Meldrum v. State

146 P. 596, 23 Wyo. 12, 1915 Wyo. LEXIS 9
Wyoming Supreme Court·Decided March 8, 1915·No. No. 788·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

Scott, Justice.

The plaintiff in error 'brings error to reverse a judgment upon a verdict convicting him of the crime of murder in the second degree. It appears from the evidence that Mel-drum was at the time of the homicide Marshal of the Town of Baggs in Carbon County in this State, an^ on the evening of January 12, 1912, was calle'd by phone from the supper table at his boarding house by the Mayor of the town to quiet a disturbance within the town limits and several blocks from his boarding house by some drunken oiv partially intoxicated men, among whom, he was informed, was the deceased, who was known as John or “Chick” Bow'en. The marshal investigated the disturbance and found Bowen and three companions in a saloon known as Davis’ saloon and then and there accused Bowen with “hollering” and making a disturbance and told him to quit hollering on the street. Bowen resented the accusation and said that anyone who said he was hollering was a liar. The marshal told Bowen he would investigate further and departed from the saloon. Shortly thereafter Bowen and his companions went out on the street again and continued the disturbance. The marshal then being directly across the street and within hearing of the disturbance started after the parties who went down the street and entered the Elkhorn Hotel and, when the marshal reached the hotel, they were seated at a table in the dining room preparatory to taking their supper. The parties were in the hotel from one-half to three-quarters of an houx-, when they came out of the hotel, after finishing their supper, and the defendant then placed Bowen and one Salisbury under arrest. The former resisted and did not go willlingly and the marshal used foixe to compel him to accompany him, while Salisbui-y followed at a short distance. In this manner they progressed about sixty feet diagonally across the street when Bowen and the marshal came to a standstill, and an altercation took place between them, during which several shots were fired by the marshal with his pistol and he and Bowen -fell to the ground, the marshal [30]*30face downward and Bowen across his back. One of the shots resulted in a mortal wound from which Bowen subsequently died. There is a conflict in the evidence as to the events immediately preceding the shooting, the defendant testifying that Bowen struck him on the head and in the face and broke his nose and that he fired the shots in self defense. The witnesses for the State did not see any blows. Bowen in his dying declaration said he struck the defendant a time or two after they fell. The defendant ’said the shots were fired before they fell and at the time when Bowen had his left arm about his neck and was beating him in the face with his right fist. The defendant testified that he was 47 years old and that Bowen was 30 years old and weighed about 50 pounds more than the defendant. After the shooting the marshal was found to have a broken nose and bruises on the back of his head. All the witnesses agree that both men were constantly and rapidly shifting their positions and that because of this and the darkness it was difficult to see the movements of the respective parties. There is some conflicting evidence as to previous threats by Bowen against the defendant and as to a remark claimed to have been made by the defendant to Bowen, after the shooting, that he “told him he would get him.” Bowen was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

1. The defendant assigns as error the overruling of his challenge to the array and which challenge is based upon the following grounds, to-wit: “x. Because said regular 'panel was not drawn in compliance with the provision of Chapter 80 of the Statutes of the State of Wyoming. 2. Because the said regular panel was not drawn from the body of the county. 3. Because the said regular panel was drawn almost entirely from Jury Box No. 3, and that said Jury Box No. 3 does not contain all the names of the qualified jurors residing within the fi-ve-mile limit, and that in addition to the names of the qualified jurors residing within the five-mile limit contained in said Jury Box No. 3, there reside within said five-mile limit about 100 per[31]*31sons possessing all the qualifications of jurors whose names have not been placed in said Jury Box No. 3. That the paper hereto attached, marked Exhibit ‘A’ and made a part hereof, consisting of three pages and containing a list of names and addresses contains all the names of the persons whose names have been placed in said Jury Box No. 3, and from which the regular panel has been largely made up, as defendant is reliably informed and verily believes, and defendant is further informed that all the names contained on said Exhibit ‘A’, are not in said Jury Box No. 3, and contains merely the list of the names from which the jury commissioner selected the names that were placed in said Jury Box No. 3, but that all of said names were not placed in said box. Defendant is further reliably informed and believes that the names contained and recited in Exhibit ‘B’ is a full, true and correct list of the persons residing within the five-mile limit who are qualified to serve as jurors and whose names appeared upon the assessment roll and that as appears from a comparison of said Exhibits ‘A’ and ‘B’ the said Jury Box No. 3 does not contain the names of all the persons residing within said five-mile limit. Wherefore the defendant prays judgment and that said regular panel be quashed.” This challenge and exhibits referred to therein are verified by the defendant. Exhibit “A” is a list of approximately 288 persons, the names of whom, it is alleged, were placed in jury box number three. Exhibit “B” contains a list of approximately 353 persons whose names it is alleged were not all placed in jury box number three. In opposition to the challenge the affidavit of the clerk of the court was filed, in which he deposed as follows:

“Í am the duly and regularly elected, qualified and acting Clerk of the District Court in and for the County of Carbon, State of Wyoming. That as such Clerk I was present at the time when the Jury Commissioners provided by statute made the list of jurors from the assessment list for the year 1912 for use during the year 1913, and have knowledge of the facts as to the method in which said list [32]*32was made. That in making said list said Jury Commissioners did not fail to put upon the list any names of any persons appearing upon the assessment roll whom they believed to be a qualified juror as their names and qualifications appeared thereon. That some of the names that appeared upon the assessment list did not have attached thereto, or in any way in connection with said names, the qualifications for a juror. That names were left off that appeared upon the said list when it appeared to the said Commissioners from information, or their own knewledge, that any of said names were those of persons who were not qualified by reason of non-citizenship or not possessed of sufficient knowledge of the English language, or being over-age, or having any physical disability, or for other cause, were exempt from jury duty, but in all other cases where it appeared that there was no reason to believe otherwise that the said names were those of persons who were qualified to serve as jurors, the names were put upon the said list. That I have examined and heard read the Challenge to the Array, and would say that as to the names put in Jury Box No. 3, some of those that did appear upon the list, with their residence as being Rawlins, were known to have their residence more than five miles from the Court House, and such names were not put in Jury Box No.

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

Meldrum v. State, 146 P. 596, 23 Wyo. 12, 1915 Wyo. LEXIS 9 (Wyo. 1915).

146 P. 596 (Meldrum v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Johnson v. State
930 P.2d 358 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1996)
Armstrong v. State
826 P.2d 1106 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1992)
Jahnke v. State
692 P.2d 911 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1984)
Martinez v. State
611 P.2d 831 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1980)
Petersen v. State
594 P.2d 978 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1979)
State v. Dobbs
244 P.2d 280 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1952)
State v. Radon
19 P.2d 177 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1933)
State v. Morris
283 P. 406 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1929)
State v. Budge
142 A. 857 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1928)
State v. Sorrentino
224 P. 420 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1924)
Ivey v. State
154 P. 589 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1916)