Olds v. State

44 Fla. 452
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 44 Fla. 452 (Olds v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Olds v. State, 44 Fla. 452 (Fla. 1902).

Opinion

Mabry, J.

Plaintiff in error was indicted for murder and convicted of the crime charged with a recommendation of mercy.

The first error assigned on the writ of error to the judgment of the court is that the motion of defendant below to quash the indictment was improperly overruled. The only evidence in the transcript that such a motion was made is contained in a recital in the bill of exceptions to the effect that the motion was made on enumerated grounds questioning the sufficiency of the indictment. The rule of practice in this court is that a motion to quash an indictment, or in arrest of judgment, on the ground of the insufficiency of the indictment must be exhibited by the record proper, and can not be considered when shown only by the bill of exceptions. Caldwell v. State, 43 Fla. 545, 30 South. Rep. 814, and cases therein cited. The first assignment of error can not, therefore, be sustained.

The court instructed the jury that there was evidence before them of good character of the accused, and that they would give to it such weight as they thought it entitled to, and if it raised in their minds a reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused he would be entitled to the benefit of the doubt. This was excepted to by the accused.

The court refused, at the request of the defendant, to instruct the jury that “the good character of a defendant among his neighbors in a community in which he resides is of value, especially in doubtful cases, and if you believe from the evidence in this case that defendant bears a good character or reputation in the community in which he lives, you may consider such character in connection with all the other evidence in the case, and if the evidence in regard to his character raises a reasonable doubt in your [456]*456minds as to the guilt of the defendant, then you will find the defendant not guilty.” The refusal was excepted to, and the two exceptions constitute the second and fifth assignments of error. The case of Bacon v. State, 22 Fla. 51, is cited to support the assignments. In that case the court instructed the jury that the defendants had the right to put in evidence their good character, and it should be considered by the jury in connection with the other evidence from which they were to determine their verdict, and that the evidence of character should have such weight in connection with all the other evidence as the jury believed it entitled to. There urns no exception to the charge and no question.raised as to whether it would be error for the court to decline to, charge specially on the evidence of character. In passing upon the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict this court approved the charge, given, and held that good character of a defendant among; his neighbors in the community in which he resides is of value, especially in doubtful cases, and sometimes will create a doubt; when without it none would exist ; that .such evidence, however, was intended for the consideration of the jury, and it was for them alone to determine whether, when considered with the other evidence in the case, it created a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt. In the case of Mitchell v. State 43 Fla. 584, 30 South. Rep. 803, it was held that proof of good character did not, as matter of law, raise a reasonable doubt of guilt, but such testimony was to be considered by the jury like other testimony in the case. In Langford v. State, 33 Fla. 233, 14 South. Rep. 815, the court instructed the jury on the subject of good character substantially the same as in the Bacon case, and the defendant requested an instruction containing in part an incorrect principle [457]*457as a guide |or the jury in arriving at a verdict, and this' court held that the charge requested was correctly refused, not only because of the incorrect principle announced, but because it was not a charge upon the law of the case. In commenting upon cases cited in support of this conclusion it was said they announced the view that instructions telling the jury that they might look to this fact, or may consi,dler that fact, or are authorized to infer certain formulated conclusions-from the evidence, and especially from certain specified parts of it, had often been condemned and should never be given, although either the giving or the refusal of such instructions may not be reversable error. The effect of' the decision in the Langford case appears to be that the court is not required to single out specially the part of the' evidence relating to character and instruct on it, though' according to our past rulings the court may do so if it sees proper. The proper way, however, is to instruct the' jury that the evidence of good character must be considered in connection with all the other evidence in the case, and when considered as a whole, if the evidence raises a reasonable doubt as to guilt they should acquit. The instruction requested by defendant informed the jury that they might consider the evidence of good character in connection with all the -other evidence in the case, but it is distinctly stated therein that if the evidence in regard to character raised a reasonable doubt as to guilt the defendant should be acquitted. This was incorrect. Scott v. State 133 Ala. 112, 32 South. Rep. 623. Under the ruling iff the Langford case we hold further that it is not error for the court to refuse to single out the subject of good character and instruct on it as distinguished from the other evidence in the case. See Watkins v. State 133 Ala. 88, 32 [458]*458South. Rep. 627. The dlefeet pointed oht in the* refused request in reference to the evidence of character alone raising a reasonable doubt exists in the instruction given by the court, except that the jury were told if the evidence of good character raised a reasonable doubt of guilt the defendant would be entitled to the' benefit of it. There is nothing in this charge that can be said to be prejudicial to the accused. The court told the jury that there was evidence of good character in the case and it is not contended that there is any error in this respect. The accused could not be injured by the charge given as it tended to his benefit.

The defendant excepted to the following portion of the charge of the court to the jury: “The fact that the defendant may have been at the time of the killing under the influence of anger or resentment would not of itself be sufficient to preclude the idea of premeditation, unless the degree of feeling was such as to cloud his senses or to impair his reason, and not even then would it be sufficient if subsequently to forming the design and before executing it, sufficient time elapsed for an ordinarily reasonable man to have regained his self-possession, nor 'would such anger be sufficient to exclude the idea of premeditation if there was not such provocation for it as would be calculated to excite such anger or passion as might obscure the reason of an ordinarily reasonable man in the same situation and under the same circumstances, and mere words, no matter how insulting or abusive, would not be sufficient provocation, unconnected with any acts or other circumstances, calculated to excite anger or passion of a reasonable man.” Preceding and in the immediate connection with this excepted portion the court in effect instructed the jury that before the defendant could [459]

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Bluebook (online)
44 Fla. 452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/olds-v-state-fla-1902.