State v. Knight

182 Iowa 593
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJanuary 15, 1918
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 182 Iowa 593 (State v. Knight) 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. Knight, 182 Iowa 593 (iowa 1918).

Opinion

Gaynor, J.

— Defendant was charged with the crime of incest committed upon his stepdaughter, Marie Knight, a child of twelve years of age. Defendant entered a plea of not guilty, was tried to a jury, and convicted, and from this conviction appeals.

For reversal, the defendant relies upon three propositions :

1. That the evidence is wholly insufficient to support the verdict.

2. That the court failed to instruct the jury upon all material questions of law involved in the case.

[595]*5953. That the court erred in its rulings upon evidence.

We will consider these propositions in the order presented by defendant.

Upon the first proposition, we have to say that the relationship of the defendant to the girl is established beyond all question. That he had the intercourse charged is proven by the testimony of the girl herself, supplemented by strong supporting circumstances, which leave no doubt of the commission of the act charged.. Her story is direct, simple, and childlike, and shows beyond question that, on three distinct occasions, he committed the act charged upon the body of the girl. The girl was examined soon after the last alleged act of intercourse, and was found to be in a physical condition which follows as the natural consequence of such relationship. Without setting out the testimony, we have to say that we have read it carefully, not once, but several times, and' are satisfied that the evidence is entirely sufficient to support the verdict.

1. Trial : instructions form requisites, and sufficiency: correct but inexplicit. On the second proposition, we have to say that, on the trial of the case, witnesses were called who stated that the child had made statements to the effect that the defendant had never had intercourse with her; that she was induced by her mother to tell the story which she told. The court, in its instructions to the jury, failed to call attention to this fact, and it is claimed that in this lies error — that the court should have submitted to the jury the question as to whether or not she had been impeached, and if impeached, should have told them that that fact should be considered in determining the weight to be given to her testimony. The court said to the jury, in its instructions, that the defendant could be convicted upon the testimony of the prosecuting witness alone, if the jury believed she spoke the truth, and was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt from her evidence that the crime charged [596]*596was in fact committed by the defendant, and said to the jury:

“The defendant can- be convicted upon the testimony of the prosecuting witness, Marie Knight, alone, if you believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the said Marie Knight has told the truth. If, however, you should find from the evidence that you have a reasonable doubt as to whether or not she told the truth, or that she was influenced or induced to make the charge against the defendant by her mother, Mrs. Melva Knight, under threats to punish her or to send her to the reform school, and that said charge was in fact falsely and fraudulently made by the said Marie Knight, then you should find the defendant not guilty; *' * * if you believe from the evidence that any witness before testifying in this case has made any statements concerning any of the material matters materially different and at variance with what he or she has stated on the witness stand at this trial, then you are instructed that you should consider such fact in determining the weight and credit which ought to be given to such testimony.”

The court told the jury, also, that they should consider all matters testified to, fairly tending to show the weight and credibility that should be given to each witness before them.

Tn the absence of any request, the instructions fully covered the matter of the claimed impeachment of the child prosecutrix.

2. Evidence : relevancy, competency, and materiality : observations of a party. It appears that, within a short time •after the last act of intercourse testified to by the child took place, she.Avas taken to a doctor for an examination. The mother was present at that examination. She said it was on the same day that the girl told her of the conduct of the defendant. She said that, while in the doctor’s office. [597]*597and while the child was being examined by the doctor, she observed the condition of her parts. She said:

“1 could tell from the examination that there was something out of the ordinary in their appearance. (Objected to on the ground that it called for expert testimony, was immaterial, leading and suggestive. Overruled, and defendant excepts.) A. Yes, if there wasn’t anything like that, there wouldn’t be a discharge from a child.”

This answer was stricken out on motion of defendant. She Avas then asked this question:

“As a result of that examination, — that is, what you saw there, — Avliat, if anything, out of the ordinary, did you observe in their appearance?” Objected to, overruled, and she ansAvered: “I would say from appearances,: — I had examined her before and knoAv Avhat the child is, — I know there wouldn’t be a discharge if there wasn’t some irritation. I observed the discharge that day.”

No motion was made to strike out this answer. The question was a proper question to be propounded to this witness. It- did not call for an opinion, but for what she observed. See Reininghaus v. Merchant’s Life Assn., 116 Iowa, 364, 367. In this case it is said :

“Many mental and physical conditions manifest themselves with practical certainty to the eye and mind of the ordinary observer, who cannot describe in apt terms the facts upon which his conclusions are based, but it does not necessarily follow that the conclusion is inadmissible as evidence.”

3. Trial : reception of evidence: noncompetent opinions: waiver. The ansvver may have partaken of the nature of a conclusion, or an opinion such as the witness Avas not qualified to give, but no objection was urged to the answer. ' The question called for what she observed in connection Avith the private parts of the girl. It was competent for her to state what she observed. The objection, [598]*598therefore, to the question was properly overruled. Whatever there may be in the answer which is improper, the defendant cannot take advantage of it now, for the reason that he made.no motion to strike out the answer. On the motion of defendant, a previous question, involving substantially the same fact as involved in this answer, was stricken out on motion- The court, following the ruling-on the previous motion, would have sustained a motion to strike out the objectionable parts of this answer, if such motion had been made; but, failing to make a motion to strike, defendant wraived the objectionable matter in the answer.

4. Witnesses : cross-examintion: allowable limits. On this point, it is next contended that the court erred in refusing to allow this witness,to answer this question on cross-exam'ination:

“What do yOu know, if anything, of Marie fingering her private parts?”

On cross-examination, the defendant was permitted to show by the mother that she had placed turpentine on the private parts of her girls. No.

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

Related

State v. Sedig
16 N.W.2d 247 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1944)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
182 Iowa 593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-knight-iowa-1918.