Johnson v. State
Johnson v. State
Opinion of the Court
The appellant and three others were jointly indicted, in the district court for Bexar county, for an assault with intent to Mil and murder. The charge is as follows:
“ That William Johnson, A. T. Francis, W. H. O’Mealy, and one" Murray, on the eighteenth day of the month of
On the trial a severance was had, and the appellant, William Johnson, alone was put upon his trial. The jury found him guilty as charged in the indictment, and assessed the penalty at seven years’ confinement in the state penitentiary, and from this verdict, and the judgment entered thereon, he has taken an appeal.
The appellant moved the district court to grant him a new trial, and also moved in arrest of judgment; in which latter motion the ground given for arresting the judgment is that the indictment is insufficient to support the judgment, because it charges two separate offenses, namely, an assault with intent to kill Jacob Koebel, and an aggravated assault upon Theodore Loeper. Both these motions were overruled.
As we have read the indictment, we do not believe it is susceptible of this interpretation. It alleges plainly, we think, an assault made upon both Jacob Koebel and Theodore Loeper, in plain and unmistakable language; but, in stating the character of violence used, the pleader mentions
We find but one bill of exceptions in the record, which is. to the effect that the defendant asked Jacob Koebel, a witness for the state, if the defendants had not repeatedly said that they did not intend to ldllthem; which, being objected to by the district attorney, the objection was sustained, and to this ruling the defendant excepted, and presented Ms bill of exceptions, etc.
We know of no rule of evidence which would have sustained the judge in any other ruling than the one he made. If it was offered as verbal acts made use of at the time as res gestae, as part of the transaction, the question was inadmissible, because it was not restricted to the time the act was committed. For aught that appears on the face of the bill of exceptions, the statement may as well have been made a week or a month, or even .a longer time, either before or after the offense was committed. If not res gesten, then the statement would have been inadmissible because it would have been manufactured testimony, in the interest of the party accused, by Ms co-defendants. This disposes of the 6th error assigned. -
The 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 8th errors assigned relate to the charges of the court. We do not feel called upon by those assignments of error to do more than to say that, in our opinion, the charge, as given by the judge, appears to be eminently proper under the evidence, and not calculated to mislead the jury.
The main charge of the judge seems applicable to the facts as detailed in evidence ; and the more prominent parts, it is believed, must have been sufficiently clear and explicit to have prevented the jury from being misled by any portion of the charge on the points which have been criticised by the defendant. No injustice appears, from the record, of which the appellant is in condition to complain; none has been pointed out by the counsel in his able brief, and we :are not prepared to say that the results of the trial have not been visited on the accused by due process of law.
The judgment is, therefore, affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.