Hood v. State

1945 OK CR 40, 157 P.2d 918, 80 Okla. Crim. 175, 1945 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 307
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 11, 1945
DocketNo. A-10398.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 1945 OK CR 40 (Hood 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
Hood v. State, 1945 OK CR 40, 157 P.2d 918, 80 Okla. Crim. 175, 1945 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 307 (Okla. Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

BAREFOOT, P. J.

Defendants, Booker T. Hood and Helen Butler, were charged by information in the district court of Craig county with the crime of conjoint robbery; were tried, convicted and each sentenced to serve a term of five years in the State Penitentiary, and have appealed.

The following assignments of error are presented by defendants:

“1. Irregularity in the proceedings of the court, jury and county attorney and abuse of discretion by which the plaintiffs in error were prevented from having a fair trial.
“2. That the verdict is not sustained by sufficient evidence, and is contrary to law.
“3. The failure of the state to prove any force or fear to justify a verdict of guilty as to a robbery charge.”

*177 It becomes necessary to give a short statement of the facts in this case.

Defendants, who are both negroes, were charged with robbing Donald Gregory, in the city of Vinita, on the night of August 6, 1942, between 9:30 and 10 o’clock.

As he crossed the Katy railroad tracks, the prosecuting witness was approached by a man and a woman. The man asked him for a match, and when he started to give him a match, the man ordered him to walk down the track. While going down the railroad track, the woman took his billfold out of his right hip pocket, and $30 from the billfold. The man and woman then ran behind some box cars. The prosecuting witness, Gregory, chased them and caught the woman some block and a half away from where the robbery , was committed, and attempted to recover his money. She drew a knife, struck at him three times, and the prosecuting witness abandoned his attempt to recover the money, and went home. He changed his clothes, and returned to the Katy yards, and saw the colored watchman, Clyde Hardrick. The prosecuting witness testified:

“Q. What was his name? A. Hardrick, and I asked him if he had seen me chasing anybody down there. Q. What did he say? A. He said he had seen people running, and he had an idea as to who it was.”

No objection was made and no exception taken by the defendants to this testimony.

The witness then went to the police station and reported the occurrence to the police. Two police officers took him in a car and they went to see the watchman with whom the prosecuting witness had talked. The trial court sustained every objection of the defendants,, and,. *178 did not permit the witness to testify to any conversation by himself or the officers with Clyde Hardrick, the watchman.

Later in the night, the officers arrested the defendants at a place known as “Blue Barbacue,” or “Blue’s Beer Garden.” Both defendants were searched at the police" station. Nothing was found on Helen Butler. They found $14 in currency and change on the defendant Hood. The prosecuting witness identified the money found on the defendant Hood as being a part of the money taken from him. This identification was made by reason of “some yellow streaks off my pocket.” He further testified, when the money was introduced in evidence: “but that don’t look like the money he had that night.”

After the arrest of the defendants, the officers and the prosecuting witness went to the room in a hotel occupied by the defendants, and there prosecuting witness identified a dress and a pair of shoes as that worn by the defendant Helen Butler at the time of the robbery. She testified that she had been to her room prior to her arrest at “Blue’s Place,” but testified that she had not worn the dress or the shoes that night, or for some time.

Both defendants presented what is known in law as an alibi. They testified that they were riding together in a car until about 8:30. Hood testified that he got out of the car about 8:30 and played whist until about 10 o’clock, and then went to “Blue’s Barbacue.” Helen Butler testified that when Hood got out of the car, she went first to.Blue’s place, stayed a few minutes, and then went to the hotel room and stayed there until about 10:30, when she returned to Blue’s place. They were arrested there about 10:30. Both of the defendants were transients, and were occupying the same room at the hotel. When *179 asked if Helen Butler was related to Mm, defendant Hood testified: “I just know bier; she is a girl friend of mine.”

It is contended by defendant that they did not have a fair trial by reason of a violation of art. 2, sec. 20, of the Constitution of the state, which provides:

“In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right * * *, and be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

And by reason of the violation of 22 O. S. 1941 § 13, which provides:

“In a criminal action the defendant is entitled: * * *
“3. To produce witnesses on his behalf, and to be confronted with the witnesses against him in the presence of the court.”

It is contended that by reason of the opening statement of the county attorney, and his failure to place upon the witness stand Clyde Hardrick, whose name was endorsed on the information as a state’s witness, that the constitutional and statutory provisions above quoted were violated.

It is not necessary for the state to place upon the witness stand all of the witnesses whose names are endorsed upon an information. If the defendants deemed that any of those witnesses would give evidence favorable . to them, and they desired to use them as witnesses, it was their duty to issue a subpoena for them, and not rely upon their use by the county attorney so that they would have the privilege of cross-examining them. No subpoena was issued by the defendants for the witness Hardrick. The mere fact that the county attorney in his opening statement made reference to this witness by name, and to statements made by him in the presence of the defend *180 ant, is not sufficient for the defendants to conclude that he would be used by the state as a witness in the case.

It will be noted from the evidence above quoted that the defendants did not object or except to the testimony of the prosecuting witness with reference to the statement made by the witness Hardrick; and when the state attempted to introduce in evidence statements made by Hardrick to the police officers the court promptly sustained all objections to this testimony as hearsay, and did not permit it to be introduced.

After the state had rested, no effort was made by defendants to secure the evidence of the witness Hard-rick, nor was any delay asked that his evidence might be secured. We find that the court did not err in refusing to sustain the motion of the defendants; and that the defendants were not deprived of any constitutional or statutory right by reason of the failure of the state to place the witness Hardrick on the stand.

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

Related

Lay v. State
1988 OK CR 60 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1988)
State v. Jordan
409 N.W.2d 184 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1987)
Stephens v. State
1972 OK CR 339 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1972)
Guarino v. State
1971 OK CR 477 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1971)
State v. Griffith
481 P.2d 34 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1971)
Fields v. State
1958 OK CR 25 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1958)
Wininegar v. State
1953 OK CR 70 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1953)
Gower v. State
1951 OK CR 72 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1951)
Pueblo v. Marengo Santiago
66 P.R. Dec. 824 (Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 1947)
Wirth v. State
1946 OK CR 99 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1946)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1945 OK CR 40, 157 P.2d 918, 80 Okla. Crim. 175, 1945 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 307, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hood-v-state-oklacrimapp-1945.