Pond v. State

45 S.W.2d 962, 119 Tex. Crim. 306, 1931 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 124
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 25, 1931
DocketNo. 14501
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 45 S.W.2d 962 (Pond v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pond v. State, 45 S.W.2d 962, 119 Tex. Crim. 306, 1931 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 124 (Tex. 1931).

Opinions

CALHOUN, Judge.

The offense, possession of intoxicating liquor for the purpose of sale; the punishment, confinement in the penitentiary for one year.

The evidence for the state showed that officers of Cherokee county, with a search warrant authorizing them to search the premises where the appellant lived, searched the same and found therein a quantify of whisky. The officers further testified that at the time they went in the house, they saw the appellant throw a half-gallon fruit jar of whisky in the fire place and about the time they got into the room where she was she had another half-gallon jar in her arms, which she attempted to throw in the fire place. The officers then took hold of her and it was dropped on the floor. They testified that five pints of whisky were found under the foot of the bed. They also testified that at the time they went to the house, there was present one Ira Pond and another man whose name was unknown to them; at that time, after finding the liquor, they arrested Ira Pond and the appellant.

The appellant did not testify and offered no evidence before the jury.

As we gather from appellant’s bill of exceptions, the appellant objected to the refusal of the trial court to quash the search warrant issued on the 27th day of December, 1929, by J. H. Odom, justice of the peace, under which the search was made. The motion to quash was upon the grounds, first, that the two persons who signed the affidavit for the search warrant were not credible witnesses; second, because the appellant was a married woman living with her husband at the time, and the search warrant was issued against her and her premises, and should have been issued against her husband; third, that the justice of the peace issuing the search warrant had no knowledge of the credibility of the witnesses to the affidavit. The district attorney admitted that the general reputation of the witnesses, Ray Pearson and Clyde Tillman, who signed the affidavit for the search warrant, for truth and veracity was bad in the com' munity where they lived and that neither of them were worthy of belief and both of said witnesses had been convicted of theft in courts of competent jurisdiction within the past three years.

The court overruled the motion to quash the search warrant upon the ground that it was an attempt to collaterally attack the search warrant on the trial of this case, and the trial court could not go behind the affidavit for the search warrant, especially to review matters of fact which were forced by the findings of the justice of the peace when the search warrant was issued. We believe that the trial court was correct in such holding. The only attack made upon the face of the affidavit and the [308]*308search warrant were that they were vague, indefinite, and wholly wanting in the description attempted to be set out therein and not based upon facts which would authorize the search. The affidavit stated that the property, after describing it, was being used as a means of violating the intoxicating liquor laws of the state, to-wit: Intoxicating liquors. That the particular grounds for the aforesaid belief of affiant are as follows: That Ray Pearson, one of the affiants herein, purchased one half-pint of intoxicating liquor from Orene Pond in the place above described, being the private residence of Orene Pond, on the 24th day of December, 1929, in the presence of each other; and that the private residence of Orene Pond is a place where intoxicating liquors are sold.

It has been repeatedly held by this court that the question of the truth of facts stated in an affidavit would be issuable only in cases where the parties making such affidavit proceeded against one another in some direct way, but the truth of same could not be raised by a motion to quash or by objection to the testimony and that the trial court should not permit such inquiry in such connection. In the case of Bird v. State, 7 S. W. (2d) 953, the appellant undertook to show in connection with his objection to the evidence and what was found, that the facts stated in the affidavit for the search warrant were not within the personal knowledge of the affiants, and it was held in that case that such procedure was unwarranted; that the adjudication of the truth of the facts stated in such affidavit was not for the decision of the trial court in passing upon the objection to the search or its fruits. To the same effect is Ware v. State, 110 Texas Crim. Rep., 90, 7 S. W. (2d) 551; and Brunello v. State, 115 Texas Crim. Rep., 586, 27 S. W. (2d) 540.

In the case of Piper v. State, 116 Texas Crim. Rep., 378, 34 S. W. (2d) 283, appellant sought to impeach the affidavit for the search warrant by oral testimony going to show that the affidavit did not speak the truth. It was held in that case that the court properly rejected such testimony, and a number of cases were cited in support thereof. See also Jenkins v. State, 116 Texas Crim. Rep., 374, 32 S. W. (2d) 848.

In the case of Ware v. State, supra, wherein the appellant, John Ware, was convicted of possessing intoxicating liquor for the purpose of sale and wherein a search warrant had been issued upon the affidavit of two persons, it developed on examination of one of the affiants that while he had sworn in the affidavit to an unequivocal existence of certain things as facts, in truth his affidavit was based upon information and rumors relative to the matter. Upon this being ascertained, appellant objected to the witness testifying to the discovery made by virtue of the search. In other words, appellant sought upon the trial to go behind the affidavit and although the affidavit was sufficient upon its face to show probable cause and justify the magistrate in issuing the warrant, appellant contended that if in truth the affiants were not in possession of the facts or [309]*309information which amount to probable cause, evidence obtained under the search warrant should be excluded, although the magistrate acted properly in issuing the warrant upon a valid affidavit. After an exhaustive review of decisions in other states, as well as this, Judge Hawkins, speaking for the court on motion for rehearing, stated that where an. affidavit upon which a warrant was issued contains positive averments of facts justifying the issuance of the warrant, its validity is not affected by proof aliunde that the facts therein positively stated were in reality stated upon information and belief. After determining that an inquiry into the truth or veracity of the affidavit would be collateral and inadmissible in evidence, he stated further: “To our minds, any other rule would not only bring about confusion and disorder in determining the competency of evidence procured under search warrants valid upon their face and predicated upon affidavits, from which the magistrate could determine that ‘probable cause’ was shown, but in many cases the issue of defendant’s guilt or innocence would be lost sight of in an inquiry whether affiants had committed perjury in making the affidavit upon which the search warrant was based, although upon its face the affidavit was sufficient and perfectly regular. In such cases it seems that orderly trials must postpone investigation of affiants’ good faith to another time and tribunal.” This holding was approved by Presiding Judge Morrow in his opinion on the second motion for rehearing.

We perceive no good reason why the rule announced in the decisions of this court cited should not apply to this case, where the attempt is made to collaterally attack the affidavit and search warrant upon the ground that the affidavits were not made by credible persons.

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

Related

Lopez v. State
280 S.W.2d 270 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1955)
Sampson v. State
268 S.W.2d 661 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1953)
Cass v. State
61 S.W.2d 500 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1933)
Dikes v. State
48 S.W.2d 259 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1932)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
45 S.W.2d 962, 119 Tex. Crim. 306, 1931 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pond-v-state-texcrimapp-1931.