State v. Godlasky

195 N.W. 832, 47 S.D. 36, 1923 S.D. LEXIS 111
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1923
DocketFile No. 5217
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 195 N.W. 832 (State v. Godlasky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Godlasky, 195 N.W. 832, 47 S.D. 36, 1923 S.D. LEXIS 111 (S.D. 1923).

Opinion

ANDERSON, P. J.

This is am- appeal by appellant, Frank Godlasky, froml -a judgment and sentence by the -circuit -court of Beadle county by which appellant was sentenced to' the state penitentiary of this state for a period of 15 years pursuant to a verdict of a jury finding him¡ guilty of manslaughter, on an information [39]*39charging appellant and one John Doe with the murder of one William D. Henderson. The information charging- that the fatal blow was struck by one John Doe, and that appellant being present -with a premeditated design to -cause the 'death- of said Henderson, then and there aided! and abetted said Doe 'in committing, said offense.

■On July 15, 1921, William' 'D. Henderson, now deceased, accompanied1 by companions Robert Duncan and John Wright, arrived at )Wblsey, this state. They were on their way to- the northern part of this state, where they expected to obtain employment in the harvest fields. Shortly prior to this time they had been working at 'Casper, Wyo.; and on this day' had arrived from the west on a freight train on the Chicago & North-western Railway at Wolsey, 3 o’clock p. m. While' standing near where the railroad tracks of the Chicago & Northwestern intersect the Chicago, ¡Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway waiting to board the freight going north-, -deceased and 'his two companions were approached by appellant and his -companion. The deceased and his -companions were asked 'by appellant and his companion -whether they had been working in this vicinity. To which they replied that they had not, but just came from Wyoming. While this conversation! took place, the north-bound freight on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway was pulling out of Wolsey. Deceased and his companions got onto a flat car, which was the second car from the engine, and defendant and companion got on a -box car being the third from, the engine. Deceased and companions were- the sole occupants of this flat -car. While the freight train was moving slowly northward, appellant and companion left the box car and boarded the flat car where deceased and companions were. Appellant and companion first approached Robert Duncan, another companion of deceased, inquiring if he (Duncan) had a. “red card,” to which Duncan replied he did; not. Appellant then seized D-uncan by throwing his arm- about his neck. Appellant’s companion approached deceased, and demanded' of him -whether he had a “red card,” and seized deceased by the right arm and immediately pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed the same at the deceased. Appellant thereupon released his hold on Duncan and came to the assistance of his companion, and1 seized the deceased by the left arm. While thus attacked by appellant and his [40]*40companion, deceased1 moved backward until he reached the side of the .car, when he suddenly jerked loose from appellant’s hold, which he and appellant’s companion had upon him, and proceeded to jump from the moving train. Tire1 companion of appellant shot and instantly killed the deceased. Evidence shows that deceased and hi.s two companions were unarmed; that appellant’s companion had his revolver pointed at deceased during the entire time of the assault. 'When the shot was fired, the tw'o companions of ■deceased' jumped from) the moving train, hut on the side opposite from where deceased had fallen, while appellant and his companion remained on the car. Shortly thereafter the sheriff of the county arrived. The sheriff, together with two of deceasedi’s companions, pursued' the train in an automobile, overtook the train at Tulare. It was then dark. Immediately upon arrival all passengers on the train were brought, one by one, in front of the lights of the automobiles, and in the presence of 'Duncan and Wright, for identification. Both Duncan and Wright positively identified the appellant as the man who had participated in the assault, and who aided and assisted his companion at the time of the killing of deceased. One means of identification was a very conspicuous bump on the back of appellant’s head1. The companion of appellant was not found1 on the train. Appellant is 22 years old, and a member of the I. W. W., .having joined this organization under the name of Frank Daring.

By assignment 1 appellant predicates error on instruction to the jury:

“The court instructs the jury that a design to effect death may be inferred from' the fact of the killing, unless the circumstances raise a reasonable doubt whether such design exists.”

By Mr. Kelley: “Defendant objects to the state’s proposed instruction No. 1 upon the grounds that the same does not state the law of the state of South Dakota, even though a statute might appear to sanction such an instruction, and if such law exists it is unconstitutional, invading the province of the jury.”

Justice Jones of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, in his Blue Book on Evidence (volume 1, § 9a), clearly points out the distinction between an inference and a presumption. The appellant has- failed to recognize this distinction in his argument relating to this assignment. Justice Jones further says:

[41]*41“An inference is nothing more than a permissible deduction from the evidence, while a presumption is compulsory and cannot be disregarded by the jury.”

Justice Jones further says:

“The jury in the case of an inference are at liberty to find the ultimate fact one way • or the other as they may be impressed by the testimony.”

Defendant being tried for homicide on the theory of having aided and abetted his companion in the killing of Henderson, it was incumbent upon the state to prove the actual killing. Whether or not the killing was done by the defendant himself is immaterial. The fact of the killing is one of the substantive facts which it is incumbent upon the state to establish, and it was proper for the court to instruct the jury in accordance with section 4013, R. C. 1919, to the effect that a design to kill may be inferred from the killing itself, as well as any other instruction relating to the law's of homicide. 29 C. J. 1128, § 116. The objection is furthermore unavailing by reason of counsel’s disregard of trial court’s rule 26.

By assignment of error 2 this instruction is challenged:

“A design to effect death sufficient to constitute murder may be formed instantly before committing the act by which it is carried into execution.”

To which defendant objects on the ground's that the same does not correctly state the law of this state, is surplusage, and' fully covered by instructions proposed by the court. This objection is clearly unavailing under the provisions of trial court’s rule 26, for the reason that defendant fails to point out how defendant' could possibly have been prejudiced by the giving of the instruction, even if the same were erroneous.

By assignment of error 3 the court’s instruction 3 is challenged. Without setting out this instruction, we would suggest that this instruction was patterned after an instruction given in the case of State v. Davis, 191 Iowa 720, 183 N. W. 317. This instruction is identical with that approved by the Iowa court, with the exception that the particulars in which the instructions are given in that case were criticized by that court, have been omitted or otherwise changed! so that instruction given -meets -with the ap[42]*42proval of that court. That court in passing upon,this instruction says1:

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Bluebook (online)
195 N.W. 832, 47 S.D. 36, 1923 S.D. LEXIS 111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-godlasky-sd-1923.