Spencer v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia

Spencer v. State

109 S.E.2d 588, 215 Ga. 183, 1959 Ga. LEXIS 429

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

DecidedJuly 8, 1959

Docket20498

StatusPublished

Cited by7 cases

This text of 109 S.E.2d 588 (Spencer v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Spencer v. State, 109 S.E.2d 588, 215 Ga. 183, 1959 Ga. LEXIS 429 (Ga. 1959).

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Opinion

Duckworth, Chief Justice.

Nathaniel Spencer was indicted, tried, and convicted in Cobb Superior Court of murder, and the jury failed to return a recommendation for mercy. Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion for new trial which was subsequently amended and, after a hearing, denied. The exception is to that judgment. Held:

1. Justifiable homicide being a substantive and affirmative defense placed in issue by the evidence, and the court having failed to charge, either in specific or general terms, that it was the duty of the jury to acquit the defendant if they believed the defendant justified from the evidence, the court erred in failing to thus charge, and a new trial must be granted. Waller v. State, 102 Ga. 684 (1) (28 S. E. 284); Fountain v. State, 207 Ga. 144 (3) (60 S. E. 2d 433); Boyd v. State, 207 Ga. 567 (3) (63 S. E. 2d 394).

2. Examination of special grounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 fails to disclose any error committed, hence these grounds are completely without merit.

3. The ruling in headnote 1 ordering a new trial renders un *184 necessary any ruling on the ground based upon newly discovered evidence.

Argued June 8, 1959 Decided July 8, 1959. Ben F. Smith, Albert Adair, for plaintiff in error. Luther C. Flames, Jr., Solicitor-General, Eugene Cook, Attorney-General, Rubye G. Jackson, Deputy Assistant Attorney-General, contra.

4. The evidence was sufficient to support the verdict, and the general grounds are without merit. For the reason stated in headnote 1 the judgment excepted -to is

Reversed.

All the Justices concur.

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Duckworth, Chief Justice.

Nathaniel Spencer was indicted, tried, and convicted in Cobb Superior Court of murder, and the jury failed to return a recommendation for mercy. Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion for new trial which was subsequently amended and, after a hearing, denied. The exception is to that judgment. Held:

1. Justifiable homicide being a substantive and affirmative defense placed in issue by the evidence, and the court having failed to charge, either in specific or general terms, that it was the duty of the jury to acquit the defendant if they believed the defendant justified from the evidence, the court erred in failing to thus charge, and a new trial must be granted. Waller v. State, 102 Ga. 684 (1) (28 S. E. 284); Fountain v. State, 207 Ga. 144 (3) (60 S. E. 2d 433); Boyd v. State, 207 Ga. 567 (3) (63 S. E. 2d 394).

2. Examination of special grounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 fails to disclose any error committed, hence these grounds are completely without merit.

3. The ruling in headnote 1 ordering a new trial renders un *184 necessary any ruling on the ground based upon newly discovered evidence.

Argued June 8, 1959 Decided July 8, 1959. Ben F. Smith, Albert Adair, for plaintiff in error. Luther C. Flames, Jr., Solicitor-General, Eugene Cook, Attorney-General, Rubye G. Jackson, Deputy Assistant Attorney-General, contra.

4. The evidence was sufficient to support the verdict, and the general grounds are without merit. For the reason stated in headnote 1 the judgment excepted -to is

Reversed.

All the Justices concur.

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109 S.E.2d 588, 215 Ga. 183, 1959 Ga. LEXIS 429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spencer-v-state-ga-1959.

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