State v. Hansen

35 P. 976, 25 Or. 391, 1894 Ore. LEXIS 28
Oregon Supreme Court·Decided February 19, 1894·Published·Cited by 24 cases

Opinions

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Moore.

1. He contends that the court erred in admitting in evidence the testimony of H. A. Smith, sheriff of said county. The defense interposed was insanity superinduced by the excessive use of alcoholic liquors, to support which evidence was introduced tending to show that for about eleven years prior to the alleged homicide the defendant had been in the habit of becoming intoxicated whenever he could obtain liquor; that upon returning to his home after a drunken spree he was restless and could not sleep nor work continuously at anything, but changed from one thing to another, and that these nervous symptoms continued for about eight or ten days after each of his periodical sprees; that when he had been drinking for some time he talked to himself as if he imagined there was a little man in his boat to aid him in picking up his net; that at times, when under the influence of liquor, he laughed, danced, and cried alternately; that during these sprees, or while [394] getting sober, he was moved to tears by the mention of his wife’s name in his presence; that deceased was killed Wednesday, July twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and that for some time prior to the preceding Sunday the defendant had been in Astoria, had purchased while there two gallons of whisky and was so much under its influence on that Sunday that he remained in his boat alone without any apparent purpose and talked to himself; that on the evening of that day his wife had him brought home, where he remained until Tuesday night, when he went out fishing on the Columbia Hiver; that on the following morning he visited a neighboring fisherman to whom he complained of being sick and took three drinks of whisky, and partook of some bread, and coffee, but when offered beefsteak he said he could not eat it; that after partaking of these refreshments he went home and retired to rest; that about five o’clock that evening he informed a person working near his house that some one had killed his wife. Upon the defendant’s symptoms, thus described, hypothetical questions were asked medical experts, whose answers thereto tended to show that at the time of the alleged homicide defendant was insane. To rebut this evidence, the state, over the objection of defendant’s counsel, was permitted to show by the testimony of H. A. Smith, the said sheriff who took the defendant into his custody the day after the tragedy, that in his opinion the defendant was perfectly sane on the day he was arrested. The objection to this evidence was made upon the ground that it did not appear that the witness was an intimate acquaintance of the defendant. The bill of exceptions shows that the witness had known the defendant for five or six years; that he saw him every month or so when he came to town, and that said witness made the following answers to questions propounded to him: “Q.— [395] Were you intimately acquainted with him? A.—I was for about two years; not very intimately, but at the time I belonged to the Fisherman’s Union.” “Q.—He was in your office quite frequently during those two years? A.—Yes, sir.” “Q.—Were you up to his place visiting? A.—Not until this time.” “Q,.—How frequently during these two years did you see him? A.—I didn’t pay any attention; it might be a month or so, or a couple of weeks.” “Q.—Do you know him well? A.—I know him pretty well.” Upon these answers to the foregoing questions the court permitted him to express an opinion upon the mental condition of the defendant. He also testified that he took the defendant to jail about eight o’clock in the evening, and saw him about three times during the night after his arrest, and that he did not notice any tremor of his muscles.

Section 706, Hill’s Code, provides that evidence may be given on the trial of the following facts: “10. * * * the opinion of an intimate acquaintance respecting the mental sanity of a person, the reason for the opinion being given.” It is not every acquaintance that is competent to give an opinion in such cases, but it must be one who has close social relations with the person whose mental condition is the subject of inquiry. There are, however, degrees of intimacy, and it is within the discretion of the trial court to say when the witness has shown himself competent and qualified to express an opinion upon the subject, and this discretion, when exercised, will not be reviewed except in case of abuse: People v. Pico, 62 Cal. 52; People v. Levy, 71 Cal. 618, 12 Pac. Rep. 794; State v. Murray, 11 Or. 413. But even if reviewable and found to have been exercised erroneously, the defendant could not have been injured by this evidence, for the reason that it was confined to the defendant’s symptoms, and that the sheriff’s opinion was predicated upon [396] his mental condition on the day after the alleged homicide. The fact that he did not have the symptoms of a person suffering from an attack of delirum tremens, and was not then, in the opinion. of the officer, insane, did not prove that at the time the act was committed he was not laboring under an insane delusion. The most that can be claimed for it is, that it might strengthen the inference that if the defendant did not have those symptoms, and was not, in the opinion of the witness, insane the day after the commission of the act, that, therefore, he was sane when it was committed. It is within the discretion of the trial court to admit evidence upon the question of the sanity of the person accused, at the time of committing an .offense, and of his acts, conduct, and habits at a subsequent time which would fairly justify any inference of insanity relating back to the time of the alleged offense: Commonwealth v. Coe, 115 Mass. 481; Commonwealth v. Pomeroy, 117 Mass. 143.

2. The state, upon the cross-examination of Victor Hansen, defendant’s son, showed by him that the first time he saw his father after he was placed in jail, was on Saturday forenoon, and, over objection, was permitted to show that defendant’s counsel was with him at the jail and had a conversation with his father. The record shows that on Saturday morning, just before the defendant was visited by his counsel, he made the following confession:—

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State v. Hansen, 35 P. 976, 25 Or. 391, 1894 Ore. LEXIS 28 (Or. 1894).

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