State v. Morgan

52 P.2d 186, 48 P.2d 766, 152 Or. 1, 1935 Ore. LEXIS 50
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 8, 1935
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 52 P.2d 186 (State v. Morgan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Morgan, 52 P.2d 186, 48 P.2d 766, 152 Or. 1, 1935 Ore. LEXIS 50 (Or. 1935).

Opinions

KELLY, J.

Defendant has filed a motion herein for an order directing the trial judge to issue an order providing defendant with a free transcript of testimony and proceedings taken at the trial of the above cause, and requiring the trial judge to extend the time for perfecting defendant’s appeal herein until said testimony and record can be transcribed and an opportunity afforded defendant’s counsel to examine said transcript and prepare a proper bill of exceptions thereon.

On the 2d day of April, 1935, defendant made an affidavit requesting the trial court to order the official reporter to furnish defendant with a transcript of the testimony taken by said reporter at the trial of the above entitled cause. Omitting the title of the cause and the jurat, said affidavit is as follows:

“State of Oregon, 1 County of Clatsop. J S'
I, J. P. Morgan, being first duly sworn, depose and say that I am the defendant in the above entitled cause, that I am wholly without funds or means, nor can I obtain funds or means with which to defray the cost of obtaining transcript of the testimony taken in shorthand by the official reporter in the above entitled cause, and that I have a good cause of appeal as shown by motion for new trial heretofore filed herein and *3 arguments thereof, and that justice will he promoted by the court herein allowing the accompanying motion which I request, and do hereby request that the official reporter herein be ordered and directed to furnish me with a transcript of the testimony taken by him in shorthand at the trial of the above entitled cause.
J. F. Morgan.”

An oral motion for the relief thus requested was also made by defendant.

The trial court denied said motion on the ground that sufficient cause had not been shown, by affidavit or otherwise, to justify such an order.

The motion for a new trial mentioned in the foregoing affidavit was based upon three grounds:

I.

Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict and judgment, and that it is against law.

II.

Error in law occurring in the trial and excepted to by defendant herein.

III.

Irregularity in the proceedings of the court, jury and adverse party, orders of the court, abuse of discretion, by which defendant herein was prevented from having a fair trial.

Omitting the title of the cause and the jurat, defendant’s affidavit in support of his motion for a new trial is as follows:

“State of Oregon, 1 County of Clatsop, j SS'
I, J. F. Morgan being first duly sworn, depose and say that I am the Defendant in the above entitled cause and in connection with my motion for a new trial herein and in particular paragraph No. 3 thereof I do aver that as shown on the records and files of *4 this case and in particular by a letter written by me to Honorable Judge H. K. Zimmerman, judge of the entitled court, and delivered to said judge on the 23rd day of January, 1935, said letter also being described as State’s exhibit No. 21 herein, I did request a change of judge on the ground that said Honorable Judge Zimmerman was prejudiced against me and at the time I wrote said letter I did not have an attorney to advise me, and further on the 9th day of February, 1935 I did confirm said letter by the filing of a formal affidavit of prejudice as shown by the records and files herein, and on the 9th day of February, 1935, an order was entered herein denying my request of January 23, 1935 for a change of judge, and that by reason thereof there was an irregularity in the proceedings, an abuse of discretion on account of said order by which I was prevented from having a fair trial.
J. F. Morgan.”

Under the common law, the courts had the discretionary power of allowing a party indicted to defend as a pauper: 1 Chitty’s Criminal Law, 412, 413; Rex v. Wright, et ux., Yol. II, Strange’s Rep. 1041.

Section 28-705, Oregon Code 1930, among other things, provides:

“* * * that when the defendant in any criminal cause who shall have perfected an appeal from judgment against him presents to the judge satisfactory proof, by affidavit or otherwise, that he is unable to pay for such transcript, the court, if in the opinion of the judge justice will be thereby promoted, may order said transcript to be made; * *

The question here presented is whether an abuse of discretion has been shown on the part of the trial judge in denying defendant’s motion for a transcript of the testimony under the above quoted statute.

Section 3777 of the Code of Iowa, 1873 (18 GK A. Ch. 195, Sec. 2; Sec. 5029 McClain’s Ann. Code of Iowa, *5 1888), contained a provision like the one above quoted from'said section 28-705 of the Oregon Code. In construing the above cited section of the Iowa Code the supreme court of that state, being called upon to make an order requiring a transcript of the testimony to be furnished to an indigent defendant, said:

“The advisability of making such an order as was asked in this case rests peculiarly within the discretion of the trial judge. He is conscious of the character of the case, the nature of. the testimony, the severity of the punishment, and of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the case; and we must presume that his discretion was wisely exercised. He no doubt was fully impressed with the responsibility resting upon him, and has decided the case under his oath, according to the very right of the matter. Evidently the trial judge was of the opinion that justice would not be promoted by making the order. We, of course, do not have the testimony, and are unable to say what questions are presented therein. Such of the record as we do have does not indicate an abuse of discretion on the part of the trial judge.” State v. Waddle, 94 Iowa, 748 (64 N. W. 276).

Subsequent to the decision in the Waddle case, the Iowa statute was amended by omitting the clause, “if in the opinion of the judge justice will be thereby promoted”.

The state of Washington has a similar statutory provision (Yol. 2 Rem. Rev. Stat., 1932, § 42-5). In construing this provision the supreme court of Washington say:

“The statute before us involves more than the mere indigence of the defendant. It prescribes that if the presiding judge does not think justice will be promoted, he shall not order a free transcript of the evidence for the accused on appeal. Although it is possible, it is not manifest that the discretion of the trial judge was abused in this instance. It cannot justly *6 be said that this usurps the functions of. this court, which in such cases are purely appellate, while the superior court- is a court of general and exclusive jurisdiction, except for the correction of errors in the matters and ways provided by law. The language of the statute is very broad and vests in the trial judge almost absolute discretion.

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Related

State ex rel. Yraguen v. Dorroh
530 P.2d 29 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1974)
State of Oregon v. Davis
296 P.2d 240 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1956)
State v. Morgan
52 P.2d 186 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1935)

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Bluebook (online)
52 P.2d 186, 48 P.2d 766, 152 Or. 1, 1935 Ore. LEXIS 50, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morgan-or-1935.