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74 Ind. 216

Allen v. State

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided November 15, 1880

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1880-11-15

<p>Practice. — New Trial. — Assignment of Error. — Supreme Court. — Where rulings of the trial court constitute proper grounds for a new trial, they can not be assigned on appeal as independent errors. If presented to the trial court by the proper motion they are covered by an assignment on that motion; if not so presented they can not be made available in the Supreme Court in any manner.</p> <p>Criminal Law. — Assault and Battery. — Evidence.^Admissions.—Bes Gestee. — Declarations against Interest. — In a prosecution for assault' and battery it is competent for the State to prove declarations made by the accused whether made at the time of the commission of the offence, or not, or whether the injured person was or was not present when they were made. Declarations against interest are admissible in evidence although not a part of the res gestee.</p>

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1880-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently March 1922

5 state decisions

2018801890190019101920decided

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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Elliott, J.

¶1Appellants were charged with an assault and battery upon one Andrew J. Lykens, were tried by a jury and convicted of the offence charged

¶2It is assigned as error that the circuit court erred in over*217ruling the appellants’ motion to quash the information. There was no such motion made, and consequently there is no foundation upon which to assign any such error as that under mention.

¶3There are numerous errors assigned, but all except that above noticed are included in the assignment based upoñ the ruling denying a new trial. Where rulings constitute proper grounds for a new trial they can not be assigned, on appeal, as independent errors. If presented to the trial court by the proper motion, they am covered by an assignment on that motion; if not so presented, they can not be made available in this court in any manner.

¶4It is insisted by the State that we can not consider any question arising upon the ruling denying a new trial, for the reason that there is no proper bill of exceptions in the record. We think that the evidence is properly in the record. The recital is, that “this was all the testimony and evidence given on the trial,” and we find nothing in the record, although it is somewhat confused, which contradicts this recital.

¶5It is claimed by appellants that the court erred in permitting the State to prove declarations made by them after the injured party had left the place where the offence was committed. Appellants are in error. These declarations were'admissions, and, as such competent, whether made at the time of the altercation or not. It was entirely immaterial whether the injured person was or was not present when the admissions were made. The counsel are altogether mistaken in supposing that declarations against interest are admissible only in cases where they form part of the res gestee. Of course, the accused may not prove his own statements, made after the offence has been committed, but the State may.

¶6Appellants complain of the admission of other testimony, but no objections were stated and no exceptions reserved, and no question is, therefore, presented upon the rulings admitting such testimony.

*218Opinion filed at the November term, 1880.Petition for a rehearing overruled at the May term, 1881.

¶7We need only say of the argument of counsel in support of their contention that the verdict is not sustained by the evidence, that the case for the State was, in our opinion, fully made out by the strongest and most convincing evidence.

¶8Judgment affirmed, at costs of appellants.

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