State v. Nadlman

118 P.2d 58, 63 Idaho 153, 1941 Ida. LEXIS 66
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 16, 1941
DocketNo. 6900.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 118 P.2d 58 (State v. Nadlman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho 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. Nadlman, 118 P.2d 58, 63 Idaho 153, 1941 Ida. LEXIS 66 (Idaho 1941).

Opinions

MORGAN, J.

— At about the hour of midnight, ending October 8, 1940, in the lobby of the Cottage Hotel, in Blackfoot, Bingham County, a fight occurred between appellant and J. O. Bradford, who was manager of the hotel. As a result of the fight an information was filed against appellant, the charging part of which is:

“The said Charles Nadlman, on or about the 9th day of October, 1940, at the County of Bingham and State of Idaho, and prior to the filing of this information with a certain deadly weapon or instrument which was likely to produce great bodily injury, to-wit, a typewriter weighing approximately thirty pounds, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously make an assault in and upon the person of one J. O. Bradford, by then and there throwing said typewriter at said J. O. Bradford and *156 by striking said J. 0. Bradford on the head and face with said typewriter.”

A trial was had and the jury found appellant “guilty of the offense of an assault with a deadly weapon as charged in the information.” A motion for a new trial was made and was denied. Judgment was made and entered that appellant be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than one year and not more than two years and that he pay a fine of $250 and costs; that the prison term be, and it was commuted to four months in the Bingham County jail. It was adjudged that, on his failure to pay the fine and costs, he be imprisoned in the county jail until they were satisfied, at the rate of one day for each $2.00 thereof, such imprisonment for failure to pay the fine and costs to commence to run at the expiration of the four months imprisonment imposed in the judgment. This appeal is from the judgment and from the order denying a new trial.

Appellant has made but one assignment of error, to-wit:

“The trial court erred in denying and overruling defendant’s motion for a new trial for the reasons and upon the grounds assigned in defendant’s motion for a new trial.”

The first specification in the motion for a new trial is:

“That the Court has erred in the decision of a question of law arising during the course of the trial more particularly in this: That upon the examination of the prosecuting witness, J. 0. Bradford, he testified that at all times prior to the altercation growing out of which this prosecution was had, he was on friendly terms with the defendant, and for the purpose of impeachment, and for this purpose only, the defendant sought to elicit from the prosecuting witness on cross-examination whether or not it was true that he had said to Pauline Duspivia that he was going to ‘The next time the S of B comes in, I am going to take a Winchester at him — I am going to pull a Winchester on him.’ The court erred in not permitting the defendant to cross-examine the complaining witness concerning and with respect to the statement above re *157 ferred to for the purpose of impeachment and for that purpose alone, the complaining witness having already testified that prior to the altercation he was on friendly terms with the defendant; and the Court further committed error every place in the cause where the Court refused to permit the defendant to inquire of the complaining witness concerning the threats he had made against Nadlman, such statements having been made to Pauline Duspivia. Such evidence being offered for the purpose of impeaching the prosecuting witness Bradford and also for the purpose of testing the credibility of the prosecuting witness, and, further, to show bias, prejudice and hostility on the part of the prosecuting witness Bradford and against the defendant Nadlman, and the extent and the cause of such bias, prejudice and hostility.”

In folio 118 of the transcript this offer of proof, made by counsel for appellant, appears:

Mr. BAUM: “At this time, Your Honor, the defendant offers to prove, subsequent to interrogating the witness on it, as to whether or not on October 6th, Sunday preceding the occurrence, that Bradford said to Pauline Duspivia, at a time when the only persons were present were Mr. Bradford, the witness on the stand, and Pauline Duspivia, at which time Bradford said, ‘The next time Nadlman — the next time the “sun-of-a-bitch” comes in I am going to take a Winchester at him — I will pull a Winchester on him.’ ”

The offer of proof was denied. In folios 120 and 121 the following questions and answers appear:

“Q. Mr. Bradford, on the evening of October 8th, immediately prior to the occurrence that you have related, what was your feeling towards Mr. Nadlman, friendly, or unfriendly?

“A. Friendly, I had no other reason.

“Q. No other reason?

“A. I was friendly.”

The denial of the offer of proof was not erroneous because, first, no foundation was laid for the offer, no question having been propounded to the witness, prior to the offer, about a conversation with Pauline Duspivia. Second, the purpose of the offer of proof was to impeach the *158 witness, Bradford, by showing he had made a statement, in the nature of a threat against appellant, inconsistent with his testimony that, immediately prior to the occurrence of the encounter between them, he, the witness, was friendly to appellant. The record shows the testimony that the witness was friendly to appellant, immediately prior to the encounter, was given after the offer of proof was denied. At the time the offer was made, the witness had not given testimony inconsistent with the proof offered. Idaho Code Annotated, sec. 16-1210 is:

“A witness may also be impeached by evidence, that he has made, at other times, statements inconsistent with his present testimony; but before this can be done, the statements must be related to him, with the circumstances of times, places and persons present, and he must be asked whether he made such statements, and if so, allowed to explain them. If the statements be in writing, they must be shown to the witness before any question is put to him concerning them.”

In Boeck v. Boeck, 29 Ida. 639, 645, 161 Pac. 576, 577, we said:

“The right to impeach a witness and the methods of impeachment are statutory, and if a witness is to be discredited in this manner the statute must be conformed to.”'

See, also, State v. Askew, 32 Ida. 456, 184 Pac. 473; State v. Cosler, 39 Ida. 519, 228 Pac. 277.

Appellant complains:

“The trial court erred in permitting the prosecuting attorney to cross-examine the defendant concerning Pauline Duspivia, permitting him to inquire over objection of the defendant if he did not know Pauline Duspivia and if she did not live at the hotel and if she had not moved away from there just prior to the difficulty which resulted in this prosecution.”

Over appellant’s objection that it was improper cross-examination, he was required to answer. He testified he knew Pauline Duspivia; that she lived in Blackfoot and that she formerly lived in the Cottage Hotel; that at the time he entered the hotel, the night of October 8, or early morning of October 9, 1940, he knew she had been living *159

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
118 P.2d 58, 63 Idaho 153, 1941 Ida. LEXIS 66, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nadlman-idaho-1941.