Jones v. State
Jones v. State
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff in error, Alex Jones, was convicted at the Fall term of the Circuit Court of Columbia County, A. D. 1901, of an assault with intent to commit murder, and brings his case here by writ of error.
The first, assignment of error is that the court erx*ed in refusing to grant a continuance on defendant’s application. The application was made on the ground of absence of a material witness, one W. G. Shealy, and an affidavit of the defendant was filed that the said Shealy had been subpoenaed at the instance of defendant and was in atendance at a previous term of court in response to the subpoena, when said cause was continued on account of the absence of a witness for the State; that the witness was absent without the procurement or consent of defendant, either directly or indirectly given; that the testimony of the witnes was necessary and material to his defense; that the application was not'made for delay only, and defendant expected to procure the testimony of the witness at the next term of the court; that the witness was, a resident of the County of Lee or Monroe in the State of Florida; that defendant could not safely go to trial without the testimony of said witness, and ex.pected to prove by him the following facts, which he could not prove by any other witness known to the defendant, viz: “That on the night and at the alleged time of the shooting alleged to have been done some eight miles from Lake City, Fla., this defendant was then and there in the
The second assignment of error is not argued and is, therefore, abandoned:
The third assignment of error is that “the court erred in permitting the witness W. H. Colson to testify over the objection of the defendant, as to threats of the defendant, Alex Jones, after the alleged offense.” W. H. Col-son, a Avitness on behalf of the State, after having testified that he heard the defendant make a statement in Lake City on or about the day of his committal trial concerning Jerry, the person against whom the assault was alleged to have been commited, was asked what he (defendant) said, and thereupon testified: “He said that if Jerry Avals out there he would kill hJi'm on first sight.” He further testified that this was about eight or ten days after the alleged shooting. This testimony was objected to on the ground that it related to something that occurred after the shooting and was irrelevant and immaterial, and exceptions were duly reserved to the rulings of the
The fourth assignment of error is that “the court erred in sustaining the objection of the State to the question asked by the defendant to the witness Phillip Belvin, as to the necessary position of the party who did the shooting.” The witness had testified to the position of Jerry at the time of the shooting, that he was lying on a bench near a window with his head inclined from the window, and the question was then propounded, “where would the hand and pistol of the party had to have been to shoot Jerry in the top of the head, inside or outside of the window?” The question was objected to by the State Attorney on the ground that it sought the opinion of the witness,- and the objection was sustained. The witness
The only ground of the fifth assignment of error relied ozz is that the court erred in denying the fifth ground of the motion for a new trial. That ground was the giving of three «veral and distinct charges asserting distinct propositions of law, and no exception is taken to the charges other than incorporating them into the motion for new trial. If either one of the charges be correct we are preelzided, under the rule established in this court, from examining the others. Eggart v. State, 40 Fla. 527, 25 South. Rep. 144; McCoggle v. State, 41 Fla. 525, 26 South. Rep. 734. The first one in reference to the presumption
The judgment will be affirmed, and it is so ordered.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Alex Jones, in Error v. The State of Florida, in Error
- Cited By
- 14 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. An application for a continuance upon the ground of the absence of a witness must show that the applicant has exercised due diligence to procure the attendance of the witness. 2. Denial of a motion for continuance will not be reversed by an appellate court unless there has been a palpable abuse of discretion, clearly and affirmatively shown by the record. 3. A statement made in the order of a trial court as to a matter in pais will be presumed to be correct, unless the contrary is made clearly apparent. 4. A statement or declaration of a person charged with crime is not rendered inadmissible in evidence against him by the mere fact that it is made after the commission of the crime. If it tends to show a guilty intent it is admissible, for the guilty intent of a party may be shown by his acts, conduct and declarations, before, at the time of, or after the commission of a criminal act. 6. The opinion of a witness, except as to the matter regarding which expert testimony is competent is not legitimate evidence as to any matter that may be reproduced before the jury. It is the province of the jury to deduce its own conclusion from facts of common experience, uninfluenced by the opinion of any witness on those facts, especially where such opinion is sought on facts given in the testimony of another witness. 6. A question aslsed a non-expert witness, seeking to elicit his opinion as to what must have been the necessary position of the hand and pistol of the person who shot another in a particular manner, where the witness did not see the person who shot, or the hand that held the pistol when it was shot, is properly excluded. 7. Where alleged error in giving two or more charges, asserting distinct propositions of law is made the basis of a single ground of a motion for a new trial, alleging generally; ithat the court erred in giving such charges, and excepted to under and by virtue of an -exception to the denial of the motion for new trial, this will be regarded as a general exception to the giving of the charges, and will not be further considered than to determine that any one charge was correct