Hancock v. Shockman

69 S.W. 826, 4 Indian Terr. 138, 1902 Indian Terr. LEXIS 11
CourtCourt Of Appeals Of Indian Territory
DecidedSeptember 25, 1902
StatusPublished

This text of 69 S.W. 826 (Hancock v. Shockman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court Of Appeals Of Indian Territory primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hancock v. Shockman, 69 S.W. 826, 4 Indian Terr. 138, 1902 Indian Terr. LEXIS 11 (Conn. 1902).

Opinion

Townsend, J.

It is evident that the appellants in this case have wholly failed to comply with the rules of this court in their specifications of error. Section 2 of rule 10 specifically states what appellants’ brief shall contain, and the order in which the same shall be stated. Subsection 2 of said section 2 provides as follows: “A specification of the errors relied upon in law cases shall set out separately and particularly each error asserted and intended to be urged. * * * When the error alleged is to the admission or to the rejection of evidence, the specification shall quote the full substance of the evidence submitted or rejected. When the error alleged is tó the charge of the court, the specification shall set out the part referred to, totidem verbis, whether it be in instructions given or in instructions refused.” No specifications of error are set out in appellants’ brief, but the grounds stated in the motion for new trial are stated in their brief, and are as follows: “In the motion for a new trial the defendants asked that the verdict be set aside for the following reasons: (1) The verdict is not sustained by sufficient evidence; (2)- the verdict is contrary to law;. (3) for errors of law occurring at the trial, and excepted to by the defendants.” In their brief, in discussing the errors of law complained of under the third ground of their motion for new trial, they state that the first, second, third, and fourth instructions given by the court were error, and further state that the ruling of [142]*142the court in refusing to give instructions numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 requested by the appellants was error; but the instructions given and those refused are not set out in their brief; neither does it appear from their brief that any exceptions were saved to the action of the court in giving or refusing said instructions. .We find the instructions numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 given by the court in the bill of exceptions, and it there appears that exceptions were reserved to the giving of said instructions. We also find in the bill of exceptions the instructions numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 requested by appellants, and refused .by the court,'but it does not appear there, even, that any exceptions were saved to this ruling of the court. Appellants further state in their brief that they objected to the introduction of a certain bill of sale in evidence, but the same is not set out in their brief, and it does not appear from their brief that any exception was reserved to the action of the court in that respect. They also state that the court erred in refusing- to admit a certain commissioner’s record, but the same is not set out in their brief; neither does it appear from their brief that any exception was reserved to this action of the court, and by reference to the bill of exceptions only do we ascertain what the bill of sale was; and a statement of what appellants desired to prove by the said commissioner’s record. There it appears that exceptions were reserved to the action of'the court. It would be, therefore, wholly proper to affirm the judgment for the failure of appellants to comply with the rules of this court, but indulging in the presumption, in this one instance, that appellants’ counsel were not aware that this court had any rules, we will examine this case upon its merits as presented by the record and bill of exceptions. But the bill of exceptions itself does not purport to contain all the evidence in the case. It only contains the “substance of the testimony of part of the witnesses,” and at the close of the statement of the said “substance of the testimony,, is the following agreement: “N. B. It is hereby agreed between the parties hereto by their attornejrs that the above [143]*143statement is the substance of most of the testimony given at the trial in this action, and is the substance of all the testimony given by the plaintiff, and the defendant Hancock, and the two witnesses Lem Beck and the U. S. commissioner. Signed T. G. Ayres & D. H. Wilson, Attys. for Pltf. Smith & McCulloch, Attorneys for Defendants.” How canGve say that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict when the substance of only part of the evidence is presented in the bill of exceptions? McKinney vs Demby, 44 Ark. 74, in the syllabus, declares as follows: “(1) Unless the bill of exceptions shows that it contains all the evidence, the supreme court cannot consider the objection that the verdict is not supported by the evidence; and an instruction which would be correct on proper evidence will be presumed to have had evidence to support it. (2) Where the bill of exceptions fails to show that it contains all the evidence adduced at the trial, every intendment is indulged in favor of the action of the trial court; and this court will presume that every fact susceptible of prpof which could have aided the appellee’s case was fully established. (3) Where an instruction is given purporting to be predicated on the evidence and upon the hypothesis.that certain facts have been proved, and it is not repugnant to nor inconsistent with a case that might have been proved under the pleadings, the appellate court ought to presume, in favor of the court below, that such evidence, though not set out in the bill of exceptions, had been adduced at the trial, and the correctness of the instruction should be inquired into.” See, also, Hall vs Needles, 1 Ind. Ter. 146, 38 S. W. 671; Railroad Co. vs Washington, 1 C. C. A. 286, 49 Fed. 347.

The second ground for new trial — “that the verdict is contrary to the law” — depends upon the facts proven upon which the verdict rests, and in its discussion appellants claim'that error was committed by the court in admitting a certain bill of sale made by the husband of the appellee to her, and that because [144]*144said bill of sale by its terms was executed in the state of Kansas, and the Kansas statute was not put in evidence, therefore, the appellee secured no title to the property. But how are we to know what was in evidence in this case when the substance of the testimony of only part of the witnesses is given? Under the decisions already cited all presumptions are in favor of the judgment of the lower court. It is well settled that foreign laws must be averred and proven as facts, but the Kansas statutes were not alleged in the pleadings. How did the appellee become .the owner of the property in controversy? The court instructed the jury as follows: “The jury are instructed that if they believe, frpm the evidence in the case, that the plaintiff was the owner of the property sued for at the time of the beginning of this suit, and that the same was levied upon by the. defendant S. M. Rutherford, as United States marshal for the Northern district of the Indian Territory, or by one of his deputies on a judgment against William Shoclcman, and sold, and that such levy and sale were against the will and consent of the plaintiff, and that the defendant Hancock became the purchaser thereof; and after-wards'detained the same against her will and consent, after she made demand therefor, then the court instructs you should find the issues in this case in the favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant for the property sued for, with the exception of three' calves that were running with the cows.” There was no exception to the foregoing instruction, and the presumption must be that the evidence satisfied the jury that the appellee was the owner of the property. “A married womman is entitled to the profits from her land, even though her husband helped' make them.” Davison vs Gibson, 5 C. C. A. 548, 56 Fed. 443.

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Related

Hall v. Needles
38 S.W. 671 (Court Of Appeals Of Indian Territory, 1897)
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53 S.W. 321 (Court Of Appeals Of Indian Territory, 1899)
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35 Ark. 220 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1879)
Pounders v. State
37 Ark. 399 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1881)
McKinney v. Demby
44 Ark. 74 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1884)
Leavitt v. Jones
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Rodgers v. Smith
2 Ind. 526 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1851)
Going v. Orns
8 Kan. 85 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1871)
Gulf, C. & S. F. R. Co. v. Washington
49 F. 347 (Eighth Circuit, 1892)
Davison v. Gibson
56 F. 443 (Eighth Circuit, 1893)
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56 F. 447 (Eighth Circuit, 1893)
Case v. Hall
94 F. 300 (Eighth Circuit, 1899)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
69 S.W. 826, 4 Indian Terr. 138, 1902 Indian Terr. LEXIS 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hancock-v-shockman-ctappindterr-1902.