State v. Daugherty
State v. Daugherty
Opinion of the Court
“Before a court is justified in sustaining an application for a change of venue on account of the prejudice of the inhabitants of the county, it must affirmatively appear from the showing that there is such a feeling and prejudice pervading the community as will be reasonably certain to prevent a fair and impartial trial.” (The State v. Furbeck, 29 Kan. 532.)
This rule necessarily carries with it the duty of the trial court to determine, upon a full consideration of the entire showing, whether such a state of feeling does exist. It calls for the exercise of a sound judicial discretion. The presumptions are in favor of the correctness of the conclusions reached. In this case we cannot say that, upon the showing made, appel
He cites many authorities in support of his contention and might have cited more, and we are free to admit that the weight of authority is with him in this contention, but neither the many authorities nor the reasons given therein for the rule convince us of its soundness. The reason generally given is that the rights of one charged with a crime must be very jealously guarded by the courts, and with this statement we find no fault. It is only to its application that we object. It is not a case of guarding the rights of one' charged with a crime. If we might say that the want of showing that he was present proves that he was absent, then our way would be clear, but we do not think this to be the correct rule. Errors are not presumed ; presumptions are to the contrary. This court has decided the rule to be different from that insisted upon by the appellant. In The State v. Potter, 16 Kan. 98, where it was urged that the defendant must be present in court when an application for a change of venue in a criminal case was heard, and where the record did not show that he was so present, the court, in passing upon the question, said :
“ But even if it were necessary, we would presume in favor of the regularity and validity of the proceedings of the- court below, where there is nothing to show the, contrary, that the defendant was personally present in the court when said change of venue was granted.” (See, also, McCartney v. Wilson, 17 Kan. 297; The State v. English, 34 id. 629, 9 Pac. 761; The State v. Baldwin, 36 id. 1, 12 Pac. 318.)
Upon this proposition this court does not stand
Other courts have held that where the record shows the presence of the defendant upon arraignment and his presence at the time of sentence the reasonable presumption is that he was present during the entire trial, and therefore hold that a record showing these facts .is sufficient. (Martin v. State [Fla.], 27 So. 865; Bolen v. The People, 184 Ill. 338, 56 N. E. 408; Ell. App. Proc. §§ 291, 725; Welsh v. The State, 126 Ind. 71, 25 N. E. 883; Bartlett et al. v. State of Ohio, 28 Ohio St. 669; Bond v. State, 63 Ark. 504, 39 S. W. 554, 58 Am. St. 129.)
Surely the facts of this case bring it fully within the rule applicable to ordinary cases of rape. There nan be no question but that the defendant might have •shown, the absence of complaint for the purpose of weakening the testimony of the girl, and, as the complaint to her foster-mother was made within five or ten minutes after her arrival at the neighbor’s house, and as soon as opportunity would permit it to be made, we think the admission of evidence of it was not error.
“Oh, yes, the court instructs you and requests you to disregard the question and answer and not consider it at all in your deliberations, but you may consider the fact of complaint. being made, the fact that she did state, if you find that to be a fact, that some one had had intercourse with her that night.”
It is strongly insisted, however, that the withdrawal of incompetent evidence does not cure the error resulting from its admission. Without deciding this question, we may say that in this case the defendant is not in a position to complain, for he is as much responsible for the introduction of the objectionable evidence as is the state.
The defendant’s theory of defense was that his wife had procured the child to make the complaint, so that the wife might procure a divorce and get his property away from him ; so the question of the amount of his property became to some extent a material one upon the trial. The defendant was asked upon cross-examination this question: “You haven’t got any property, have you, Mr. Daugherty?” He answered, “I guess not.” Thereupon the further question was asked : “Have n’t you filed a petition in bankruptcy, in which you say you are insolvent and have no property ? ” This was objected to, for the reason that, this petition being in writing, it would be the best evidence as to what it contained. The rule contended for is not disputed, but we think it has no application here. The answer to the first question was somewhat equivocal, and it was only for the purpose of rendering it more certain that the later question was asked. The question was not so much for the purpose of showing the contents of the petition in bankruptcy as for the purpose of showing the fact that it had been filed. We do not think the question objectionable. In this connection, we may say that we find no error in the admission of the evidence of the witness Bert Smith.
Exceptions are taken to the giving of several of the instructions. We have given them careful considera-' tion and find no error therein.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The State of Kansas v. C. N. Daugherty
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- SYLLABUS BY THE COURT. 1. Change or Venue— Case Followed. -The rule relative to sustaining an application for a change of venue, as laid down in The State v. Furbeck, 29 Kan. 532, approved and applied. 2. Jury and Jurors — Competency. Not portions only, but all of the answers of a juror being examined upon his voir dire, must be looked to in order to ascertain his competency, and, upon such consideration in this case, it is held that certain jurors objected to were competent, under the rules laid down by this court. 3. Criminal Practice — Presence of Defendant — Presumptions upon Review. While it is necessary that a defendant on trial for a felony should be present at all stages of the trial, a record that does not show affirmatively his absence, but is simply silent upon that point, does not show error in the proceedings of the trial court. This is especially so where the record affirmatively shows the presence of the defendant at the commencement and close of the trial. In either case, the presumption is that he was present at all stages thereof. 4. -Jury and Jurors — Presumptions upon Review, The same presumption of regularity prevails as to the matter of admonishing the jury as directed by the statute upon each separation, where the record is silent; and this is so even though the record shows' that the jury were instructed to be in their seats at a given time, the expression, of the one not indicating the omission of'the other. 5. Rape — Certain Testimony Held Competent. In the trial of a person charged with statutory rape, the fact that the prosecuting witness made timely complaint of the outrage committed upon her may be shown where it further appears that the acts of the defendant would constitute the crime of rape as defined by the common law. 6. - Common Law and Statutory. Where a man forty years of agé, the foster-father of a female child between twelve and thirteen years of age, in a secluded place, in the night-time, lifts her from a horse on which she had been riding, lays her upon the ground, and, despite her request that he desist, has carnal knowledge of her, he is guilty of the crime of rape as defined by the common law as well as of that known as statutory rape.. 7. -Errors in Admission of Evidence Cured. In prosecutions for the crime of rape, neither the name of the assailant nor the details of the transaction, as given by the assailed, may be repeated in evidence by the party to whom she made timely complaint; but where the court has permitted the name of the assailant so to be givep, the error is cured where, upon cross-examination of the same witness, the defendant draws out the circumstances in detail and the name of the assailant; and especially is this so when the court, at the request of the defendant, withdraws from the consideration of the jury the testimony of such witness in this respect.