State v. Maloy

44 Iowa 104
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedSeptember 21, 1876
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 44 Iowa 104 (State v. Maloy) 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. Maloy, 44 Iowa 104 (iowa 1876).

Opinion

Seevers, Ch. J.

The undisputed facts are: The defendant and Chancey, Brady and others were in Williams’ saloon on the night of the homicide. Brady, being noisy and intoxicated, was requested to leave the house, which he did, and the others followed him. Yery shortly thereafter, the deceased and Brady got into an altercation on the street. The deceased charged that Brady had broken his windows and insulted some women, which Brady denied. The deceased took hold of Brady, who was fifty-seven years old, and endeavored to pull him along the street for the avowed purpose of showing him the broken windows. There was quite a crowd around, among whom were the defendant and Chancey. During the altercation between Brady and the deceased, the former called the latter a liar, whereupon the deceased struck Brady over the head with an unironed single tree and knocked him down and insensible, and he so remained until the next morning. The blow was a-glancing one; had it been direct, it might have [106]*106broken his skull. A severe flesh wound, was the result. Immediately upon the blow being struck, the defendant and Chancey took hold of Shea and the stick with which the blow was inflicted. There is some doubt whether the defendant had hold of the stick, but he either had or had hold of Shea. The latter demanded the stick as his property, and said he wanted to put it into his shop. The defendant and Chancey, however, held on to it, and there was some struggling between them and Shea for its possession. During this time and while so struggling, they moved some two hundred feet along the street, Shea going backward in the direction of his shop. During this time, Harmon, a witness, told defendant and Chancey to let Shea have the stick, so he could put it into his shop, that he would not hurt them, or to let him, Harmon, have it. In reply to this, defendant said “ God damn you, I know you,” and Chancey said “knock that man down.” About this time Chancey had his hand by his side, he. raised it, something “snapped” or “clicked” and he struck Shea a blow. Thereupon Shea let go of the stick and ran toward his shop. Some one in the crowd shouted “he has gone for a hammer.” The defendant ran after Shea, overtook him while he was trying to get into his shop and struck him with his fist, and Chancey immediately thereafter struck him two blows with the single tree and knocked him down, and then again struck him twice with the same instrument after he was down, and the defendant kicked him. The deceased’s skull was broken and he died in a very short time.

A witness testifies that TIarmon had hold of the stick at the time he told the defendant and Chancey to let Shea have it, but in no other respect does his evidence differ from that above stated.

The testimony tends to show that the deceased.was hunting for Brady with the intent of having a difficulty with him, and that all these persons had been drinking, and at least some of them were intoxicated.

The defendant established a good character.

The errors relied on will be considered in their order.

I. Instruction No. 8, given by the court, is objected to, and is as follows:

[107]*107“8. If, therefore, you find established by the evidence with the degree of certainty hereinbefore stated, that the defendant on or about the 13th day of August, A. D-1874, in the county of Wapello, in this State, in and upon one John Shea, did make an assault with a club; that such club was a dangerous weapon, calculated to produce or actually producing the death of said Shea, and there is no proof showing the same to have been accidental or upon provocation, more fully hereafter explained; or you find that one John Chancey so assaulted the said Shea, and the defendant aided and abetted its commission, then your verdict will be ‘ guilty, as charged in the indictment;’ but if you find that no assault was thus made, or, if it was made, the same was accidental, or upon sufficient justification as hereinafter instructed, or that the same was made by one John Chancey and the defendant did not aid and abet its commission, then your verdict will be ‘ not guilty.’ ”

It is urged this instruction lays down the rule that, in order to acquit, the jury must find the “assault was accidental or upon sufficient justification, or that it was made by Chancey and the defendant' did not aid or abet its commission.” “ Whereas, the jury should have been instructed, that if they had any reasonable doubts on these points, it was their duty to acquit;” and that the instruction was erroneous because inapplicable to the facts.

In a previous instruction the court said to the jury:

“ 2. To this charge the defendant has pleaded ‘ not guilty,’ and this plea puts in issue every material allegation contained in the indictment, and before the State can ask a conviction, it must have satisfied you by the evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the truth of each material allegation substantially as alleged.”

i instetjc- • tonfiderea^6 together. Instructions are all to be considered and construed together. Brown v. Bridges, 31 Iowa, 138. Eecognizing this rule, the co'uri; said to the jury in the instruction objected t°: “If, therefore, you find established by the evidence with the degree of certainty hereinbefore stated” the facts indicated in the instruction, you will find [108]*108the defendant guilty or not guilty, as you find the facts to be. This was equivalent to saying to the jury they must be satisfied of the facts necessary to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not essential that every proposition should be accompanied with or qualified by the doctrine of reasonable doubts. It is sufficient if the court says to the jury once, that every fact necessary to convict must be established to their satisfaction beyond a reasonable doubt.

Why the instruction is not applicable to the testimony is not stated, and we confess our inability to imagine why it is not. “ ■ '

II. The following instruction was given:

2. chimin An tense. " “ 13. While defendant had the right to interfere and resist a felonious assault being made upon said Brady, if such an one was being made, even to the taking of life, still this would be no justification whatever to an assault subsequently made upon the deceased by defendant, if you find there was one. Therefore, if you find established by the evidence that the defendant interposed in an affray between' the deceased and the said Brady, and prevented a threatened injury to the person of said Brady by Shea, if such was the case, such fact having been accomplished, it was the duty of defendant to have ceased from further interference with deceased, save he might have lawfully arrested the said Shea, informing- him of such fact, and might have disarmed him, if he was armed, using reasonable and proper force therefor; but for this purpose he had no right to take the life of deceased, and if he did, such killing was unlawful and defendant is guilty of murder in the second degree, or manslaughter, as you may find the case to be under the instructions heretofore given you.”

The objections to this instruction can be best stated in the language of counsel:

“Instruction No.

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Bluebook (online)
44 Iowa 104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-maloy-iowa-1876.