State v. Pritchard

16 Nev. 101
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1881
DocketNo. 1,044
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 16 Nev. 101 (State v. Pritchard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada 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. Pritchard, 16 Nev. 101 (Neb. 1881).

Opinion

By the Court,

Hawley, J.:

There is a growing .conflict of the authorities in the United States as to the true meaning of constitutional provisions similar to ours that “no person shall be subject to [106]*106be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.” (Const., art. 1, sec. 8.) Some of the courts hold that it means no more than the common law plea of autrefois acquit, while others contend that it goes farther, and that jeopardy attaches when the jury is completed and sworn to try the case.

Upon the facts presented by this appeal we do not feel called upon to express our views upon this subject, although it has been elaborately argued by appellant’s counsel. It may, and will, be admitted, for the purposes of this opinion, that jeopardy attaches when the jury is sworn to try the case. All the authorities which adhere to this view of the question admit, as has been decided in this state, that there are exceptions to the rule “ based upon urgent necessity.” (State v. Rover, 10 Nev. 398.) The only question, therefore, which we are asked to determine is, whether or not a necessity existed for the discharge of the juror Dorsey after the jury was complete and sworn to try the case, and whether it was proper for the court to impanel another juror in his stead.

The facts, as they appear of record, are as follows: “That on the twenty-third day of July, A. D. 1880, in the regular course of said trial of defendant, * * * twelve jurors had been duly examined upon their voir dire, accepted by plaintiff and defendant, and severally duly sworn * * * to well and truly try the matter in issue between the said state of Nevada and the said J. T. Pritchard, and a true verdict render therein according to the law and the evidence * * *; that the juror, J. 0,. Dorsey, had beed carefully examined on his voir dire touching his qualifications to serve as a juror in said cause, and had stated on such examination that he was not opposed to capital punishment, and that he had, or entertained, no such conscientious scruples or opinions as would preclude him from finding a verdict of guilty in a case where the punishment would be death if the evidence Avarranted such verdict; that after said tAvelve j urors had been SAVorn to try said cause * * * and before any evidence had been introduced, * * * defendant’s counsel, by leave of court, asked the said jury the [107]*107following question, to wit: ‘Since you were examined by me before, touching your qualifications to serve as jurors, has anything happened, or occurred, to your recollections, to render you improper jurors in this case to your knowledge ?’ Whereupon the said juror Dorsey arose and said that he was unwilling to find a verdict.of murder in the first degree on circumstantial evidence, and made the following statement: * * * ‘I have this to say: It would take very strong evidence for me to bring in a verdict of conviction. Some of the jurors were asked on the same ground I take now. I was not asked: that is, I would hardly bring in a verdict of murder in the first degree unless it was very positive and personal evidence.’

“Question by Mr. Woodbnrn (of counsel for the prosecution) — Would you render a verdict of guilty upon circumstantial evidence alone, without any eye-witness being put upon the stand, as to the commission of the crime? Answer — No, sir.
“Ques. — Suppose there was no witness to the transaction, no. person- who saw the defendant shoot Humphrey Symons (and) take his life, and his guilt depended upon circumstantial evidence, would you render such a verdict, a verdict in the first degree, when you knew the penalty was death? Ans. — No, sir; I would not. I wasn’t examined upon that subject before.
“Mr. Woodburn — We challenge him on the ground that he is opposed to capital punishment.
“The Court — You will be excused.
“Mr. Soderberg (counsel for defendant) — We object to his being excused, and except to the ruling of the court.
“The court overruled the objection, allowed the challenge, and excused the juror. * * * That no other reason existed for discharging said juror except the one hereinbefore stated. Thai neither plaintiff, defendant, or said juror had been guilty of any intentional fraud or deception in procuring the swearing of said jurors to try said cause, except so far as the answers made by the said juror on his voir dire may operate as such legal fraud.”

After the juror Dorsey was excused, the court proceeded, [108]*108against the objection of defendant,. to impanel another juror. Before such juror was impaneled defendant moved the court to discharge the remaining eleven jurors, who had been sworn to try said cause, upon the ground “that the withdrawal of said Dorsey operated as a destruction of said jury.” The court denied the motion. After the juror Dorsey was discharged, the defendant interposed a special plea of former jeopardy. The court instructed the jury ‘ that there was no evidence to sustain a verdict in favor of defendant upon his said special plea of former jeopardy.” The defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree.

If the juror Dorsey had made the same statement before he was sworn as a juror, as he did afterwards, it would have been the duty of the court to have then and there discharged him. The statute, in clear and explicit terms, declares that any juror entertaining such conscientious opinions “shall neither be permitted nor compelled to serve as a,juror.” (Crim. Pr. Act, sec. 340; 1 Comp. L. 1964.)

If circumstantial evidence was introduced, and it was clearly sufficient to warrant a verdict of guilty, it would have been the duty of the juror to find such a verdict. He said, in effect, that he could not discharge his duty in this respect; that he would not find a verdict of guilty, where the death penalty might be enforced, in a case of circum-stautial evidence, no matter how convincing and clear such testimony might be. He was an incompetent juror. His answers were very similar to those given by a juror in The People v. Ah Chung. In that case the court said: “It clearly appears from the examination of the juror that he would not convict, in a capital case, on circumstantial evidence; and we think that the challenge was properly sustained. There are many cases in which the evidence on the part of the prosecution is entirely circumstantial, and to 'hold that a party is a competent juror who will not convict on such evidence would in many cases defeat the ends of justice.” (54 Cal. 402.) In the language of the supreme court of Illinois: “It would be but a mockery of justice to go through [109]*109the forms of a trial with such a person upon the jury.” (Gates v. People, 14 Ill. 435.)

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Bluebook (online)
16 Nev. 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-pritchard-nev-1881.