Gilbreth v. State

63 S.W.2d 560, 124 Tex. Crim. 465, 1933 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 502
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 21, 1933
DocketNo. 15797
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 63 S.W.2d 560 (Gilbreth v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilbreth v. State, 63 S.W.2d 560, 124 Tex. Crim. 465, 1933 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 502 (Tex. 1933).

Opinions

CHRISTIAN, Judge.

The offense is murder; the punishment, confinement in the penitentiary for two years.

It was charged in the indictment, in substance, that appellant, with malice aforethought, killed Truman Snider by cutting him with a knife.

Eston Snider, brother of deceased, and Fletcher Green had had a difficulty with Clifton Gilbreth, brother of appellant. De[467]*467ceased came upon the scene of the difficulty. While he was present appellant came down the road with an open knife in his hand. Engaging in the fight, appellant cut two or three of the parties and fatally stabbed deceased. It was in evidence on the part of the state that deceased was making no demonstration and was not engaged in the fight at the time he was stabbed. The foregoing is a brief statement of the testimony adduced by the state.

Testifying in his own behalf, appellant denied that he cut deceased. He declared that when he reached the scene of the difficulty several of those present were cursing his brother, Clifton Gilbreth, and that deceased was running toward the parties, pulling off his coat. He testified that some of the parties attacking his brother had a jack and a pump in their hands. He said he tried to persuade them to desist, and that someone struck him on the head. He testified, further, that he did not remember whether he fell to the ground, but that he lost consciousness for a moment.

Bill of exception No. 1 relates to the action of the court in denying appellant’s request that the order setting the case for trial be set aside and the cause postponed. It appears from the bill that the Hon. Walter G. Russell, Judge of the Seventh Judicial District, was district attorney at the time the indictment in the present case was returned, and had represented the state before the grand jury during the investigation of the charge against appellant. Before the case was set for trial the Hon. Walter G. Russell had qualified as district judge. A judge of another district was called upon, and presided in the present trial. Prior to the trial, however, the Hon. Walter G. Russell had entered an order setting the cause down for the date upon which the trial was had. This was the only order he entered in the case. He ordered no special venire and took no other steps in connection with the trial. It is appellant’s position that the order setting the case for trial was void, and that he was entitled to a postponement and a new setting. If at the time the case was set for trial a special venire had been ordered a serious question would be presented. See Taylor v. State, 195 S.W., 1147. However, the setting of the case is deemed to be one of the incidental orders which the disqualified judge might make. Taylor v. State, supra, and authorities cited.

It is shown in bill of exception No. 2 that Fletcher Green, a witness for the state, testified that after deceased was cut he observed the father of deceased grab appellant by the leg, and that thereafter appellant’s wife and brother also took hold of [468]*468him. After giving this testimony the state elicited from the witness that appellant was trying to get back to deceased. Appellant’s objection to the statement last mentioned raises the question as to whether the statement was a mere conclusion. On page 51 of the statement of facts it is shown that Aaron Snider, the father of deceased, testified, without objection on the part of appellant, as follows:

“We started then to bring Allen (appellant) back across the bridge; we were on the other side of the culvert at that time. Yes, Clifton was with him, as well as myself. When we got across the bridge, Truman (deceased) hollered for me to do something for him. I turned Allen aloose, then he made the remark to let him go back and finish the job, and I ducked down, got him by one leg and pulled him back, something like ten or twelve feet, then turned loose and went to Truman. * * * Yes, sir, after I grabbed him by the leg, then Clifton and his wife, Fannie, later got hold of him, but I did not pay any attention to what they did from then on. I turned my attention to my son, Truman.”

In connection with the statement that appellant was trying to get back to deceased, the witness Green testified, without objection on the part of appellant, as shown on page 22 of the statement of facts, as follows:

“He ■ (appellant) tried to get loose and said ‘Just wait a minute; I will go back and finish the d — n s— of a b — .’ ”

It is well settled that when the opinion is the mere shorthand rendering of the facts it may be given in evidence, subject to cross-examination as to the facts on which it was based. Branch’s Annotated Penal Code, sec. 132; Meyers v. State, 37 Texas Crim. Rep., 210, 39 S. W., 111; Williams v. State, 60 Texas Crim. Rep., 453, 132 S. W., 348. However, an opinion or impression which is a mere guess is not admissible. Branch’s Annotated Penal Code, sec. 132; Taylor v. State, 41 Texas Crim. Rep., 149, 51 S. W., 1106. Considered in the light of the other testimony given by the witness Green, we think that the state-men in question should be classified as a shorthand rendition of the facts. In Fleming v. State, 274 S. W., 616, in her dying declaration, the deceased stated that the accused came into the dining room and tried to get her boy to go with him. In the same connection, she declared that her son would not go, and that the accused tried to force him to go. This court reached the conclusion that when the underscored declaration was considered in the light of the context it should be classified as a shorthand rendition of the facts. In any event, the statement [469]*469of the witness Aaron Snider, which was received without objection on the part of appellant, appears to have carried to the jury substantially the same information as the testimony to which appellant objected. As pointed out, this witness testified that after appellant requested that he be permitted to go back and “finish the job” he (the witness) grabbed appellant by the leg and pulled him back something like ten or twelve feet. It is a general rule that the admission of improper evidence does not constitute reversible error if the same facts were proved by other evidence which was not objected to. 4 Tex. Jur., sec. 414, p. 587; Lawler v. State, 9 S. W. (2d) 259; Holder v. State, 18 S. W. (2d) 661; Anderson v. State, 8 S. W. (2d) 124.

Our discussion of bill of exception No. 2 is applicable to bill No. 3.

It appears from bill of exception No. 4 that state’s witness Green was permitted to testify, over appellant’s objection, that it was his opinion that Clifton Gilbreth, brother of appellant, was drinking on the occasion of the difficulty. The objection was that it was not shown that appellant knew that his brother had been drinking; and, further, that evidence of such fact was irrelevant and immaterial. It is unnecessary to determine whether there was error in receiving the testimony. As shown on page 17 of the • statement of facts, appellant elicited from state’s witness Harris, on cross-examination, the following testimony: “Yes, sir, I passed right on not thinking about any difficulty or anything. I never saw anything out of the way with these parties (meaning Clifton Gilbreth, brother of appellant, and two negro men), when we met them only they were drinking a little bit. No, no sir, that was not my idea and judgment; they actually showed it; I was judging by their actions.” The witness was referring to having observed the parties near the scene of the difficulty shortly before deceased was stabbed.

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

Related

Gonzalez v. Layton
429 S.W.2d 215 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1968)
Lee v. State
185 S.W.2d 978 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1945)
Koll v. State
157 S.W.2d 377 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1941)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
63 S.W.2d 560, 124 Tex. Crim. 465, 1933 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 502, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilbreth-v-state-texcrimapp-1933.