Ray v. State

285 N.W. 374, 231 Wis. 169, 1939 Wisc. LEXIS 159
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 11, 1939
StatusPublished

This text of 285 N.W. 374 (Ray v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ray v. State, 285 N.W. 374, 231 Wis. 169, 1939 Wisc. LEXIS 159 (Wis. 1939).

Opinion

Martin, J.

The first, second, and third assignments of error are without merit. The fourth assignment challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the test to- be applied. Schuh v. State, 221 Wis. 180, 266 N. W. 234, and cases cited. We cannot say as a matter of law that the verdict is not supported by any credible evidence. While there are circumstances connected with the case which cast considerable suspicion upon the testimony of the complaining witness, particularly her denial of relations with other men, she testified as to having had relations with the defendant during April, May, June, and July, 1937; that her last relations with the defendant were in July, sometime during the last week of said month; that her last menstrual period was in July; that the child was born on April 2, 1938. The attending physician at the birth of the child testified that it was fully developed at birth. He further testified that ordinarily there is a lapse between the time of conception and the time of birth of two' hundred eighty days, but that it is not unusual to- have a variation of two or three weeks either one way or the other. The complaining witness was eighteen years of age on September 9, 1937. Defendant, who at the time was twenty-four years of age, had been acquainted with the complaining witness for about six years, and admits having called at her home to see her upon several occasions. A Miss Burnett, who was engaged in child-welfare work in Fond du Lac, which work included investigating the paternity of illegitimate children, testified to a certain conversation she had with defendant after his arrest. She testified:

“I asked him if he had been with Esther Hebert, and he said yes, he had been. And I asked him when, and he said that he couldn’t just remember, but that he had been with her [172]*172he knew in April and May. And I asked him how he happened to meet her, and he said he picked her up off the street when he was -working for the postal delivery.”

She was asked:

“Q. Did he say approximately how many times he picked her up on the street and taking her some- place or another? A. He said five or six. He told me at the same time that his defense was not guilty because he believed that she was an easy pick up.”

Upon her cross-examination the complaining witness testified :

“Q. Now, .then after this baby was born in April, 1938, you made up your mind or somebody told you that you had to figure back about two hundred seventy days or nine months and that made you think you had better say that the defendant had intercourse with you sometime in July. Wasn’t that it? A. Well, yes.
“Q. What is that? A. Yes.
“Q. Well, you haven’t any way of knowing that you had intercourse with him, or claim to have had intercourse in July of 1937 outside of the baby being born, and you subtracted about nine months, or about two hundred seventy days, isn’t that true? A. Well, the only way I can accuse him of being the father is by looking at the baby. The baby is the picture of him.
“Q. The baby is the picture of him, and how old is the baby? A. The baby is a month old.
“Q. And when did you discover first that the baby was a picture of him? A: Well, when my mother came to the hospital she told me right away that the baby looked like him, and I can see it now.
“Q. And that is what made you think that he was the father of the child? Is that it? A. Well, mostly, yes.”

This testimony materially weakens the testimony given upon- her direct examination in response to questions by the district attorney, but in view of all her testimony, it is clear that she had other good reasons for accusing the defendant of being the father of her illegitimate child, aside from the child’s resemblance to the defendant. From all the testimony [173]*173there can be no doubt as to Esther being a wayward girl. The record discloses four instances of other cases in which she was involved in juvenile court proceedings in Fond du Lac. The trial court properly excluded defendant from showing the nature of the proceedings in the juvenile court. (Sec. 48.07 (3), Stats.)

In Cleaveland v. State, 211 Wis. 565, 568, 248 N. W. 408, which was a statutory rape case, this court held that a person may be convicted of rape on the uncorroborated testimony of a prosecutrix if the jury is satisfied as h> the truth of her testimony beyond a reasonable doubt, but the court said at page 568:

“All courts recognize the obvious danger of convicting [in such cases] on such uncorroborated testimony.”

An illegitimacy proceeding is a civil action. State ex rel. Mahnke v. Kablitz, 217 Wis. 231, 258 N. W. 840, and cases cited. However, the defendant in such action must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tn the instant case, the birth of the child fully developed on April 2, 1938, is consistent with conception on or about July 23, 1937. Upon the trial defendant attempted establish the fact that the complaining witness had had intercourse with other men at a time when it made it impossible for her to say who was the father of the child, but there is no evidence of such fact. There is no' evidence in the record to enable the court to' say that a reasonable doubt exists as a matter of law. Upon all the evidence it was a question of fact for the jury.

Defendant contends that the court erred in refusing to- set aside the verdict and grant a new trial on newly discovered evidence. In this connection defendant filed three affidavits, an affidavit made by himself, one by Mildred Funk, and one by John Southrad. The only material part of defendant’s affidavit is to the effect that he and his parents had arranged for one Mildred Funk tO' attend the trial as a witness for the defense, had caused a subpoena to be issued for her attend-[174]*174anee, and that a subpoena was in fact issued and placed in the hands of an officer for service; that said Mildred Funk left the city of Fond du Lac, was not served with the subpoena, and did not attend the trial.

Mildred Funk makes affidavit bearing date of May 23, 1938.

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Related

Jacobsen v. State
237 N.W. 142 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1931)
Cleaveland v. State
248 N.W. 408 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1933)
State ex rel. Mahnke v. Kablitz
258 N.W. 840 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1935)
Schuh v. State
266 N.W. 234 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1936)

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Bluebook (online)
285 N.W. 374, 231 Wis. 169, 1939 Wisc. LEXIS 159, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ray-v-state-wis-1939.