State v. Benton

187 A. 609, 38 Del. 1, 8 W.W. Harr. 1, 1936 Del. LEXIS 4
CourtDelaware Court of Oyer and Terminer
DecidedJuly 31, 1936
DocketNo. 83
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 187 A. 609 (State v. Benton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Delaware Court of Oyer and Terminer primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Benton, 187 A. 609, 38 Del. 1, 8 W.W. Harr. 1, 1936 Del. LEXIS 4 (Del. Super. Ct. 1936).

Opinion

Layton, C. J.,

delivering the opinion of the Court:

In the instructions to the jury, after stating the contentions of the defendant, it was said:

“These contentions of the defendant, if found to be sustained by the evidence, do not amount to a defense to the charges contained in the indictment; but, nevertheless, it is for you to determine from all the facts and circumstances before you whether the State has established the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt under the law as it will be explained to you.”

Thereafter, upon the court’s own motion, the jury were recalled. Their attention was directed specifically to the above statement, and they were told to disregard it entirely, for the reason that it might be considered as a charge on the facts. The Court then proceeded to say:

“In a case like the present, under this sort of an indictment, the jury are entitled to consider all of the-facts and circumstances existing at the time of the fatal occurrence to determine whether or not the omission of duty on the part of the defendant was such as is to be considered culpable negligence. By ‘culpable negligence’ I mean such negligence as is regarded as incompatible with human life and safety.”

The defendant, however, insists that a new trial should be granted for the reason that the first instruction caused prejudice and injury which were not removed by the subsequent action of the Court.

[8]*8In answer to this contention it is sufficient to say that the court has the power, and it is its duty to withdraw or to correct its instructions to the jury if, upon reflection, it considers that an erroneous instruction has been given. 16 C. J. 1055; State v. Derry, 118 Me. 431, 108 A. 568, where it was said that this power in the court is beyond dispute; State v. Hood, 63 W. Va. 182, 59 S. E. 971, 15 L. R. A. (N. S.) 448, 129 Am. St. Rep. 964, where the court said that it must assume that the jury can understand the direction of the judge, and that they have the capacity to remain uninfluenced by an instruction afterwards eliminated.

In some circumstances there may be error in instructions of such character that it is impossible to correct its harmful effect. It may readily be conceived that where the evidence is in close conflict, or of an intricate or circumstantial character, from which reasonable men may draw different inferences, an expression of opinion by the court, even though withdrawn, may well be considered as having caused incurable injury for the reason that the opinion has become firmly lodged in the minds of the jury, and has swayed them.

But, the evidence on the part of the State was not controverted. The defendant admitted a service of many years as a crossing watchman, and a service of several years at the crossing in question. There was no suggestion that he did not understand his duties, or that they were of a difficult character. He admitted that he did not put into operation any of the safety devices provided for the protection of travelers on the highway. Whether he went to sleep as he admits he told the police, or whether he was awake, but looking in one direction because of his belief that the next train would approach from the east, makes no difference. He admitted that a train approaching from [9]*9the west, at the rate of speed ordinarily maintained, was in sight for one minute before reaching the crossing. When asked why he did not see the train, he replied that he was looking the other way because he was expecting a train from the east for the reason that the telephone bell rang in his watchbox indicating as he said, a call from one signal tower to another which was usually followed by a train from the east. And further, he testified, and his statement is illuminating:

“Of course, as a general rule, and not being a custom to have two electrics right close together, I didn’t see this train until it was on me.”

He testified to the heavy vehicular traffic and to the noise made by trucks on the highway. This, of course, may have prevented his . hearing the approach of the train, but it in nowise excused his failure to keep a lookout for the approach of trains from either direction.

His own summing up of the cause of the tragedy best tells the story. He testified:

“Well it is just the case of an accident, that is all. It is only one minute, practically speaking, from the time he was in sight until he was on the crossing and in that minute I happened to be looking the other way. That is the whole story, to be truthful about it.”

We may conceive of a crossing where, its watchman is immersed in such difficulties because of the frequent passage of trains, or the inability to see the approach of trains, or from other conditions, that an omission of duty may be excusable in the sense that it is not to be punished criminally, for the reason that a man of ordinary care, activity and quickness of perception cannot, because of human limitations, efficiently accomplish that which his employment demands of him. But the evidence here shows no such difficulties. The passage of trains was infrequent, the next preceding train having passed the crossing over one-half hour before the fatal collision. There was no reason why if he could not rely upon his sense of hearing, he could not [10]*10see. He did not see because he did not look. He did not look, if his testimony on the witness stand is to be believed, because of an entirely unreasonable belief that the next train would approach from the east, a belief which he had no right to entertain. His employment was to keep a lookout for the approach of trains from either direction, not to indulge in speculation that a train would approach from one direction.

The defendant offered no defense in point of fact or of law, and while the instruction first given, although precisely true, may be regarded as an expression of opinion on the facts, we are agreed that the subsequent action of the court prevented prejudicial and injurious consequences, for reasonable men could have found no other verdict under the evidence. The omission of duty was more than mere negligence. It was conduct incompatible with human life and safety, and there is nothing in the record to mitigate, alleviate or excuse the failure to observe the approach of the train to the crossing, and to give the warnings required of him by his employment.

The court declined to charge the jury, as requested, that if the defendant, acting honestly on reasonable grounds, made a mistake as to the nature of his duty, his omission was not criminal or felonious, for the reason that the facts did not justify the charge. There was no evidence of a mere mistake as to the nature of his duties, and no basis for a reasonable man to believe that the next train would approach from the east, and there was nothing to suggest that performance of duty was impossible or even difficult. See Reg. v. Trainer, 4 F. & F. 105, 176 Reprint 488; Reg. v. Elliott, 16 Cox 710; Reg. v. Pargeter, 3 Cox 191.

The defendant’s next contention is that the charge' to the jury eliminated from their field of consideration any question of the degree of negligence. It is said that the ■ [11]*11jury must have understood from the charge that any default must lead to criminal liability.

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

Related

State v. Landgraf
913 P.2d 252 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1996)
Commonwealth v. Pestinikas
617 A.2d 1339 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
Crawley v. State
513 S.W.2d 62 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1974)
State v. Shon
385 P.2d 830 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1963)
Mary L. Jones v. United States
308 F.2d 307 (D.C. Circuit, 1962)
State v. O'KEEFE
367 P.2d 91 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1961)
Wyatt v. Pennsylvania Railroad Company
154 F. Supp. 143 (D. Delaware, 1957)
State v. Hupf
101 A.2d 355 (Supreme Court of Delaware, 1953)
Commonwealth v. Welansky
55 N.E.2d 902 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1944)
Frank v. Wilson & Co.
32 A.2d 277 (Supreme Court of Delaware, 1943)
State v. Caruso
32 A.2d 771 (New York Court of General Session of the Peace, 1942)
Elliott v. Camper
194 A. 130 (Superior Court of Delaware, 1937)
Zink v. Kessler Trucking Co.
190 A. 637 (Superior Court of Delaware, 1937)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
187 A. 609, 38 Del. 1, 8 W.W. Harr. 1, 1936 Del. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-benton-deloyerterm-1936.