State v. Hutchinson

95 Iowa 566
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 10, 1895
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 95 Iowa 566 (State v. Hutchinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hutchinson, 95 Iowa 566 (iowa 1895).

Opinion

Deemer, J.

The indictment charges that defendant, on the twenty-sixth day of July, 1893, in and upon the person of one Edna Means, a female child then and there under the age of thirteen years, to-wit, six years, ■did make an assault, with intent her, the said Means, to carnally know and' abuse, and her, the said Edna Means, then and there feloniously and carnally did know and abuse.

1 I. The prosecuting witness was asked 'by the state how her mother knew that defendant put his hands upon her person, at a certain time after the offense is> said to have been committed.- The witness answered: “Because I told her.” The question was asked upon re-examination of the witness, and was competent for two reasons: First, because the matter was brought out by defendant on the cross-examination; and, second, because it was claimed by the defense that the witness, who is a little girl about seven years old, was rehearsing upon the stand a story which her mother had told her to repeat.

2 II. The mother of the prosecuting witness was asked about complaints made to her by the child of the ■defendant’s conduct, and, in answer to interrogatories which were objected to, stated that “she complained of that nasty bad man [speaking of defendant], and that she complained of this man putting his bean up against hers.” Complaint is now made of the rulings, because it is insisted that, statements, made by the child as to who her assailant was are [568]*568incompetent. The question presented has recently undergone investigation in the case of State v. Cook, 92 Iowa, 483 [61 N. W. Rep. 185], and it was there held, following State v. Watson, 81 Iowa, 380 [46 N. W. Rep. 808], and State v. Mitchell, 68 Iowa, 116 [26 N. W. Rep. 44], that questions and answers similar to those appearing in this case were proper.

3 4 It is also insisted that the court was in error in allowing testimony to be given of expressions of suffering and complaints of pain made by the prosecutrix shortly after the crime is said to have been committed; The theory of the state was that, while the hymen of the child had not been ruptured, yet that defendant, ■by his treatment of her, had caused her private parts to be badly inflamed and irritated, to such an extent as to .cause considerable pain and obstruct the flow of urine. Surely, the natural expressions and complaints made by the child within a few hours after the time the offense is said to have been committed were proper testimony. The witness also located the part of the person which the child indicated was painful. It occurs to us that, if it be admissible to show complaints and exclamations of pain, it is competent to locate the seat of pain in the same manner.

A witness was permitted to testify as to what the mother of the prosecutrix told her she had said to one Stiger, an attorney for the defendant, about allowing him (Stiger) to send a physician down to examine the little girl. This was done upon re-examination of the witness, and related to a conversation called out on cross-examination. There was no error in this.

A witness was asked about the prosecuting witness having romped and frolicked with other children in the evening after the crime is said to have been committed. The court erroneously sustained an objection [569]*569to the question, but the witness afterwards fully stated the facts. No prejudice resulted from the ruling.

Other errors are complained of in the admission and rejection of testimony. We have considered them all, and discovered no prejudicial error.

5 III. The court instructed that defendant might be convicted of an assault and battery, or a simple assault. It is urged that this was an error,.because these crimes were neither charged nor included in the one charged in the indictment. State v. McAvoy, 73 Iowa, 557 [35 N. W. Rep. 630], is relied upon. In that case defendant was accused of the crime of an assault with intent to commit rape. No actual violence was charged. It is said in the opinion that the crime of assault and battery is not necessarily included in an indictment charging an assault with intent to commit rape, and that, as no actual violence was charged, it was error for the court to-direct that defendant might be found guilty of an assault and battery. In this case the indictment not only charged an assault with intent to ravish, but also actual carnal knowledge and abuse. Such a charge includes both assault and battery, and simple assault. State v. Kyne, 86 Iowa, 616 [53 N. W. Rep. 420].

6 It is further contended that, as the assault is not charged to have been made feloniously, defendant could not be convicted of a lesser degree of crime than rape. The use of the word “felonious” is not essential. State v. Casford, 76 Iowa, 330 [41 N. W. Rep. 32]; State v. Griffin, 79 Iowa, 568 [44 N. W. Rep. 813]; Code, sections 4305, 4306. It may be said that these cases are not exactly in point. It is conceded that they do not decide-the exact question here presented, but in principle they are so' nearly allied as to be decisive of the case upon this proposition.

[570]*5707 [572]*5728 [569]*569IY. Complaint is made of the language used by the county attorney in his address to the jury. The [570]*570remarks to which exceptions are taken were as follows: “Nothing has so stirred this community for a long time as this outrage upon this little girl.” “No'j the defendant no longer resides in Tama City, for this outrage which he has perpetrated upon this little girl has made it unsafe for him to be on the streets of Tama City.” The record shows the following with reference to these statements: “Counsel for defendant called the attention of the court and took exceptions thereto in writing, as follows, viz.: ‘We except to the action of the county attorney in saying to the jury, “Nothing has SO' stirred this community for a long time as this outrage upon this little girl,” ’ —which paper was handed to the judge by counsel, but without interrupting or calling the attention of the county attorney in any way. Thereupon the judge said to counsel for defendant. ‘What do you want?’ to which counsel stated, ‘We are asking for nothing/ Afterwards, and in the course of the opening argument, the said county attorney made the further statement to the jury: ‘No; said defendant no longer resides in Tama City, for the outrage which has been perpetrated upon this little girl has made it unsafe for him to be on the streets of Tama City/ Thereupon counsel for defendant stated to the judge that he desired to except to said remark, but the county attorney was not interrupted, nor was his attention called to the matter in any way, and no action was taken by the court touching said remarks or either of them, either in the court’s instructions to' the jury, or by any suggestions to counsel or the jury that such remarks were improper, and were not to be considered for any purpose in the case.” The language used by this court in the case of Ross v. City of Davenport, 66 Iowa, 550 [24 N. W. Rep. 47], is peculiarly applicable here: “When counsel fail to object and call the attention of the court to the objectionable statements of counsel in the argument to the [571]

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Bluebook (online)
95 Iowa 566, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hutchinson-iowa-1895.