State v. Thomas
State v. Thomas
Opinion of the Court
Defendant, having been tried for murder, convicted of manslaughter, and duly sentenced, prosecutes this appeal.
No reason is alleged for the delay in the filing of the motion, and, in a stronger case than is here presented, it was said by the court:
“Obviously nothing in the motion exempted it from the operation of the statute” (Act 44 of 1877, § 11), “and, under the plain terms thereof, the judge was not only authorized, but bound, to overrule it, and the correctness of his ruling in so doing cannot be questioned.” State v. Sterling, 41 La. Ann. 681, 6 South. 584.
“The motion to quash, having been made by defendant after pleading to the merits, was too late, in the absence of an affirmative showing that neither the accused himself nor his counsel was ignorant of the facts when defendant pleaded”—citing authorities.
The objections stated by defendant’s counsel were that the motion came too late, after the juror had been accepted, and that no fact had been alleged as true, “and consequently that the relief sought by the motion could not be granted if the allegations contained therein could be established.”
The purpose of the motion, however, was to provoke an inquiry into the matter alleged, which it was not only within the power of the judge, but was his duty, to do.
“That was at the bottom of the matter.” That, immediately preceding this statement the argument of the district attorney was to the effect that the accused killed the deceased, not in self-defense, but for the sole reason that the latter had refused to obey the former’s instructions relative to working the crop on the place on which they resided—the accused, under the evidence, being the lessee of that place, and the deceased a tenant thereof. The above remark was the district attorney’s summing up on this point, and, taken in connection with his argument thereon, was a clear and unequivocal announcement of .his conclusion and as to “the fact that the accused had taken the life of the deceased for the reason above stated, not in self-defense, but because the deceased had refused to obey his instructions relative to the working of the crop.”
The statement per curiam reads:
“The district attorney did not, in so many words, state that this was his opinion, but the argument tended to indicate that it was. When the objection was made, the court instructed the jury that counsel for the state had no right to give or urge a personal opinion, but could state conclusions which he thought the proven facts warranted; whereupon the district attorney stated that he did not intend to express his opinion, or view, but what he thought the evi*565 dence in the case indicated. The court also explained to the jury that they were the judges of the law and the evidence, and they should not take what counsel for either side said about the matter, but the facts as they heard them from the witnesses, and the law as given by the court.”
The bill, we think, is without merit. The prosecuting officer has the right to sum up the facts as he conceives them to have been established by the evidence, and in so doing, necessarily, gives his opinion of the value and effect of the evidence. He has no right to go outside and bring in matters upon which the evidence has no bearing, nor has he the right to express an opinion save as based upon the evidence; but he is not required to interrupt himself constantly in order to assure the jury that he is offering no other opinion.
“The prosecuting officer has the right to press upon the jury any view of the case arising out of the evidence.” State v. Johnson & Butler, 48 La. Ann. 89, 19 South. 214; State v. Jones, 51 La. Ann. 106, 24 South. 594; State v. Meche, 114 La. 231, 38 South. 152; State v. Gallo, 115 La. 750, 39 South. 1001.
“It appearing that the minutes of October 2, 1916, in this case, failed to show the presence of the accused at the filing and trial of the motion to quash, and that, as a matter of fact, he was present, it is ordered that the minutes be corrected to show his presence” — to which ruling a bill was reserved.
A court may correct its minutes in accordance with the facts, and, as the correction in this instance appears to have been made from the judge’s own knowledge of the proceedings before him, and in presence of defendant’s counsel, who protested but made no offer of evidence, it affords no just ground of complaint. Moreover, it was not necessary that defendant should have been present upon the occasion in question, since the matter involved did not bear upon the question of his guilt or innocence of the charge for which he was being prosecuted. State v. Gonsoulin, 38 La. Ann. 460; State v. Dominique, 39 La. Ann. 324, 1 South. 665; State v. Hardaway, 50 La. Ann. 1349, 24 South. 320; State v. Le Blanc, 116 La. 829, 41 South. 105.
A few other points are raised by the bills, but are not urged in the brief, and some matters urged in the brief, are not in the hills. We have considered them and fail to find anything which entitles defendant to relief at our hands.
The verdict and sentence appealed from are therefore affirmed.
070rehearing
On Rehearing.
The judgment and decree heretofore rendered in this case is reinstated and' made final.
Reference
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- STATE v. THOMAS
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- Syllabus
- (Syllabus by the Court.) 1. Motion to Quash Indictment — Constitution oj? Grand Jury. All objections to the manner of drawing juries or to defects or irregularity that can be pleaded against an array or venire are required to be urged on the first day of the term, and, unless some good reason be shown, such as ignorance of the facts upon which it is based, a motion to quash an indictment upon the ground that the jury commission had not been legally organized and sworn, and hence that the grand jury, drawn by such commission, had not been legally constituted, comes too late when filed after arraignment on an indictment for murder. 2. Criminal Law t&wkey;1166%(6) —Review — Harmless Error — Voiii Dire Examination. A prospective juror, questioned on his voir dire, being asked if he knew whether the party, whom he had previously testified had approached him, was friendly to the accused or the state, counsel for the defendant objected, and the objection was overruled; but the question remained unanswered. We find no prejudice to defendant from the ruling, and no occasion to pass upon the validity of the objection. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Criminal Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 3113, 3115, 3118.] 3. Jury Twelve jurors having been accepted by the state, but not sworn in, the prosecuting officer moved that one of them be excused, upon the grounds that he had stated, on voir dire, that he had not been approached or talked to on behalf of either the defendant or the state, but that the mover had reason to believe that the statement so made was untrue, and that the juror had been approached by connections of the' defendant and that he had been influenced by their conversation and would not make a fair and impartial juror, to which motion counsel for defendant objected, on the grounds that the motion came too late and that no facts had been alleged as true, which objection was properly overruled; the purpose of the motion being to provoke inquiry into the matter alleged, which it was not only within the power of the judge, but was his duty, to make. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Jury, Cent. Dig. §§ 586-598.] 4. Criminal Law A prosecuting officer has the right to press any view of the facts, based upon the evidence, that he may entertain, and, so long as he confines himself to such views, he is not required to interrupt his argument in order to assure the jury that he is so doing. [Ed. Note. — For other eases, see Criminal Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 1670, 1671.] 5. Criminal Law It affords a defendant in a criminal prosecution no just cause of complaint that the trial judge, on motion of the prosecuting officer and in the presence and over the objection of defendants’ counsel, directs that the minutes of the court be corrected so as to show that defendant was present at the filing and hearing of a motion to quash the indictment, the fact being within the knowledge of the judge; particularly, since defendant’s presence on such occasion was unnecessary. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Criminal Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 1483, 2529, 2544, 2546.] On Rehearing. 6. Indictment and Information A motion to quash an indictment, on the ground of irregularity in the drawing of the grand jury, may be filed at any time before entering upon the' trial. The law was different when the decision to the contrary was rendered in State v. Sterling, 41 La. Ann. 679, 6 South. 583. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Indictment and Information, Cent. Dig. § 473.] 7.Judy A jury commissioner, who has been appointed to succeed himself but has not qualified under the new appointment by taking the oath required by the Constitution; is authorized to continue to discharge the duties of the office under his first appointment until he does qualify under the second appointment. [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Jury, Cent. Dig. § 271.]