James v. State

167 S.W. 727, 74 Tex. Crim. 139, 1914 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 297
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided April 29, 1914·No. No. 3107.·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

HAEPEE, Judge.

Appellant was prosecuted and convicted of the offense of abandonment after seduction and marriage.

In the first two 'bills of exception it is shown that appellant challenged two jurors for cause, when they answered that they were “prejudiced against the crime of seduction.” The bills further show that the jurors did not know appellant, and had no prejudice against him; had no opinion in the case, knew nothing about the case and nothing about appellant. The fact that they had antipathy to the crime or offense of seduction is not surprising. Nine-tenths or more of the citizenship of Texas would answer the question in the same way, and if this disqualified them from jury service, then only libertines would be qualified jurors in that character of case, and even some of them would answer that they did not believe it right to debauch a girl under a promise of marriage. It is further shown in these bills that these two jurors also answered that one witness being a man and another witness a woman, they would give more credence to the testimony of the woman than they would to the man. This is a common failing of mankind. However, it is not necessary to discuss this question as neither of these men served on the jury, and it is not shown that any objectionable juror was forced on appellant by reason of his being required to peremptorily challenge these men. Grissom v. State, 8 Texas Crim. App., 386; Wilson v. State, 33 Texas Crim. Rep., 22; Kramer v. State, 34 Texas Crim. Rep., 84; Burrell v. State, 18 Texas, 713.

It appears that only twenty-seven jurors were on the list furnished appellant, that being all the men in the jury box. Appellant demanded a full panel of thirty-two names before passing on the lists. The court committed no error in overruling the motion. Article 883, Code of *141 Criminal Procedure; Burfey v. State, 3 Texas Crim. App., 519; Bratt v. State, 41 S. W. Rep., 624.

It appears that when the officer waiting on the court was instructed to summon talesmen he was instructed as to his duties, b.ut not sworn as required by law. It further appears that when a portion of the talesmen were put in the jury box, and before passing on them, one of defendant’s attorneys asked the officer if he had been sworn to summon jurors in the case, and upon being informed that he had not, he did not then raise any objection, but after the jury had been selected, he then called the court’s attention to the fact that the officer had not been sworn who summoned tire jurors, but the court says that at that time no objection was made that the jurymen or either of them were not qualified jurors, nor that the officer had acted improperly in the premises in the summoning of the jury in any way whatsoever. The statute requires that the oath be administered, and a failure to administer it has been held to be reversible error when the objection is timely made, that is when the jurors were summoned and offered the defendant should then have challenged them upon the ground that the officer who summoned them had not been administered the oath as required by law. Article 22 of the Code provides that the defendant may waive any right secured to him by law, except the right of trial by jury in felony cases, and the defendant can not sit idly by until after the jury had been selected and then for the first time offer such objection, when the record affirmatively discloses that he was aware of such fact before the final completion of the jury. Of course, if it was shown that the officer had in any way acted improperly, or the jurymen thus selected were prejudiced, or that any right of appellant had been injuriously affected, reversible error would be presented. Murray v. State, 21 Texas Crim. App., 466.

Evidence was admitted that the prosecuting witness, Mamie Lee James, had given birth to a baby, and appellant requested the court to instruct the jury that said evidence could not be considered. In the case of Snodgrass v. State, 36 Texas Crim. Rep., 207, this contention was held adversely to appellant and the testimony held admissible, and that case has since been followed.

Another charge requested was that the prosecuting witness must be corroborated both as to the act of intercourse and the promise of marriage. In the case of Williams v. State, 59 Texas Crim. Rep., 347, and Nash v. State, 61 Texas Crim. Rep., 259, this question is discussed at length, and held adversely to appellant. These cases have been followed in all opinions rendered since that date, if not prior thereto and we do not deem it necessary to again discuss the matter. In this case appellant having married the prosecutrix, after prosecution against him had been begun for seduction, to secure a dismissal of that case, this would, however, be a circumstance tending strongly to corroborate on both issues, it being a virtual admission of those facts.

The first objection to the charge is that the court does not fully set out the law as to corroboration of accomplice in his charge. The charge *142 as given has been frequently approved by this court. King v. State, 57 Texas Crim. Rep,, 363; Brown v. State, 57 Texas Crim. Rep., 570; Hinson v. State, 53 Texas Crim. Rep., 143; Mizell v. State, 59 Texas Crim. Rep., 226, 128 S. W. Rep., 125.

The next complaint is that the court does not apply the law of reasonable doubt. The court instructed the jury: “The law presumes the defendant to be innocent until his guilt is established by legal and competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, and the burden of proving guilt is on the State throughout the trial of the case and never shifts to the defendant, and in case you have a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt you will acquit him.” This sufficiently presented the issue, and it" was not necessary to apply reasonable doubt to each paragraph of the charge.

There is no motion for continuance contained in the record, therefore this matter is not presented in a way we can consider it. There are a great many matters complained of in the motion for new trial as regards the introduction of testimony, but if objected to.at the time no bills of exception were preserved, and, therefore, not presented in a way we can review them.

The offense of seduction is alleged to have taken place on June 5, 1912, and the prosecuting witness swears that the first act of intercourse took place on the' night of the 5th of June. After the court had submitted his charge to appellant’s counsel, and after the court had read it to the jury, in addition to the special charges theretofore asked, appellant then requested the court to give the following special charge: “That if they should believe from the evidence that Mamie Lee Newman had sexual intercourse with any one after the 5th day of June, 1912, being the day alleged in the hill of indictment, which the defendant is charged with seducing the said Mamie Lee Hewman, and the defendant married her as alleged in the bill of indictment in this case not knowing of such sexual intercourse and that he married her in good faith believing her to be a virtuous woman and that.

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James v. State, 167 S.W. 727, 74 Tex. Crim. 139, 1914 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 297 (Tex. 1914).

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