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88 Tex. Crim. 520

227 S.W 673

Brooks v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Decided February 23, 1921

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas · decided 1921-02-23

<p>1.—Rape—Preliminary Statement—Jury and Jury Law.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of rape upon a female under the age of consent, prosecuting attorney made a preliminary statement of the case under the statute, after which defendant’s counsel contended that he be again permitted to question the members of the jury, who had been selected in accordance with the law and duly sworn, as to whether any of them had formed any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the deceased, etc., from hearing the? said opening statements made by the prosecutor, there was no error in overruling said request, and there being no other proper objection to said statement, there Was no error.</p> <p>2.—Same—Evidence—Testimony of Prosecutrix.</p> <p>Upon trial of rape upon a female under the age of consent, there was no error in admitting the testimony of the prosecutrix as to her family surroundings and method of daily living, showing the movements and situation of the prosecutrix at various times when she was met by defendant, anterior and leading up to the occasion of th.e sexual intercourse between them, etc., and to further testify that no other person had had carnal connection with her prior to the date of the instant offense.</p> <p>3. —Same—Evidence—Hypothetical Testimony—Physician—Penetration.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of rape, etc., there was no evidence as to a physical examination as to the condition of the private parts of the prosecutrix, there was no error in excluding the testimony of a physician offered by the defense to the general effect that the penetration of a female organ by that of a male organ would probably rupture the hymen of the female if intact and normal, and would likely give evidence as to whether there had been any penetration.</p> <p>4. —¡¡Same—Defendant as a Witness—Application for Continuance.</p> <p>Upon trial of rape upon a female under the age of consent, there was no error in the questions by the State of the defendant when a witness relative to certain portions of two applications for continuance theretofore made and signed by him, the statements of which were contradictory of his evidence, and as to both of which he claimed that the statements therein were untrue, but offered certain explanations of his action in signing the same, and there was no error in not excluding the second application for continuace in this connection. Distinguishing Wilson v. State, 69 Texas Crim. Rep., 432.</p> <p>5. —Same—Charge of Court—Requested Charges—Date of Offense.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of rape upon a female under the age of consent, defendant contended that the alleged offense took place, if at all, about a month earlier than alleged in the indictment, and requested a charge upon this phase of the case, but the court’s main charge properly submitted the question to the jury and confined them to the date alleged in the indictment, there was no reversible error.</p> <p>6. —Same—Sufficiency of the Evidence.</p> <p>Where, upon trial of rape upon a female under the age of 18 years, the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction under a proper charge of the cpurt, there was no reversible error.</p> <p>7. —Same—Rehearing—Evidence—Rule Stated—Qualified Denial.</p> <p>It seems well settled that where one makes a qualified denial, the party attacking such witness is entitled to introduce proof of the contradictory statement, and where in the instant case the defendant admitted he had signed and sworn to the applications for continuance but made various excuses and statements, regarding the circumstances under which he made such statements therein, etc., there was no error in permitting the State to introduce such statements in said applications for continuance in evidence.</p> <p>8. —Same—Preliminary Statement—Prosecuting Attorney.</p> <p>There was no error in refusing the motion of defendant to instruct the jury not to consider the preliminary statement made by the State as evidence, as there was nothing probable or possible for the jury to consider that such statement was being given by said attorney as a witness or as his testimony.</p> <p>9. —Same—Different Transactions—Requested Charge—Rule Stated—Age of</p> <p>Consent.</p> <p>It is well settled that there must be some substantial evidence calling for an instruction before it becomes the duty of the trial court to give the same, and where there was no evidence that there were other acts of intercourse than the one alleged in the indictment, there was no error in refusing a requested charge that the jury could not convict if the act took place before a certain other date, at which time the law raising the age of consent to 18 became effective.</p>

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently July 1992

3 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1921-02-23

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¶1 ON REHEARING.

¶2 February 23, 1921.

LATTIMORE, Judge.

¶3 Appellant insists that when on the witness stand he admitted that he had made statements, in his two applications for continuance, contradictory of his testimony; and that having made such admission, this case should now be reversed because the State was allowed to put both of said applications in evidence. The objection, that the applications should not be allowed because he had already admitted such facts, does not appear in the bill of exceptions. If it did so appear we would be compelled to hold that in order to justify the rejection of proof thereof his admissions would have to be without qualification, which was not the case. xThe facts show that two applications for continuance had been made, presented and overruled. Each of them contained matter contradictory not only of appellant’s testimony on this trial but of each other. While admitting that he signed and swore to such applications, appellant made various excuses and statements regarding the circumstances under which he made said statements if they appeared therein, stating, in effect, that he did not know that parts of the statements attributed to him were in such applications;—that they were rushed for time in preparing same;—that his mistake was as to dates;—that he called his attorney’s attention to one of the mistakes. It seems well settled that where one makes a qualified denial, the party attacking such witness is entitled to introduce proof of the contradictory statements. We have examined the authorities cited. None of them, nor does any other known to us, hold it reversible error to allow proof of such contradictory statements when the denial is qualified; nor do any of the authorities cited even go to the extent of holding that a case would be reversed where the witness admitted having made the contradictory statement, and proof was thereafter admitted of same.

¶4 There was no error in refusing the motion of appellant to instruct the jury not to consider the preliminary statement made by the State, as evidence. The statement was made by an attorney for the prosecution, and it appears throughout to be a statement of what the State expected to show by witnesses. Nohing herein appears to make it at *525 all probable, or even possible, for the jury to consider that same was being given by said attorney as a witness or as his testimony.

¶5 The proposition is urged that notwithstanding the fact that prosecutrix testified positively that there was but one act of intercourse between appellant and herself, which occurred on July 8, 1918; and that appellant testified with equal positiveness that there was never any act of intercourse between them at all, still the trial court erred in not telling the jury that they could not convict if the act took place before June 19, 1918, at which time the law raising the age of consent to eighteen became effective. It is well settled that there must be some substantial evidence calling for an instruction before it becomes the duty of the trial court to give same. In 'this case the prosecutrix testified that she had been out with appellant in his car a few times before the 19th of June, but that no act of intercourse took place between them. She stated that on these occasions.he kissed her and fondled her person, and that he sought her carnal favor, but she denied positively that anything of the kind occurred. It seems to us so very unlikely that the jury would have disregarded the positive testimony of the prosecutrix that the only intercourse was on July 8th; and would also have disregarded the positive testimony of appellant that no such act of intercourse occurred at any time; and that the jury would have presumed, in the face of all the testimony on that point, that the intercourse occurred before June 19th, that we are constrained to hold that it was not necessary for the trial court to have given the charge asked presenting said issue.

¶6 We have carefully considered the other grounds contained in this motion for rehearing, but believing that all of them were correctly disposed of in our former opinion, the motion will be overruled.

¶7 Overruled.

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