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87 Tex. Crim. 530

222 S.W 983

Mitchell v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas · decided 1920-05-05

<p>1.—Manslaughter—Murder—Evidence—Reproduction of Testimony.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of murder and a conviction of manslaughter, the record showed that the wife of deceased was a witness upon a former trial of the case, but had since died, there was no error in admitting her testimony introduced on such former hearing, and to permit the stenographer, whose notebook was lost, to testify that her notes were correctly transcribed, and that the narrative statement introduced in evidence was true and correct. Following Pace v. State, 69 Texas Crim. Rep., 27, and other cases.</p> <p>2.—Same—Continuance—Second Application.</p> <p>Where the second application for continuance showed a want of diligence to secure the absent witness, and that the same facts were given in evidence by several other witnesses, there was no reversible error.</p> <p>3.—Same—Evidence—Contradicting Witness—Predicate.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of murder and a conviction of manslaughter, defendant complained of the refusal of the court to prove by his witness that the wife of the deceased, whose testimony had been reproduced, had made a statement to him the next morning after the homicide contradictory of her testimony as given on the former trial, there was no error, for no predicate was laid for impeachment, and because no such testimony appears in the statement sought to be given; besides, there was abundant testimoney from other witnesses contradicting testimony of said wife of deceased.</p> <p>4—Same—Rehearing—Rule Stated—Continuance—Want of Diligence.</p> <p>It is the plain duty of one asking for a continuance to place in the application such allegations, or make such showing, as that the trial court and this court may know what diligence has been used. Following King , v. State, 67 Texas Crim. Rep., 63, and other cases.</p> <p>5. —Same—Second Application for Continuance—Rule Stated.</p> <p>This court has held that in the absence of some affirmative showing that the application for continuance is the first one, it will be presumed to be a subsequent application.</p> <p>6. —-Same—Defendant’s Counsel as Witness—Reproduction of Testimony.</p> <p>Upon trial of mnrder and a conviction of manslaughter, where one of the State’s witnesses had died since testifying in a former trial, and the State in the course of reproducing the testimony, of said witness placed on the witness stand counsel for the defendant, to prove by him that the carbon copy which the official court reporter had identified as a true statement of the testimony, was a true copy of the statement of facts as agreed to by both parties and approved by the court on said former trial, there was no error.</p> <p>7. —Same—Sufficiency of the Evidence.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of murder and a conviction of manslaughter the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction under a proper charge of the court, there was no reversible error.</p> <p>8. —Same—Deadly Weapon—Charge of Court.</p> <p>Where it was insisted on motion for rehearing that the evidence was not sufficient to support the verdict, because of the lack of testimony showing that the breast-yoke with which appellant struck the fatal blow, was a deadly weapon, or such weapon as was reasonably calculated to produce death, but the record showed that the court duly defined to the jury a deadly weapon and required them to believe that it was such weapon, etc., and-there was no objection to said charge of court, there was no reversible error.</p>

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1920-05-05

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently November 1982

2 state decisions

301920193019401950196019701980decided

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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¶1 ON REHEARING.

¶2 June 23, 1920.

LATTIMORE, Judge.

¶3 This case was affirmed at a former day of this term, and is before us on appellant’s motion for rehearing. It is urged in said motion that the application for continuance, made when the case was called for trial, should have been granted, because of the absence of Mrs. Alma Williams. Again examining the record in reference thereto, we find that said application contains no showing of any diligence whatever to secure the presence of said witness. The instant trial began January 26, 1920. The indictment shows to have been returned September 4, 1918, a year and a half before this trial. No subpoenas are attached to the motion, or appear in the record, and *535 the only statement in said application as to diligence, is that “said witnesses had been duly subposmed.” It is not stated that she was in attendance upon court at any time, nor that she had ever before disobeyed process, nor when the subpcena was issued. It is the plain duty of one asking for a continuance to place in the application such allegations, or make such showing, as that the trial court and this court may know what diligence has been used. Massie v. State, 30 Texas Crim. App., 64; Isham v. State, S. W. Rep., 594; King v. State, 30 Texas Crim. App., 64; Isham v. State, 49 S. W. Rep., 594; King v. State, 67 Texas Crim. Rep., 63, 148 S. W. Rep., 325.

