Kerr v. State

1954 OK CR 131, 276 P.2d 284, 1954 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 210
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 27, 1954
DocketA-11999
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 1954 OK CR 131 (Kerr 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
Kerr v. State, 1954 OK CR 131, 276 P.2d 284, 1954 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 210 (Okla. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinion

POWELL, Presiding Judge.

The plaintiff in error, Jack Kerr, who will hereinafter be referred to as defendant, was jointly charged with three other codefendants in the district court of Adair County with the larceny of a domestic animal. He was granted a severance, and tried separately from his codefendants, was convicted by a jury, and the jury not being able to agree upon the punishment, left that for the court, who sentenced defendant to serve a term of four years in the State Penitentiary.

The offense was alleged to have been committed in Adair County on or about January 5, 1953. The charging part of the information is as follows:

“That on or about the aforesaid date, in the aforesaid county and state, the defendant, Jack Kerr, Henry Cloud, John Culbertson and Frank Purse, then and there acting together in concert did unlawfully, wrongfully, wilfully, conjointly, by fraud and stealth, take, steal, and carry away from the open range, one certain black sow, hog, some white Sn forehead, back and feet, being with pig, and weight about 250 pounds, the personal property of Bill Sanders; that said taking of said animal by said defendants was without the knowledge *286 or consent of the owner thereof, said Bill Sanders, and was so taken with the felonious intent on the part of said defendants and each of them to deprive the owner thereof and to convert the same to the takers’ own use and benefit, contrary to the form of the statutes in such cases made and provided, and against the peace, and dignity of the State.”

For reversal defendant in his brief argues his case under three propositions: (1) That the court erred in selecting the jury; (2) That the court erred in giving certain instructions over objections of the defendant and not giving instructions offered by the defendant; and (3) That the court erred in submitting to the jury a third prepared verdict, which verdict provided that if the jury found the defendant guilty but was unable to agree upon the punishment to be inflicted, it might leave the same to be fixed by the . court.

Considering the first proposition, the record indicates that after twelve jurors had been selected and agreed upon, and before the jury was sworn, the court said: ■“Call another juror, a thirteenth juror.” Counsel for the defendant objected to the calling of the thirteenth person on the ground that the State and defense had both waived their right to exercise their challenges, and the same had been exhausted. The court overruled the objection and the thirteenth juror was called and examined. His name was Austin Lee Ford. Thereafter the following occurred:

“The Court: I want to explain to you and the other jurors. There are only twelve jurors who will have the case, to decide it. The law now provides that we can select one or two alternative jurors so that if something should happen to one of the twelve, then the case is submitted and the alternate juror can take his place. It will be your province and your duty to listen to the whole testimony, up until the time the jury leaves for the jury room so you will be able to take your place in the jury room in case one of those might get sick or something.
“The Court: I will allow either one of you to challenge this man peremptorily.
“Mr. Green [attorney for defendant] We want to excuse Mr. Mullen.
“The Court: I have in effect reopened the challenging and I will allow the challenge. I want the record to show I give you the right to challenge the alternate juror.
“Mr. Green: He is not the alternate.
“The Court: I understand. All* of the jurors, as well as the alternate juror. Do you want to challenge this alternate juror, Mr. Grant?
“Mr. Grant [County Attorney] No, I don’t think so.
“The Court: Mr. Green?
“Mr. Green: No.
“The Court: All right. All of you stand up please and be sworn to try this case.
“(Whereupon the thirteen jurors are sworn. Twelve jurors in the box and the thirteenth juror sitting in a chair next to the jury box.)”

Thereafter the following record was made out of the presence of the jury:

“Mr. Green: Comes now the defendant, Jack Kerr, and moves the court to designate the twelve jurors to try the case to include Austin Lee Ford, rather than the juror Bill Sanders, for the reason that the said Bill Sanders was the last juror chosen of the thirteen empannelled.
“The Court: All right, this is the record I am going to make. The court states that the twelve jurors were selected officially for the purpose of trying this case. That the State used three challenges and the defendant one, and waived its pther challenges. That thereupon another juror, as an alternate juror, as announced by the Court, was called and duly sworn and inquired of concerning his qualifications; that the court an *287 nounced that the State and defendant each would be allowed to challenge this juror, but no challenge was made-of this juror; that the defendant then challenged W. C. Mullen, who was one of the original twelve selected and the court in its discretion allowed this challenge to be made and the juror Bill Sanders was selected in place of W. C. Mullen, who was a member of the original twelve selected, and with that statement the objection is overruled and the defendant is allowed to except.
“Mr. Green: Note our exceptions.”

In support of his proposition that the jury was illegally and improperly sworn, defendant in his brief advances the reason that the jury had not been sworn to try the case before the thirteenth juror was called, and further:

“ * * * that the defendant had a right to have the juror, Ford, sworn to be one of the original twelve jurors to try the case rather that the juror Bill Sanders for the reason that Bill Sanders was the last juror drawn and that the defendant was therefore deprived of his constitutional and legal rights by the action of the court in refusing to permit the case to be tried by Austin Lee Ford as one of the jurors.
“The case was tried to a jury of twelve, which did not include Austin Lee Ford. Ford never entered the jury room with the jurors after the case was submitted to the jury and had no voice in the verdict whatsoever. However, the juror Bill Sanders, who was the last juror drawn and the last juror sworn and was the thirteenth juror, was permitted by the court, over the objection of .the defendant, to sit as one of the twelve jurors in the case and was permitted to go into the jury room and deliberate with the other jurors and was one of the twelve jurors, who. rendered a verdict against the defendant.”

As pointed out by the Attorney General, the record discloses that defendant’s motion “to designate' the twelve jurors to try the case to include Austin Lee Ford rather than the juror Bill Sanders” was not made until the twelve regular jurors and the alternate juror had been duly em-pannelled and sworn.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1954 OK CR 131, 276 P.2d 284, 1954 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 210, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kerr-v-state-oklacrimapp-1954.