Owens v. Callaway
Owens v. Callaway
Opinion of the Court
The only error imputed to the court below is, the charge that “if the jury believe the evidence they should find for the defendant.” All the evidence not being set out in the bill of exceptions, we can not revise the ruling of the court below.
Affirmed.
In response to the application for a re-hearing in this cause, after giving the argument in support of it a careful examination, we will say that, in our opinion,
The distinction which is established by a series of decisions of this court, between a general charge, such as this, and a special one, may be thus laid down : When a general affirmative charge is given, upon the effect of evidence, where there is no conflict on any material point, and it is excepted to, the party excepting must set out all the evidence, in order to avail himself of an exception to the correctness of the charge. — Buffington v. Cook, 37 Ala. 312 ; Doe, ex dem. v. Godwin, 30 Ala. 243; Fleming v. Ussey, ib. 283.
But in the case of a special charge, all that is required is, that the party set out enough evidence to show that the charge given or refused, was not abstract, and that it was or was not erroneous when construed, with reference to such evidence ; or, if no evidence is set out, that it contains any such construction in conflict with the legal principle, or not in conflict therewith, and pertinent to the matter in controversy, as shown by the pleadings; then, in either case, it would be an error which would authorize a reversal. — Sackett et al. v. McCord, 23 Ala. 854; Moore v. Clay, 24 ib. 237; Hines et ux v. Trantham, 27 ib. 361; and
We do not intend to intimate that .a general affirmative charge given by the court might not be a reversable error, where the evidence set out shows a clear case of conflict therein, although all the evidence is not set out in the bill of exceptions.
But in this case, it does not appear that any evidence was offered on the part of the appellee, and there is no conflict on any material point.
Application overruled.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.