Galvan v. State
Galvan v. State
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). — The State’s evidence is to the effect that on the morning of July 20, 1929, and during the night preceding it, there was an encounter during which many shots were exchanged between United States officers who were engaged in the Border Patrol Service and persons residing in the Republic of Mexico, who were attempting to invade the United States and bring into it contraband property in violation of the law. During the conflict mentioned one of the United States officers named Ivan Scotten was killed. There was evidence introduced by the State to the effect that appellant was one of those acting with the invaders and one of those who personally fired a shot into the body of Scotten after he was wounded. According to the testimony, at the time of his death Scotten was reputed to have possessed certain property consisting of pistols, a flashlight, ring and wrist watch, and that some parts of the property mentioned were found in the possession of the invaders including the appellant.
A witness for the State testified that the appellant was in the habit of wearing a peculiar suit of clothes, and that on the occasion of the encounter mentioned, he had been seen as one of the invaders and recognized by the manner of his clothes. It was the State’s theory from this witness and others that appellant went back into Mexico after the encounter ended.
Among the witnesses used by the State were two brothers by the name of Rodriguez, one Matillo (or Mateo) and the other Ignacio. These witnesses were definite in their testimony identifying the appellant as one of the invaders and one who was personally connected with the homicide.
Appellant testified in his own behalf to the effect that
In his motion for rehearing appellant complains of the rulings of the court as set out in Bills of Exception Nos. 3 and 2-A. The bills in question show that J. K. White, a witness for the appellant, as well as the appellant, would, if permitted, have testified that in February, 1932, a cow belonging to the said White was stolen; that the animal was later located on the premises of the father of Ignacio and Mateo Rodriguez; that at the time appellant was an officer in the town of San Ysidro and arrested the father and brother of the Rodriguez witnesses and carried them to Juarez, where Jose Rodriguez entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to six or eight months’ confinement in jail and that Ignacio Rodriguez, the father, was discharged. Appellant sought to introduce such proof in an effort to show that the Rodriguez witnesses were actuated by malice in testifying that appellant was the slayer of the deceased. The court qualified the bills of exception to the effect that upon cross-examination both Ignacio and Mateo Rodriguez denied that they had any knowledge of the arrest of their father and brother and of the incarceration of their brother in the Juarez jail. The bills are further qualified to the effect that it was not shown in the testimony that said witnesses had knowledge of the facts mentioned.
It is apparent from the qualification that the trial court en
The homicide occurred about the 20th of July, 1929. Appellant was indicted at the January term, 1934. As already shown, Ignacio and Mateo Rodriguez were among the principal witnesses against the appellant. Ignacio Rodriguez testified that he got to the river as the battle with the officers was ending. He observed appellant standing at the car which the officers had abandoned and saw him shoot a rifle. Shortly thereafter appellant came to the river and crossed into Mexico. He had a pistol in his holster around his waist, and a .30-30 rifle and a .45 calibre automatic pistol in his hand. After getting across the river appellant stopped and talked to some men there, saying to them: “Well, boys, I killed him.” Mateo Rodriguez gave substantially the same testimony as did Ignacio Rodriguez.