¶4 Appellant states in his motion, that said application was the first one, but no such statement anywhere appears in the record. On the contrary, the bill of exceptions reserved to the action of the trial court in overruling this application, states that it was a second application. This Court has held that in the absence of some affirmative showing that the application for continuance is the first one, it will be presumed to be a subsequent application. Branch’s Ann. P. C., Vol. 1, See. 313.

¶5 Error was also urged originally upon the ground that the trial court should not have permitted the State to put on one of appellant’s counsel as a witness, and to prove by him that the carbon copy, which Miss Dierlam, the official court reporter had identified as a true statement of the testimony of the deceased witness, Mrs. Jordan, was a true copy of the statement of facts as agreed to by both parties and approved by the court upon the former trial. Neither as originally presented, nor in this motion, are we cited to any authority upholding this contention. ■ The fact that the witness was an attorney of the accused was not a valid objection. Section 345, Branch’s Penal Code, Vol. 1. Miss Dierlam, the official court reporter, had earlier testified that she took down the testimony of the deceased witness upon a former trial, in shorthand; that she had searched for her original notes, but that they were lost; that she made a careful and accurate transcription of said notes of the former trial, and that the copy showed her, which was the same one shown the witness Jackson, attorney for appellant, was an exact carbon copy of such transcript, and she stated, after having read the statement, that the matter refreshed her memory, and that also by referring to her independent recollection, she was able to state that the same contained a true statement of the deceased witness. In this condition of the record, we do not think it error to permit the witness, Miss Dierlam, and the witness Jackson, to testify that the copy identified was a true copy of the statement of facts, in so far as the testimony of Mrs. Jordan went. The original steüographic record was lost. If it had been in existence, Miss Dierlam’s statement of its contents would have been uncontrovertible. If the copy did not speak the truth, appellant had. every opportunity and right to assail same. No error appears in overruling this objection.

¶6*536 We have reviewed the facts of the case, and adhere to our former ruling that the rejection of the testimony of the witness Walts was harmless error.

¶7 It is further insisted that the evidence was not sufficient to support the verdict, because of the lack of testimony showing that the breast-yoke with which appellant struck the fatal blow, was a deadly weapon, or such weapon as was reasonably calculated to produce death; and further, that the weight of said breast-yoke was not shown. The court duly defined to the jury a deadly weapon, and required them to believe that it was such a weapon, and that from its character or the manner of its use, etc., by appellant, it was reasonably calculated to inflict death, and no exception to this charge appears in the record. In this same connection, and as a part of said definition, the court specifically told the jury that if the instrument used was one not likely to cause death, it would not be presumed that death was intended. The breast-yoke was that of an ordinary farm wagon. Appellant admitted that he struck deceased one blow on the head with same, further admitting that he may have used both hands. The blow was such as to render deceased unconscious, and he never at any time recovered consciousness before his death the day following. The physician said this blow caused the death of deceased; that it was a tolerably large wound, and cut through the flesh and muscles to the bone, and it seemed to him to make a dent on the skull. No requested charge on the character of the weapon was asked, or can be found in the record. Our Statute, Art. 1082, Branch’s Ann. P. C. states that if the death of deceased unquestionably resulted from the injury inflicted by the accused, the case is one of homicide. The trial court submitted both grades of homicide in a manner apparently satisfactory to the accused. With this charge before them, and probably remembering that the State’s testimony showed that at the time appellant struck the deceased, the wife of the latter had hold of his hands, and was pulling him away from where appellant was, the jury declined to believe, or find him guilty of any lower grade of homicide than murder. The question, -what is a deadly weapon, is one of fact for the jury, under appropriate instructions of the court, and unless it affirmatively appear that there ivas no evidence supporting their finding, or that such finding is against the weight of the testimony, we will uphold the action of the trial court in refusing a new trial based on the insufficiency of the testimony.

¶8 The motion for rehearing will be overruled.

¶9 Overruled.

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