Medis v. State

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
Medis v. State, 27 Tex. Ct. App. 194 (1889)
11 S.W. 112; 1889 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 27
Hurt

Medis v. State

Opinion of the Court

Hurt, Judge

The appellants were jointly indicted, tried and convicted of sodomy, the verdict of the jury being: “We, the jury, find Charles Medis and Ed Hill guilty as charged, of sodomy, and assess the punishment at ten years confinement in the penitentiary.”

Appellants contend by their counsel that this is not a good or legal verdict. This proposition is now well settled in favor of appellants. (Flynn et al. v. The State, 8 Texas Ct. App., 398; Matlock et al. v. The State, 25 Texas Ct. App., 716; Cunningham v. The State, 26 Texas Ct. App., 83; 4 Ark., 430; 16 Ark., 37.)

Appellants were charged with committing the act upon one Milton Werner. Upon the trial Werner was introduced as a witness for the State, and his testimony was relied on for a conviction. The court failed to give instructions to the jury relating to the necessity of corroborating said witness—counsel for appellants contending that Werner was consenting, and *196was therefore an accomplice. Upon this subject, says Bishop: “When this offense is committed on a non consenting person who' becomes a witness, it appears that his early complaint may be shown in corroboration, the same as those of the injured woman in rape. If such person had consented, he would be an accomplice whose testimony would for this reason need corroboration.” (2 Crim. Law, 1018.)

Opinion delivered February 9, 1889.

Werner was evidently consenting; but if the evidence should leave this in doubt, it would then become a question for the jury, and not the court, to determine under the proper instructions, whether the person was or was not consenting, and the jury should in such a case be instructed that if they found that he was consenting, then they must find that he was corroborated.

Reversed and remanded.

Reference

Full Case Name
Charles Medis and Ed Hill v. State
Cited By
6 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
1. Joint Offenders—Casks Approved—A Verdict against joint offenders on a joint trial, to be valid, must assess a separate penalty against each, offender. Flynn v. The State, 8 Texas Ct. App., 389, and Matlock et al. v. The State, 25 Id., 716, and Cunningham v. The State, 26 Id., 83, approved. 2. Sodomy—Accomplice Testimony — Charge of the Court.—The rule that, in rape cases, requires that if the other proof in the ease tends to raise the issue of the female’s consent to the carnal act, she becomes so far an accomplice that, in order to warrant a conviction based upon her testimony, she must be corroborated, applies to sodomy cases; and if the evidence tends to show the consent of the prosecuting witness to the act of beastiality committed upon him, he must be corroborated. The proof in this case tends strongly to show the consent of the alleged injured party, who, upon the main issue, was the State’s principal witness; and in failing to instruct the jury with regard to the corroboration of an accomplice, the trial court erred.