Mullinax v. State
Mullinax v. State
Opinion of the Court
Robert Mullinax was the stepfather of Nevin Hancock, deceased. On May 27, 1934, they were at a neigh
1. The motion for new trial is composed of the general grounds and an exception to the following excerpt from the charge of the court to the jury: “So, gentlemen, if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant, at any time prior to the finding and return of this indictment, did kill or murder the person mentioned in the indictment, and in the way and manner therein set forth, and that he did it in malice either express or implied, and that the killing was without legal excuse, justification, or mitigation, then and in that event you would be authorized and it would be your duty to find the defendant guilty of' the offense of murder.” It is contended that the words “it would be your duty to find the defendant guilty of the offense of murder ” amounted to an expression of an opinion by the court. In Westbrook v. State, 97 Ga. 189 (22 S. E. 398), it was said: “A ground of a motion for new trial assigning error upon a few words which constitute only a portion of a sentence of the court’s charge is without merit; especially when it appears from an examination of the entire sentence in which these words occur that no error was committed.” In Addis v. State, 120 Ga. 180 (47 S. E. 505), the judge used the following language in his charge: “You take this case, gentlemen, and determine what the truth is. If the defendant is guilty, and you are satisfied of it to the extent I have charged you, it would be your
2. The evidence authorized the verdict.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.