King v. State
King v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant was convicted of knowingly and intentionally offering to buy votes at a primary election in violation of Code § 34-1933 and was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment. The appeal is in forma pauperis.
1. The appellant contends that the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that it violated his First and
2. The trial court did not err in failing to give the appellant’s requests to charge. The substance of these requests is found in the full charge of the trial court which contains no error.
3. The appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support a verdict of guilty. We disagree and affirm.
Judgment affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I agree that Code § 34-1933 is not void for any of the grounds alleged by the appellant. Furthermore, the trial court gave a full and fair charge to the jury. However, in my opinion the evidence does not support the verdict.
At the time of the incident, the appellant was a candidate for three separate elective offices in the democratic primary. They were the offices of County Commissioner, City Commissioner and the House of Representatives of the Georgia General Assembly. The sole witness at the trial was William O. Davis, the editor of the Albany Journal. He testified that the appellant placed an advertisement in his newspaper and that the newspaper was distributed throughout Dougherty County. The advertisement was as follows: "Rev. Clennon King will pay within 30 days after his election $100 in
The jury had considerable difficulty in reaching a verdict. Once they requested and received a recharge on reasonable doubt. On another occasion they requested and received a recharge on intent.
In my opinion, the evidence demands a finding that there was no valid offer to buy a vote. As stated by the only witness at the trial, the offer was ridiculous on its face.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- KING v. State
- Status
- Published