Simmons v. State

Alabama Court of Appeals

Simmons v. State

71 So. 979, 14 Ala. App. 103, 1916 Ala. App. LEXIS 37

Alabama Court of Appeals·Decided May 18, 1916·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

BROWN, J.

The statement of the solicitor, “You must deal with a negro in the light of the fact that he is a negro, and applying your experience and common sense,” was improper and calculated to prejudice the defendant before the jury, and the defendant’s objection thereto should have been sustained.— James v. State, 170 Ala. 72, 54 South. 494; Tannehill v. State, 159 Ala. 51, 48 South. 662. The fact that the defendant was of the negro race did not deprive him of the equal protection of the law, or necessarily discredit his testimony, and should not have been used in the argument as a means of arraying the prejudices of the jury against him.

For this error the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.

Reversed and remanded.

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

BROWN, J.

The statement of the solicitor, “You must deal with a negro in the light of the fact that he is a negro, and applying your experience and common sense,” was improper and calculated to prejudice the defendant before the jury, and the defendant’s objection thereto should have been sustained.— James v. State, 170 Ala. 72, 54 South. 494; Tannehill v. State, 159 Ala. 51, 48 South. 662. The fact that the defendant was of the negro race did not deprive him of the equal protection of the law, or necessarily discredit his testimony, and should not have been used in the argument as a means of arraying the prejudices of the jury against him.

For this error the judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.

Reversed and remanded.

Simmons v. State, 71 So. 979, 14 Ala. App. 103, 1916 Ala. App. LEXIS 37 (Ala. Ct. App. 1916).

Pincite

71 So. 979 (Simmons v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Opinion

Related