Loveless Et Ux. v. State

1929 OK CR 194, 277 P. 672, 43 Okla. Crim. 146, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 221
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 18, 1929
DocketNo. A-6562.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 1929 OK CR 194 (Loveless Et Ux. 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
Loveless Et Ux. v. State, 1929 OK CR 194, 277 P. 672, 43 Okla. Crim. 146, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 221 (Okla. Ct. App. 1929).

Opinion

DAVENPORT, J.

The plaintiffs in error, hereinafter called the defendants, were convicted of possession of intoxicating liquor with intent to barter, sell, give away, and otherwise furnish the same to divers persons unknown, •and the defendant Ed Loveless’ punishment was fixed at a fine of $500 and confinement in the county jail for a . period of six months; the punishment of Mrs. Ed Loveless was fixed at a fine of |50 and confinement in the county jail for a period of 30 days. Motion for new trial wasl filed, overruled, and both defendants have appealed to this court.

The state to sustain the allegations in the information called H. O. Brown, the substance of whose testimony is as follows:

*148 “I am a deputy sheriff; I know the defendants Mr. and Mrs. Ed Loveless; I went to their place about the 20th of March, A. D. 1926; Mr. Lindsay went with me.”
“Mr. Gill: At this time we object to the introduction of any evidence in this case, for the reason it was obtained, if any was obtained, by reason of an unlawful search and seizure, and in support of this objection we offer in evidence defendants’ exhibits A and B, being the search warrant and application for the search warrant.
“The Court: Overruled at this time.
“Mr. Gill: Exceptions.”
“I went out there with W. P. Lindsay and Chester Abbott. Mr. Lindsay went to the front door, I went to the rear, and I think Chester Abbott went to the front door with Mr. Lindsay. I went to a little window and saw. Mrs. Loveless in there. I then went to the kitchen door, Mr. Loveless was standing in the dining room; Mr. Loveless said, ‘Don’t go into the bathroom, my wife is taking a bath.’ I then heard a bottle break, and I immediately kicked in the door and went in. I took a quart of watery substance from the bathtub for analysis and turned it over to a chemist. We preserved pieces of the vessels broken. There were two one-gallon jugs that had been broken.”

It was agreed by both state and defendants that if the chemist was present he would testify that the analysis showed 19.85 per cent, alcohol.

On cross-examination the witness stated that the place where he made the arrest was the private residence of the defendants; that he went to the back porch of the residence and tore down the screen and entered the porch, and he believes they broke into the back door of the house; “I put my shoulder or my foot against it and kicked the back door in; I’heard a bottle break; I was in the kitchen when I heard the second bottle break.”

*149 W. P. Lindsay testified, in substance, to the same facts as did the witness H. O. Brown. On cross-examination Lindsay stated Mr. Loveless told him he did not have more than two gallons of whisky. “I looked up the phone directory and the phone was in the name of Lee.” The' county attorney asked the witness what he knew about the place the defendants were living in, was it a private residence or a place of 'business, and he answered, “I would take it to be a bootlegging joint and place of business.” This was objected to by defendants, and the objection sustained by the court and the jury instructed not to consider the statement. The witness stated he did not know from whom the defendant was renting the house; all he knew was that the phone was in the name of Lee. This is in substance the testimony on behalf of the state.

At the close of the state’s testimony the defendants, and each of them, moved to strike from the record the testimony introduced by the state, for the reason that the same was secured in violation of the constitutional rights of the defendants.

“The Court: At this time the court overrules the motion.
“Mr. Grill: Exceptions.”

The defendants then demurred to the evidence introduced on the part of the state, for the reason the same is insufficient to establish the allegations to the information, which demurrer was overruled and defendants excepted.

Mrs. Loveless, one of the defendants, was called as a witness, and testified she was the wife of Ed Loveless; she was living with him at the time the officers made the raid on their residence; that she broke some bottles when *150 >the officers came in; “my husband told me to break them; we had some whisky around there for our own use; ,'we had lived in Oklahoma City about six years.” The county attorney on cross-examination continued to ask the witness questions as to whether or not, when the officers were at their place previous to this time, when they lived on Tenth street, they beat anybody up. This was objected to by the defendant and the court sustained the objection. The witness stated she saw Mr. Lindsay before she went into the bathroom; they broke the screen door in, and the rear door, coming into the house. The county attorney then asked the witness if it was not a fact that the officers took from their house about 700 gallons of mash and a still, on Tenth street, before they moved to the place where they were living when the officers made the search on which the prosecution is based. The defendants objected, and the court inquired of the county attorney if he was asking that question to lay a predicate for impeachment of the witness, and the county attorney replied, “Yes,” requiring the county attorney to fix the time and place. The county attorney then repeated the question fixing the place, but did not fix the time. The witness stated that the officers found a still and something like 15 barrels of mash; witness stated the phone was in E. J. Lee’s name for the reason that when they lived on 10th street they owed a phone bill and the phone could not be connected up without paying the bill. She stated they had the residence rented, and that she paid the rent, 'and that the parties gave her a receipt. This is in substance the testimony of the defendant.

At the close of the testimony of the defendant, Mrs. Ed Loveless moved the court to instruct the jury that in his opinion the evidence was insufficient to warrant the jury to return a verdict against her. The motion was de *151 nied. The parties then agreed that the conrt could instruct the jury orally, which was done.

■Several errors have been assigned by the defendants alleged to have been committed by the trial court. The first assignment urges that the court erred in admitting the evidence secured by the search of a private residence on a complaint made on information and belief.

The defendants set out in full the application made by W. P. Lindsay to secure the search warrant to search the premises of the defendants. The charging part of the affidavit, omitting the caption, prayer and jurat, is as follows:

“I, W. P. Lindsay, being first duly sworn, depose and say, that in Oklahoma County, in the State of Oklahoma, on the 20th day of March,, 1926, Ed Loveless, alias Ed Lee and Mrs.

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Related

Watson v. State
1941 OK CR 133 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1941)
Collier v. State
1933 OK CR 66 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1933)
Blackwell v. State
1933 OK CR 58 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1933)
Jordan v. State
1930 OK CR 510 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1930)
Moffitt v. State
1930 OK CR 190 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1930)

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Bluebook (online)
1929 OK CR 194, 277 P. 672, 43 Okla. Crim. 146, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loveless-et-ux-v-state-oklacrimapp-1929.