From the testimony of Mateo Rodriguez on cross-examination we quote as follows: “After this trouble was over I told my daddy about seeing Raul shooting at the car. Later I heard some people say that Ivan Scotten had been killed, but I didn’t know what the officer’s name was at that time. All I can tell you is what I see there. I see Galvan standing there shooting towards the car with a rifle. Yes, I stated in my preliminary hearing testimony that I heard Galvan say that he did the most good because he killed the officer. I didn’t have any reason to report that to any officer here in El Paso. Yes, I was not an American citizen and living in El Paso. No, I am not an American citizen. I do believe in the enforcement of the law. No, I didn’t report that incident to any one down there nor when I came back to El Paso. The reason I reported it at this time was that Mr. Griffin came down there and asked me did I know anything about it and I told him what I knew; Mr. Fred Griffin from Fabens. I told him about it what I am tell
From the cross-examination of Ignacio Rodriguez we take the following testimony: “I told nobody that I can remember of about this incident at San Ysidro after I came back to El Paso. I was living in El Paso at that time; I am not an American citizen. Yes, I believe in the enforcement of the law. No, I didn’t report the fact that I had seen Raul shooting towards the car at that time; I never said anything until Mr. Griffin went out and called me; he went over there to make an investigation; he went over there to see what I knew about it and I just told him what I knew about it. I don’t think I would
On re-cross examination Ignacio Rodriguez testified in part as follows: “I don’t know if my father and brother were placed in the Juarez jail; No, sir, I don’t know if the Federal Officers came down to San Ysidro during February, 1931, to investigate about the hides of some cattle that had been stolen from Mr. White and that Galvan assisted the officers and that my brother plead guilty to stealing the cattle and got six months in the Juarez jail.”
Mateo Rodriguez, on re-cross examination, testified as follows: “No, I don’t know that my brother Jose was arrested back in 1931 by the Juarez officers and that he was charged at that time with theft of cattle from Mr. White across the river and that the hides were found around my father’s house at that time and that Raul Galvan assisted the Federal Officers in making the arrest. I don’t know' a thing in the world about that.”
It has been observed that the testimony of the Rodriguez witnesses, if true, discloses that they knew for years that the appellant was guilty of murder; that they made no disclosure of it until after the appellant had displayed some activity in bringing about the arrest, prosecution and conviction of some of the relatives of the Rodriguez witnesses. In their testimony on the trial the Rodriguez witnesses disclaimed any knowledge of such activities on the part of the appellant. They disclaimed knowledge that their near relatives had been convicted and incarcerated. They left with the jury the impression that their activities against the appellant were inspired by no reason save a patriotic desire to aid in bringing a criminal to justice. Appellant would have testified on the trial in the presence of the jury that he had been an actor in the prosecution and conviction of some of the relatives of the prosecuting witnesses. The court denied him that right to make that disclosure before the jury.
It is thought by the writer that the refusal to permit the appellant to make the statement proffered by him in the presence of the jury was not justified but impinged upon his right
In the case of Burnett v. State, 53 Texas Crim. Rep., 515, this court, speaking through Judge Ramsey, said: “There can be, we think, no doubt that it is always permissible in every case where it can be shown by competent evidence to make proof of the hostile attitude of any witness in respect to any party or any cause before the court, such evidence is clearly admissible for the purpose of affecting the credibility of witnesses and the weight of their testimony. 2 Ency. of Ev., p. 406; Surrell v. State, 29 Texas Crim. App., 321, and Watts v. State, 18 Texas App., 381.”
The hostility or friendship of a witness towards parties is always a factor to be considered in appraising his testimony. See Wharton’s Cr. Ev., 11th Ed., Vol. 3, sec. 1417. In sec. 1418, of the same text, it is said: “The motives of the witness may affect his credibility. The degree of credibility to which a witness is entitled depends as much upon the influence and inducements he may have to swerve him from the truth as upon his moral character. Thus, the motive of a person inspiring a criminal prosecution tends to discredit him as a witness.” To debate the subject of the admissiblity of facts which affect a witness or influence him in shaping his testimony or conduct would be useless as it would tend to demonstrate that which is obvious. Upon this all text-writers agree. See Underhill on Cr. Ev., 3rd Ed., p. 565, sec. 390; Wharton’s Cr. Ev., 10th Ed., Vol. 2, p. 767; Corpus Juris., Vol. 70, p. 937.
The writer is impressed with the view that the conviction of the appellant should be reversed and returned to the trial court for a new trial. My associates having reached a different conclusion, I respectfully enter my dissent.
