Anderson v. State

1912 OK CR 384, 126 P. 840, 8 Okla. Crim. 90, 1912 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 401
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided September 14, 1912·No. No. A-1307.·Published·Cited by 45 cases

Opinion

FURMAN, P. J.

(after stating the facts as above). The petition in error sets out 23 grounds upon which it is alleged that the judgment of the trial court should be-set aside and a new trial be granted. This was a joint prosecution against appellant, Dan Anderson, and Arbelle Vannoy for the murder of John Vannoy. When the case was called for trial, appellant, Dan Anderson, filed a motion for severance, which was granted by the court. Appellant then demanded that Arbelle Vannoy should be tried first. The demand was refused, and appellant excepted to the ruling of the court. Appellant was placed upon trial and found guilty of murder, and his punishment was assessed at death.

First. Counsel for appellant in their brief say:

“Defendant assigns that the court erred in compelling him to be tried first, after granting a severance, thereby depriving him of the evidence of his codefendant, Arbelle Vannoy.

“Article 5, Constitution of the United States, as amended, among other things, provides that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.’

“Article 6, Const. U. S., as amended, among other things, provides that in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.

“Article 14, Const. U. S., among other things, provides that ‘no state shall deprive any person of life, 'liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person the equal protection of the laws.’

“Article 2, sec. 7, Const. Oklahoma, provides that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law,’ and in section 20, same article, among other things, provides that ‘in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses imhis behalf.’ ”

If counsel for appellant had carefully considered the very able opinion of Judge Doyle, in the case of In re McNaught, 1 *103 Okla. Cr. 528, 99 Pac. 241, we do not believe that they would have presented this question. In McNaught’s case the question was as to whether a prosecution for murder by information constituted due process of law. We there held that it did. While our discussion was confined to the question there presented, yet the principles announced are decisive of the question now presented to us. But, as this matter has come up again, we will take a broader view and see just what due process of law means. That a state cannot deprive a person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, goes without the saying. It is not only embodied in the Constitution of the United States and of this state, but it is a fundamental principle of justice, independent of either Constitution. As we understand it, the assumption of counsel for appellant is that the refusal of the trial court to,place his codefendant, Arbelle Vannoy, on trial first deprived him of an opportunity of securing her evidence as a witness in his behalf, and thereby amounted to a denial to appellant of due process of law. But counsel for appellant did not attempt to discuss the question as to what constitutes due process of law, or favor us with either argument or authorities in support of the contention that placing appellant upon trial first amounted to a denial of due process of law; but they assumed the proposition in controversy, and substituted assertion for argument and authorities. We would therefore be at liberty to disregard and ignore this proposition altogether, because it is no part of the duty of this court to brief cases, as well as decide them. This court never presumes error in the proceedings of a court of record. Two things must be shown by the appellant before a conviction will be reversed, viz., that error was committed during the trial, and that this error, 'Unless jurisdictional, deprived the appellant of some substantial right, to his material injury. Unless such error is properly presented in the brief, a conviction will be affirmed. See Price v. State, 5 Okla. Cr. 147, 113 Pac. 1061. But, as the extreme penalty of the law has been pronounced against appellant, we feel it to be our duty to thoroughly investigate the record, and to give appellant the benefit of any material error that may have been committed which operated to. *104 his injury, whether or not the same was excepted to at the trial, or properly presented in the brief. See Vickers v. United States, 1 Okla. Cr. 452, 98 Pac. 467; Turner et al. v. State, 126 Pac. 452, decided at the present term.

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Anderson v. State, 1912 OK CR 384, 126 P. 840, 8 Okla. Crim. 90, 1912 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 401 (Okla. Ct. App. 1912).

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