State v. McCahill

72 Iowa 111
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedDecember 3, 1886
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 72 Iowa 111 (State v. McCahill) 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. McCahill, 72 Iowa 111 (iowa 1886).

Opinions

Adams, Ch. J.

The case is submitted to us upon a tran[113]*113script of tlie entire record, without abstract, argument or assignment of errors. ¥e have, however, examined the case as best we could, without the aid of counsel, and will proceed to notice some of the matters which we think it is possible are relied upon for a reversal.

i criminal fury-'eSung hy-stauders. I. The regular panel of jurors summoned for the term consisted of twenty persons, but two had been excused, and C0UI’k was proceeding with eighteen jurors. When this case came on for trial, one jury was ouf- deliberating upon its verdict in a case, upon which jury were nine persons belonging to the regular panel, leaving only nine of the panel for the trial of the defendant. The defendant asked the court to delay until those' of the regular panel who were out could be in attendance, or that additional persons be drawn from the jury lists. The court refused the request, and ordered the jury to be filled from the by-standers, or from the body of the county. To the action of the court in this respect the defendant excepted. It was competent for the court to discharge two jurors of the regular panel, and proceed with eighteen, if in the judgment of the court the business of the term did not require more. (Code, § 233.) We will presume that in the judgment of the court eighteen were deemed sufficient. A larger number being required when this case came on for trial, it was competent to summon jurors from the by-standers, or the body of the county. (Code, § 4396.)

2. CRIMINAL evidence: murder by conspirators : history of conspiracy. II. On the night of the 7th of January, 1885, a dwell-was ing-house in the town of Angus, Greene county, surrounded by a mob, and entered, and one of the inmates, Neis Munson, was shot and killed. The evidence tends to show that defendant was one of the mob, and took an active part in entering the house, but the evidence fails to show that he was the one who fired the fatal shot. The difficulty which resulted in the homicide grew out of a miners’ strike. A large number of the coal miners in. and about Angus struck, and left their [114]*114employment, as early as October, 1884. Various attempts were made by the proprietors of the mines to supply the places of the striking miners by the importation of new men. The plans of the proprietors were constantly interfered with by the striking miners, and many of the new men were caused to leave. Matters, however, did not assume a very turbulent appearance until about the 11th of December, 1884. A considerable number of new men had been imported upon the 10th of that month. The striking miners appeared át once, and requested of the proprietors that they be allowed access to the new men, for.the purpose of persuading them to leave. The proprietors acceded to their request, so far as to consent that a committee or representation from the striking miners should have access to the new men, and be allowed to talk to them, and that the new men should, after that, be allowed to act freely in the matter, and stay or leave as they should think best. On the morning of the 11th of December, the striking miners were allowed to present their case to the new men. Many words of persuasion were used to induce them to leave, and a few words of intimidation. Rut the words of intimidation were not approved by all the striking miners, and some expressly disclaimed any intention of using violence. The new miners, after the interview which was had with them, took a vote, and decided to remain. The result was very unsatisfactory to the striking miners. They began at once to show appearances of anger, arid commenced the use of abusive language towards the new men, and to demand admittance into the house where they were, and to assume a threatening attitude towards them. The proprietors were led to believe that they would not, without assistance, be able to protect the new men from violence, and one of them went to a telephone, and communicated with a telegraph station, and asked that a request be sent to the governor for troops. The fact that such message had been sent became known to the striking miners, and their tumultuous assemblage was soon dissolved. To use the language of one [115]*115of tbe witnesses, “ it soon melted away.” Troops were furnished, but soon withdrew. The withdrawal seemed to furnish an occasion for the renewal of hostilities on the part of the striking miners.

Tbe evening of the 7th of January was selected as the time for making an effective demonstration. They assembled in large numbers, and, as the evidence tends to show, the defendant was among them, taking an active part. They first assailed a gang of men on their way home at night from what is called the “ Standard Coal .Bank.” They no longer resorted to persuasions, but to violence. They wounded several of them, and drove them out of the town, and to some distance away, and the assailed finally took refuge in the town of Perry. The evidence tends to show that the defendant was not only among the assailants, but used force in compelling the men to leave. The assailants returned in a short time, and surrounded and entered the house in which Mun-son was killed. Several shots were fired into the house, and inside of the house shots were fired up the stairway, in the direction of the chamber in which some of the inmates had taken refuge. The mob in the meantime clearly announced their purpose to compel the new employes to leave their employment. After the survivors had consented to do so, the mob retired in a body, but not without threatening, as they passed away, to take the life of one Markham, who was present, a superintendent of one of the mines, and several shots were' fired, apparently with the design of carrying out the threats.

In the course of the trial a very large number of objections were interposed by the defendant to the admission of evidence, some of which were overruled. The evidence, which was admitted over the defendant’s objections, tended to show the history of the trouble as set out above, a consid: erable part of which took place before there were any acts of violence on the part of any one, and before it is certain that any acts of violence were contemplated. But, in our opin[116]*116ion, it was proper to trace the growth of the conspiracy from the beginning. The character and purpose of the combination before it became unlawful had a tendency to shed light upon its acts afterwards. Of course, if the defendant had withdrawn from the combination before it became unlawful, he would uot have become a conspirator; but the evidence tends strongly to show that he did not withdraw, but remained to the end. In view of the whole case, we are unable to say that the evidence objected to was inadmissible.

_._. anoflfer i?er-U son-III. The defendant objected to the admission of evidence of threats to kill Markham. The threats were made after the killing of Munson; But the threats charac-tenze¿l the firing which immediately followed, and the whole was done in the execution of the single purpose for which the mob was formed, and that was the prevention of the employment of new men. It tended to show the desperate character of the mob, and that murder had been made a part of its programme.

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Bluebook (online)
72 Iowa 111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mccahill-iowa-1886.