070rehearing
Appellant asks leave to file second motion for rehearing. We are not at liberty to consider ex parte affidavits which accompany appelant’s request. Same relates to matters which should have been presented to the trial court at the time of the trial. The record made here is not subject to any such attack. We have again looked over the matters referred to in appellant’s application, which are germane, and are not led to believe any error was committed in our disposition of the case.
The request is denied.
Denied.
Opinion of the Court
Conviction for murder; punishment, death.
The testimony in this case warranted the jury in finding appellant guilty, and in the assessment of.the extreme penalty of the law. The testimony for the State showed appellant to be engaged in smuggling contraband across the Rio Grande River some twenty-five miles below El Paso. Mr. Seotten, deceased, was a Federal border patrolman. He was shot through the hip in a battle with smugglers, and later shot through the head, the skin around the hole in the head showing powder burns. His two army regulation 45 pistols, his ring, watch and flashlight were taken from his person. The killing, was near a crossing on the Rio Grande, and on the Mexican side of the river was the village of San Ysidro where appellant’ lived. The battle between the officers and the smugglers occurred in the early morning on July 20, 1929. The officers were watching the crossings to prevent contraband entries and saw a man on horseback come across the river just before day. Upon being hailed and informed that the party were Federal, officers, the man on horseback fired upon them and tried to escape on his horse. The officers returned the fire and the horse was killed. He was carrying a quantity of alcohol. The two officers then went down to another crossing, got two more men, and the four came back’ to the scene. As they were getting out of their car they were fired on from several directions., It was at this time that Seotten was shot through the hip. The officers, feeling themselves outnumbered, retreated and procured reinforcement. Upon their return to the car they found Seotten dead. A State witness who had known appellant well, described his rather peculiar clothes, and positively identified him as one of a party of men whom he saw going back from the scene of the shooting toward the river crossing after the battle. Griego, another State witness who lived in San Ysidro at the time, swore that appellant’s business was smuggling,. and he heard appellant say the night before the battle that he was going to take a load across the next morning on horseback. The next morning witness saw appellant and other Mexicans whom he named, in San Ysidro going toward the crossing, and presently heard shooting on the American side, and saw the same men come back across the river with two automatic
The State used two brothers named Rodriguez, whose father lived in San Ysidro at the time of the killing. As we understand the record, said witnesses then lived in El Paso, but were visiting their father on July 19, 1929. They heard the shooting the next morning, got up and went down to the river bank to a position where they could see what was going on, and both testified that they saw appellant across on the American side shooting with a rifle at a car up the road. Later, according to their testimony, appellant and other men came across to the Mexican side. Appellant had a 45 automatic pistol. They heard him tell the others that he appreciated what they had done, but that he did the killing and felt glad over it. Another witness testified that after this killing he and his brother were driving at night without lights on the American side of the river, and were stopped by some one waving a flashlight across the road. Three men, one of them appellant, held these witnesses up and took their property. One of these witnesses identified one of the robbers and called him by name. Their property was then returned, and members of the party turned the matter aside by saying that because witness had no lights on his car they thought the men to be Federals. Some one of the party said they had f — d some Federal sons-of-bitches, and appellant said “Here is the flashlight of one of them, the Scotten flashlight.” When appellant was arrested at the home of one Garcia in San Ysidro he was in a room up on top of a quantity of hay. No other person was in the room. The arresting party found in said room a 45 regulation automatic pistol with the number filed off so it could not be identified.
Appellant, as a witness, denied being present or taking any part in the battle, and claimed he spent that night on the road from Juarez to San Ysidro because of a disabled car in which he had gone to Juarez after groceries. He said he heard of the battle when he got back to San Ysidro. He testified that at the time of the shooting he was somewhere on the road between Juarez and San Ysidro and knew nothing of it. He denied be
Appellant complains in bills of exceptions 2A and 3 of the rejection of testimony, in effect, that in February, 1932, appellant, who was an officer in Mexico, in company with other officers, arrested the father and brother of the two Rodriguez witnesses and took said party to Juarez, where they were tried and the father was acquitted, but the brother pleaded guilty and was given six months in jail. In his qualification to these bills the trial court certifies that both the Rodriguez witnesses denied any knowledge of the matters referred to, and that there was no testimony in the case showing or tending to show that said witnesses knew of the transaction in question.
