State v. . Jones

80 N.C. 415

• Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Decided: January 5, 1879
• Status: Published

Opinion

Ashe, J.

The first exception taken was to the ruling of His Honor in allowing a juror to be challenged by the state after he had been passed to the prisoner, and while he was under examination by the prisoner upon his voir dire as to the cause of challenge. We are of opinion there was no error in this ruling. The juror stated that he had formed and expressed the opinion that the prisoner was not guilty. He was therefore not an impartial juror, and without a challenge by the state, it was the right and duty of the court to stand aside such juror at any time before the jury were im-pannelled and charged with the prisoner. State v. Boon, post —, and authorities there cited ; State v. Adair, 66 N. C., 298 : State v. Ward, 39 Ves. 225.

2. His Honor refused to admit testimony that one Freeman about eleven o’clock on the night the murder was committed got a pistol from one Gordon, saying deceased had shivered his arm and he was going to hunt him up, and that Freeman absented himself thereafter and did not return until after prisoner was convicted of the murder. The admission of this testimony was' properly refused. It was but hearsay and did not tend to disprove the guilt of the prisoner. State v. Duncan, 6 Ire., 236; State v. May, 4 Dev., 328.

3. The prisoner moved in arrest of judgment because in one of the counts of the indictment it is charged that the deceased died on the 26th of December, 1878, instead of 1877. This defect is expressly cured by the act of 1811. Bat. Rev., ch. 33, § 66. There is no error. Let this be certified to the-court below that further proceedings may be had agreeably to this decision and the laws of the state.

Pee, Cueiam. No error-