Bracken v. State

16 S.W. 192, 29 Tex. Ct. App. 362, 1891 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 6
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 28, 1891·No. No. 3054·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

WHITE, Presiding Judge.

A preliminary motion for a certiorari to perfect and complete the record will be disposed of before we enter upon a discussion of the merits of the case.

Two trials have been had in this case—the first in December, 1889, which resulted in a mistrial, and the second in December, 1890, resulting in a verdict and judgment of murder of the second degree, from which this appeal is being prosecuted.

It appears that on the first trial in 1889 defendant, by his counsel, re[364] quested the court to give in charge to the jury four special instructions, which the court refused.

At the second trial in 1890 these four special instructions were neither presented nor called to the attention of the court, nor was the court requested to give them in "charge to the jury. No action of any kind was asked or taken in reference to them.

Appellant’s motion for certiorari is in order that these four special instructions may be brought up as part of the record on this appeal and be considered by us as instructions which should have been given, hut were refused by the court on the second trial.

The contention is that instructions once asked and refused and filed with the record are and should be treated as part of the case in all subsequent proceedings and trials, the same as though they had been presented to and acted upon and filed at said trials.

Such is not our understanding or construction of the rule of practice .as announced in article 680, Code of Criminal Procedure, which reads: “The general charge given by the court, as well as those given or refused at the request of either party, shall be certified by the judge and filed amongst the papers in the cause, and shall constitute part of the record in the cause.”

This relates to charges given or refused on the particular trial, and not to other and different trials, or all the trials had in a case, if more than one.

The “record of a cause” consists of the papers and proceedings entered upon the minutes incidental to and connected with the case to be tried, and which are had and used at the trial.

A case may be tried any number of times, and yet the record when ■made up will only consist, legitimately of the matters and things used in and pertinent and necessary to the last trial, together with the minutes of the same.

If there are a dozen trials, the court is as much bound to charge the jury anew upon the last as in any preceding trial, and the same rules apply to the charge and requested instructions as though but a single trial only had taken place. Code Crim. Proc., arts. 677, 678,679, 680, 683, 684,685.

If special instructions requested at one trial are not requested again on a second trial, they are, as charges, considered as abandoned or waived, and lose their force and efficacy for any purpose—in fact become, so to speak, functus officio—and are entitled to no further consideration as part of the record in the case.

. The special instructions sought to be brought to this court by means of the certiorari being no part of the record of the case as tried in the court below from which this appeal is taken, appellant’s motion for the writ is refused and overruled.

Motion for certiorari overruled.

[365] With regard to the merits of the ease, the first error—and in fact, it is the chief matter complained of in the able oral argument and printed brief of counsel for appellant—is as to the correctness and sufficiency of. the charge of the court upon manslaughter.

It is insisted that the phase of the law of manslaughter really and. properly raised by the evidence was not given to the jury at all, and that, as given it was wholly insufficient and wholly inapplicable, and only tended to confuse and mislead the jury, to the evident injury of appellant.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Bracken v. State, 16 S.W. 192, 29 Tex. Ct. App. 362, 1891 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 6 (Tex. Ct. App. 1891).

16 S.W. 192 (Bracken v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Doby v. State
383 S.W.2d 418 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1964)
Hickey v. State
76 S.W. 920 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1903)