Bayne v. State

1941 OK CR 59, 112 P.2d 1113, 72 Okla. Crim. 52, 1941 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 60
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 23, 1941
DocketNo. A-9788.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 1941 OK CR 59 (Bayne v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bayne v. State, 1941 OK CR 59, 112 P.2d 1113, 72 Okla. Crim. 52, 1941 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 60 (Okla. Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

BAREFOOT, P. J.

Defendant Roland Bayne was charged jointly with Clifford Thompson in the district court of Payne county with the crime of attempt to kill, was tried separately and convicted and sentenced to serve one year in the reformatory at Granite, and has appealed.

The information in this case was filed under Oklahoma Statutes 1931, section 1873, O. S. A. title 21-, sec. 652, which is as follows:

“Every person who intentionally and wjrongfully shoots, shoots at, or attempts to shoot at another, with any kind of firearm, airgun or other means whatever, with intent to kill any person, or who commits any assault and battery upon another by means of any deadly weapon, or by such other means or force as is likely to produce death or in resisting the execution of any legal process is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding ten years.”

The court, in his instructions to the jury, instructed on the above statute and also on two included statutes, *54 Oklahoma Statutes 1931, section 1870, O. S. A. title 21, sec. 645, which is as follows :

“Every person who, with intent to do bodily harm, and without justifiable or excusable cause commits any assault upon the person of another with any sharp or dangerous weapon, or who, without such cause, shoots or attempts to shoot at another, with any kind of firearm or airgun or other means whatever, with intent to injure any person, although without intent to kill such person or to commit any felony, is punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding five years, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year.”

And, also, Oklahoma Statutes 1931, sections 1865, 1866, and 1868, O. S. A. title 21, sections 641, 642, and 644, which are as follows:

(1) “An assault is any willful and unlawful attempt or offer with force or violence to do a corporal hurt to another.”
(2) “A battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.”
(3) “Assault, or assault and battery, shall be punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding thirty days, or by a fine of not less than five dollars or more than one hundred dollars, or both, at the discretion of the court.”

The jury returned the following verdict:

“We, the jury, being duly sworn and empaneled in the above-entitled case, do on our oaths find the defendant, Roland Bayne, guilty of the crime of assault with intent to do bodily harm, as charged in the information but we are unable to agree upon the punishment.”

The court sentenced the defendant to serve one year in the reformatory at Granite.

It is contended that the punishment inflicted is not authorized by the verdict or by the law, it being contended that, under the verdict and judgment based thereon, the *55 defendant was only found guilty of an assault, and that tbe court erred in giving defendant a sentence of one year in tbe reformatory at Granite. Defendant in bis brief cites two cases from tbis court in support of tbis contention. Feaster v. State, 15 Okla. Cr. 366, 177 P. 124; Polk v. State, 15 Okla. Cr. 324, 176 P. 538. We first refer to tbe case of Vineyard v. State, 22 Okla. Cr. 76, 209 P. 783, 784, wbicb expressly overrules tbe first syllabus of tbe case of Polk v. State, supra. In tbis opinion Judge Matson says:

“The first paragraph of tbe syllabus in tbe Polk Case is too broad in statement, in conflict with earlier decisions of tbis court, and is expressly disapproved.”

The first paragraph deals with tbe question here involved.

Tbe later cases of tbis court have uniformly held that tbe statutes above quoted are included offenses and that a charge under tbe first will include an offense under tbe second and third, and that it is the duty of tbe court to so instruct tbe jury when tbe facts justify. Clemons v. State, 8 Okla. Cr. 452, 128 P. 739; Horton v. State, 35 Okla. Cr. 80, 248 P. 878; Wheeler v. State, 66 Okla. Cr. 127, 90 P. 2d 49; Ponkilla v. State, 69 Okla. Cr. 31, 99 P. 2d 910.

Tbe Vineyard Case is also in direct conflict with tbe Feaster Case, and while not specifically named therein, it virtually overrules tbe decision in that case.

As stated above, tbe defendant was in tbe instant case charged under Oklahoma Statutes 1931, section 1873, O. S. A. title 21, section 652. In tbe case of Coleman v. State, 16 Okla. Cr. 579, 194 P. 282, 283, tbe verdict of tbe jury was in almost identical terms with the verdict rendered in tbis case. It stated:

*56 “ ‘We, the jury impaneled, sworn, and charged in the above-entitled cause, do upon our oaths find the defendant guilty of an assault to do great bodily harm as charged in the information herein, and leave his punishment to the court.”

The court says:

“The sufficiency of the verdict to sustain the judgment is raised for the first time in this court. It is now urged that the verdict is not responsive, and is too indefinite and •uncertain to sustain the judgment rendered.
“By section 5926, Rev. Laws [1910], 22 Okla. St. Ann. § 919, it is provided:
“ ‘If the jury render a verdict not in form, the court may, with proper instructions as to the law, direct them to reconsider it, and- it cannot be recorded until it be rendered in some form from which it can be clearly understood what is the intent of the jury.’
“By section 5927, 22 Okla. St. Ann. § 920, it is, among other things, provided:
“ ‘But no judgment of conviction can be given unless the jury expressly find against the defendant, upon the issue.’
“The verdict is not in proper form; but, when considered in connection with the charge in the information and the instructions given by the court, it is sufficiently definite and certain as to- the offense of which the defendant was convicted, and is in fact a verdict of guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm.
“It is well settled that a. verdict will not be held void for uncertainty if its meaning can be determined by reference to the record-proper. Bowlegs v. State, 9 Okla. Cr. 69, 130 P. 824; Walker v. State, 11 Okla. Cr. 339, 127 P. [895] 896.
“Says Mi*. Bishop:
“ ‘The language of the verdict, being that of “lay people,” need not follow the strict rules of pleading, or be *57 otherwise technical. Whatever conveys the idea to the common understanding will suffice, and all fair intend-ments will be made to support it.’ 1 Bish. New Cr. Proc. (4th Ed.) § 1005.

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Hill v. State
1954 OK CR 15 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1954)
Madison v. State
1953 OK CR 181 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1953)
Pruitt v. State
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Smith v. State
1947 OK CR 18 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1947)
Tipler v. State
1943 OK CR 127 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1943)
Dunbar v. State
1942 OK CR 150 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1942)
Compton v. State
1942 OK CR 32 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1942)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1941 OK CR 59, 112 P.2d 1113, 72 Okla. Crim. 52, 1941 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bayne-v-state-oklacrimapp-1941.