Burt v. State
Burt v. State
Opinion of the Court
We deem it only important in the determination of the merits of this appeal to consider specially the third and fourth assignments of error, which are set out in the record as follows: “3. The court erred in excluding
1. On the subject of the exclusion of the testimony of the witness Reynolds, referred to in bill of exceptions No. 2, it is proper to say that the witness testified that he was sheriff and ex officio cattle-inspector for Kemble County, and wrote the bill of sale here shown him, in Kemble County, and inspected the cattle there. The witness further testified as follows: “ Defendant did not sign the bill of sale himself; Deaton signed his name to it at his request. I don’t know what cattle defendant put in the herd; the cattle were all together in one herd when I first saw them, and I inspected them all together.” By the bill of exceptions it is shown that the defendant asked the witness the following questions : “1. What cattle mentioned in the said bill of sale did the defendant authorize the said Deaton to sign up for him? 2. What cattle in the herd in question, and mentioned in' the said bill of sale, did you inspect for the defendant? ” We do not see the propriety of raising the objection, or in the court sustaining the objection; still we are of opinion that the questions could have elicited no further fact within the knowledge of the witness than he had already testified to, and as shown by the extract from his testimony set out above he said he did not know what cattle defendant put in the herd, that they were all together in one herd when he first saw them, and were by the witness inspected all together. We see no material error in the ruling of the court. The statement of facts does not support the bill of exceptions, nor does either the statement of facts or the bill of exceptions, singly or together, support the assignment of errors, as we understand the record.
2. With reference to the charge of the court, it is proper
The Code of Criminal Procedure provides that “ it is not necessary, in order to constitute theft, that the possession and ownership of property be in the same person at the time of taking.” Art. 728. “ Possession of the person so unlawfully deprived of property is constituted by the actual control, care, or management of the property, whether the same be lawful or not.” Fore v. The State, 5 Texas Ct. App. 251; Trafton v. The State, 5 Texas Ct. App. 480. These articles are conclusive of this question. The indictment alleges the property in Hubbell. The proof shows that though the property belonged to his wife, he had exclusive control over it.
We find no such error in the rulings or the charge of the court as calls for a reversal of the judgment, and it is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.