Wilson v. Commonwealth
Wilson v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The plaintiff in error was indicted for murder in the county court of Henry county, at. the Hovember term, 1887, for an alledged murder committed on the 15th day of October, 1887, and at the December term of the said court he elected to be tried in the circuit court of the said county; was tried in the circuit court May 28,1888,-when the indictment was quashed. He was rearrested, and again indicted in the county court at
The first ground of error assigned is wholly untenable, as by section 4020 of the Code of Virginia it is provided that “ any court in which a person accused of felony is to be tried, or the judge of such court in vacation, may at any time causo a writ of venire facias to issue for Ms trial; ” and he was tried in the circuit court by his own selection, and the writ of venire facias was issued by that court in conformity with the law.
And the second ground of assignment, referring to the conformity of the proceedings with the new law in existence at the time of the trial, rather than that existing at the time the offense was alleged to have been committed, is equally untenable, for reasons fully set forth in the opinion of this court-rendered at this term, and just read, in the case of Jones v. Commonwealth, ante, p. 661. The change in the law under which he was tried, did not affect any vested right of his, but related only to the form of the proceedings; and we are of opinion to affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Henry appealed from here.
Judgment aeeirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.