We recognize the rule to be that the motives, animus or prejudice of any witness are material for inquiry and proof, and that any party to a trial has the right to prove facts which directly or indirectly show animus or prejudice on the part of any witness against him. There is no trouble about the rule. The trouble here is over what appears or rather does not appear to be the showing of such state of case as requires application of the rule. The bills of exception do not show where the Rodriguez witnesses lived in 1932, at the time of the alleged occurrence of the arrest of their relatives by appellant and other officers. The bills show that the father was discharged and the brother pleaded guilty. There is no showing that either of these witnesses were present at the trial, or that they knew of or had heard of the arrest or trial, or that appellant played any special or prominent part in such arrest or had anything unusual to do with it. The trial court certifies there was no such testimony. Neither of said witnesses was asked upon the trial whether he had any animus or ill-feeling toward appellant, nor was there any other testimony offered showing either directly or indirectly such facts as would lead to the conclusion that there was ill-feeling, prejudice or animus on the part of such witnesses.
Of course, the purpose of such proof is, as far as it would go, to cast doubt on the credibility of the Rodriguez witnesses and to that extent impeach them, but an inference can not rest upon nothing more substantial than another inference, and this is specially true when there appears as supporting inference number two only a third deduction. The first thing inferred would be enmity or ill-will on the part of the Rodriguez brothers. The inference of such ill-will would arise from their
We would hestitate to reverse a case upon no stronger showing of injury than the mere rejection of testimony offered to show hostility on the part of a witness, which testimony went no further than to show that the accused was one of a group of officers who had executed a warrant of arrest in a regular way upon a relative of the witness. The case of Burnett v. State, 53 Texas Crim. Rep., 515, is referred to. See also Link v. State, 73 Texas Crim. Rep., 82.
We do not think bill of exceptions No. 11 presents any error. If we understand the record, it was made known to the court after this case was on trial that appellant desired a recess in order that his attorney might have a conference with a group of witnesses in Mexico to ascertain what they knew about this case, and if possible to get them as witnesses. The record seems to support the proposition that permission to bring witnesses bodily across the river in order to use them as witnesses, was a matter entirely within the discretion of the Federal Immigration Department. The judge trying this case had no power or authority to compel said immigration officers to admit parties into the United States in order that they might be witnesses. The record shows, however, that the judge did stop the trial and grant to appellant’s attorney the right to go to the Mexican side and interview his witnesses and make an effort to get them across the river. It was agreed
There are a number of other bills of exception presenting minor complaints, all of which have been examined, and in none of which do we find any error.
The judgment will be affirmed.
Affirmed.
070rehearing
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING.
Appellant moves for rehearing, again urging the same points presented and considered on original submission.
The only matter regarding which this court has been disturbed, or which has given rise to different views among the members of the court is the question presented in bills of exceptions Numbers 2-A and 3, and there is no difference as to the legal principle involved, but only as to its application. Said bills disclose that appellant offered to prove by appellant and one White that appellant and other officers arrested the father and a brother of State’s witnesses Mateo and Ignacio Rodriguez upon a charge of theft of cattle from White; that the father and brother were taken to Juarez and upon a trial the father was discharged and the brother upon his plea of guilty was sent to jail for six or eight months. Upon the State’s objection the evidence was excluded. The bills themselves do not show upon what ground the evidence was offered, nor the ground of objection urged by the State. The qualification to each of the
Believing proper disposition was made of the case in our original opinion, the motion for rehearing will be overruled.
Overruled.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ramiro Galvan, alias Raul Galvan v. State
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published