Sinatra v. State

17 Ohio Law. Abs. 481, 1934 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1208
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 9, 1934
DocketNo 2914
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 17 Ohio Law. Abs. 481 (Sinatra v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sinatra v. State, 17 Ohio Law. Abs. 481, 1934 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1208 (Ohio Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

[483]*483OPINION

By FUNK, J.

The record in this case is quite long, and we therefore cannot go into- a detailed analysis of all the evidence, so will refer particularly to the testimony of the defendant, to the other evidence only in a. general way, and to some general principles controlling trial and reviewing courts.

It must be remembered that this question involves not merely the testimony of the two eye-witnesses as against that of the alibi evidence for defendant, but that the identification evidence and alibi evidence as given by said witnesses must be considered together with all the other evidence in the case, including the testimony of the defendant and his conduct after he knew he was suspected of being one of the persons who shot Kennedy.

In this connection it should be noted that defendant testified that he was at a place known as “State Service” on the night of the murder, from about 8:30 o’clock p. m until 1 o’clock a. m., and that he obtained a Toledo newspaper about midnight, giving an account of the murder, which account mentioned defendant as one of the persons suspected.

It should be further noted that, after defendant thus knew he was suspected, he did not go to the proper officers and inform them that he had been at the State Service at the time of the shooting and give them the names of the persons who saw him there; instead, according to his own testi7 mony, he remained there until 1 o’clock a. m., when he drove to Detroit for the purpose of going to the funeral of the father-in-law of Thomas (Yonnie) Licavoli, where he met his friend Licavoli, gave said newspaper to him, and remained with him several hours. The defendant’s own testimony further shows that he then went to the home of a friend in Detroit, where he remained in seclusion for three days; that he communicated with friends in Toledo before he returned to Toledo; and that upon his return he went direct to the home of said Licavoli, where he was arrested before he had gotten out of his automobile. Defendant was then detained some twelve days and released- because of failure up to that time to find sufficient evidence to hold him longer.

Defendant further testified that, although he had lived in Toledo since 191.3, except when he -was imprisoned for robbery or the violation of some other law, he left Toledo the next day after he was so released and went to Buffalo, N. Y., where he lived with a relative, and remained there until on or about Sept. 27, when he went to Akron, where, on Sept. 28, he was found under the bed in a room in ah apartment house, which room he was occupying with a woman he had known only a few hours, and -at which place he was arrested by'police officers. When questioned by the arresting officers he gave his business as that of traveling clothing salesman, but he has made no further claim of being such a salesman, although some clothing samples were found in the automobile in which he went to Akron.

Defendant also testified that he had been in the bootlegging business as a means of livelihood ever since he had been released from the penitentiary in 1922; that he knew the police officers in Toledo were looking-for him while he was in Buffalo; and that no one in Toledo but his wife knew where he was.

It is thus apparent that defendant was, for some unexplained reason, at least evading the police officers. The jury could, of course, consider this conduct of defendant, along with all the other evidence. .

The record -also discloses that there was [484]*484some conflict and difference in the testimony of the witnesses for defendant as well as those for the state. Counsel for defendant, of course, recognize the established rule followed in the trial court, that the jurors may believe or disbelieve all or any part of the testimony of any witness, and while the jurors are instructed that they may consider the manner and demeanor of the witnesses and their interest, if any, in the result of the case, they are not necessarily bound thereby and may believe an interested as against a disinterested witness, should they be convinced of the truth of the testimony of the interested witness, or that the disinterested witness was probably mistaken, ‘or that his opportunity of knowing the things concerning which he was testifying was imperfect.

Said counsel are also no doubt familiar with the well settled rules governing reviewing courts in considering the weight of the evidence, concerning which it is only necessary to say:

First, that when a case has been fully and fairly tried to a jury and submitted to it upon a question of fact, the verdict of said jurors — who saw and heard the witnesses testify and observed their manner and demeanor upon the stand, and which verdict has been approved by the trial judge, who had the same opportunity of observing the witnesses — should not be reversed upon the weight of the evidence unless such verdict is so clearly unsupported by the evidence as to indicate some misapprehension or mistake, bias, passion or prejudice, or wilful disregard of duty upon the part of the jury, and that a mere difference of opinion on the part of the reviewing court with that of the jury is not sufficient to reverse a verdict as being against the weight of the evidence.

16 Oh Ap 132, Cleve. Ry. O. v O’Reilly.

23 Oh Ap 176, (5 Abs 340), Moeskops v Bodman.

23 Oh Ap 445, (5 Abs 760), Hamilton v Purchase Co.

23 Oh Ap 522, (4 Abs 170), Hayes v Halle.

22 Oh St 118, at p. 134, Dean et v King & Co.

106 Oh St 387, Schendel v Bradford, Admr.

107 Oh St 75, Silverglade et v Von Rohr, etc.

108 Oh St 388, Toledo, C. & O. R. R. Co. v Miller.

Second, in determining whether or not a judgment in a criminal case is manifestly against the weight of the- evidence, the reviewing court should take into consideration the degree of proof required in a criminal case.

20 Oh Ap 112 (4 Abs 482), Glowaski v State.

20 Oh Ap 528 (2 Abs 279), City of Lorain v Jameson.

Having carefully read the record with these rules in mind, and without attempting further comment or analysis of the evidence, it is sufficient to say that, under the record in this case, we do not And that the evidence is such as to warrant a reviewing court in reversing the judgment on the ground that it is against the weight of the evidence.

Second, counsel for defendant contend that—

“The court erred in not granting a new trial on defendant’s supplemental motion for a new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence material to the defendant, and which he could not with reasonable diligence have discovered and produced at the trial.”

The defendant filed ten affidavits'in support of his supplemental motion for a new-trial on the .ground of newly discovered evidence, and the prosecuting attorney filed nine counter-affidavits.

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Related

Oberlin v. Ruffing
18 Ohio Law. Abs. 380 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1935)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 Ohio Law. Abs. 481, 1934 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sinatra-v-state-ohioctapp-1934.