Hall v. State

275 S.W. 1047, 101 Tex. Crim. 396, 1925 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 815
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 7, 1925
DocketNo. 9099.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 275 S.W. 1047 (Hall 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
Hall v. State, 275 S.W. 1047, 101 Tex. Crim. 396, 1925 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 815 (Tex. 1925).

Opinion

BERRY, Judge.

The appellant was convicted in the district court of Taylor county for the offense of an aggravated' assault and his punishment assessed at a fine of five hundred dollars and confinement in the county jail for one year.

Stated in very brief form, the facts show that on the evening of July 21, 1924, the appellant and six others went out on a party to a pasture near the town of Abilene; in this party in addition to the appellant were Earl Darden, a barber living in the town of Abilene who was a married man with a wife and two children, Joe Toten, Ruth Smith, the prosecutrix, one Sneed, a boy twenty years of age, Ruby Hurrah and Clora Wilson. The record' discloses that the Wilson girl was about eighteen years of age and the Hurrah girl was about seventeen years of age. The prosecutrix was a young woman twenty-three years of age who had been twice married and Avas separated from each of her husbands. The participants in this party carried with them two pints of whiskey, some sandAviches, mints and other paraphernalia. The prosecutrix testified that practically all of the parties drank of the Avhiskey except her and it was the appellant’s contention that the entire party, except Sneed, 'including the prosecutrix, were partakers of this beverage. The prosecutrix testified that when they went out in the pasture where they stopped for lunch *398 that the appellant assaulted her and forcibly attempted to have intercourse with her and that Joe Toten assisted him in this unlawful enterprise. The appellant claimed that Earl Darden and Toten and appellant became engaged in a fight and that as a result thereof the prosecutrix and the Wilson girl also engaged in a fistic and hair pulling encounter. The appellant denied making any assault whatever on the prosecutrix and accounted for the bruises found on her person by showing that she and the Wilson girl had twice engaged in a fight on that night. He also presented the theory, that prosecutrix was infatuated with the married man, Darden, and that on account of the difficulty between Darden, Toten, and others, the prosecutrix sought to vent her spleen against him and other parties who had engaged her friend Darden in the fight. All of the parties who were eyewitnesses to the transaction corroborated the appellant’s theory of the case except the witness, Darden, whn testified substantially as did the prosecutrix.

Many complaints are made by appellant with reference to matters of procedure in the case. The first two of which relate to the court’s action in refusing to change the venue in the case, and in failing to grant appellant’s first application for a continuance. As these matters may not arise in the same form in the event of another trial, a discussion of them is not deemed necessary.

Various bills of exception are contained in the record complaining at the court’s action in permitting the State to prove what was said and done by the Wilson and Murrah girls at the time and place where the assault is alleged to have been made. Appellant contends that this testimony was not admissible because no conspiracy had been shown between the girl and this defendant, and this defendant was not bound by any act of these witnesses and that same was hearsay and highly prejudicial. We think this testimony was admissible as a part of the res gestae. It was clearly related to the acts and conduct of the participants in the affair as to make it apparent to us that it was the transaction itself speaking through these parties.

Appellant complains at the court’s, action in refusing to permit him to prove by the witness, Earl Darden, while on cross-examination that he gave the hotel in Abilene a bad cheek for the purpose of paying the prosecutrix’s hotel bill.

Complaint is also made at the court’s action in refusing to permit the appellant to prove by the witness Miller and the witness Gaurke that about six weeks prior to the time of the trial on the clear' fork of the Brazos river about fourteen miles north of Abilene, that they saw the prosecutrix and the witness Earl Darden in swimming together and that the prosecutrix had her legs up and around' his body several times and that she had her arms around his neck hanging on to him, and that there was a log in the water under a big tree and that they were on top of it face to face several times. *399 There are various other bills of exception in the record presenting these matters in slightly different form and it is the appellant’s contention that the testimony showing intimate relations between the prosecutrix Ruth Smith and the witness, Bari Darden, was admissible for the purpose of showing the animus and interest of the witness Darden in the case. As stated above, the witness Darden testified to substantially the same facts as those deposed to by the prosecutrix. The testimony in the case was sharply conflicting and the overwhelming number of witnesses testified to a theory of the case favorable to the appellant. The testimony of the prosecutrix was corroborated alone by that of the witness Darden. It seems that the Court refused to permit testimony on these transactions on the theory that they were isolated transactions and therefore an improper method of attacking the witness Darden. We cannot agree with the view of this matter taken by the trial court. It has been often held by this Court and by other courts that the motives which operate upon the mind of a witness when he testifies are never regarded as irrelevant or collateral matters. It has also been held that the defendant is entitled to show animus or prejudice on the part of the State’s witness toward him and its extent, and in such examinations great latitude is allowed when the object is to impeach the credit of such witness. It is also well settled in this State that the animus, motive, or ill-will of a prosecuting witness who testifies to facts hurtful to defendant is never a collateral or irrelevant inquiry, and the defendant may show by such witness, or by himself, or by the others if necessary, why the witness became unfriendly with him. Section 183 Branch’s Ann. P. C.

If the conduct described by the proffered witnesses, which is alleged to have transpired in thé water a short time before this offense is alleged to have been committed, actually occurred, then we think it was strongly indicative of a relationship between the prosecutrix and the witness Darden,which to say the least was entirely unconventional. In fact, we think no other conclusion can be reached, considering all the circumstances surrounding these parties, then that if they engaged in the conduct described by the witnesses Miller and Gaurke, that their conduct was bordering dangerously close to the licentious. This being true, we think the jury was entitled to have this conduct placed before them in order that it might determine for itself from all the facts whether it believed that under the circumstances the witness Darden because of this relationship toward the prosecutrix would be willing to "sell the truth to serve the hour” in her behalf.

As to the testimony concerning the giving of a bad check to pay her hotel bill, it occurs to us that this would be a strong circumstance tending to show that the witness Darden’s relations toward the pros *400 ecutrix were such as to lead the jury to believe that he was not a disinterested witness.

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Related

Tischmacher v. State
221 S.W.2d 258 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1949)
Sanderson, Jr. v. State
3 S.W.2d 453 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1928)
Sanderson v. State
3 S.W.2d 453 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1928)

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Bluebook (online)
275 S.W. 1047, 101 Tex. Crim. 396, 1925 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 815, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-state-texcrimapp-1925.