’Neal, v. State, ante, p. 484, 79 South. 158; Powell v. Folmar, 201 Ala. 271, 78 South. 48.

¶10 The record is without error, and there is no error of a prejudicial nature in any of the rulings of the court. The judgment of conviction is therefore affirmed.

¶11 Affirmed.

1

¶12 Ante, p. 541.

2

¶13 Ante, p. 542.

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