State v. Mewhinney
State v. Mewhinney
Opinion of the Court
The defendant was tried and convicted in the district court of Salt Lake County for the crime of murder in the first' degree. Erom a judgment imposing the death penalty defendant appealed to this court. A hearing on the appeal was had, and the questions presented were duly considered by this court, and the judgment affirmed.. (43 Utah, 185, 134 Pac. 632.) A remittitur was sent from this court to the district court from which the appeal was taken. While the
The instruction complained of and assigned as error was as follows:
“Tour verdict in tbis case must be: Guilty of murder in tbe first degree, as charged in tbe information; or, Guilty of murder in tbe first degree as charged in tbe information, and we recommend that tbe defendant be imprisoned at bard labor in tbe state prison for life; or, Not guilty by reason of insanity; or, Not guilty, as your deliberations may result.”
Tbis instruction was assigned as error on tbe former ap- • peal of tbis case, and much space was devoted to tbe consideration and discussion of tbis alleged error in each of tbe separate opinions filed in tbe cause; tbe majority of tbe court holding that tbe giving of tbe instruction did not constitute error. Tbe questions presented by tbe former appeal, including tbe questions here sought to be reviewed, were again presented to tbis court by a petition for a rehearing, and they were again considered and decided adversely to tbe defendant’s contentions. No question is presented by tbis appeal that was not involved, considered, and adjudicated on tbe former appeal.
“It is a firmly settled principle that the decisions of the appellate tribunal constitute the law of the case upon all the points in judgment, no matter in what stage of the proceedings they arise, or in what mode they are presented. . . . The law as declared cannot he changed upon a second or subsequent appeal. This general doctrine is affirmed by many cases, and, so far as we can discover, denied by none. It is plainly evident that the rule is a sound and salutary one, since, without such a rule, litigation might be endless and a controversy remain unsettled.”
In 2 Spelling, New Trial & App. Proc. section 691, the rule is stated as follows:
“A decision of an appellate court must be adhered to at all future stages of the same ease, unless overruled by a higher appellate court. This rule applies both to the trial court and the appellate court, and is not affected by any error which may be imputed to or found in the decision. In other words, it is the law of that case.”
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE v. MEWHINNEY
- Status
- Published