State v. Temple

92 S.W. 494, 194 Mo. 228, 1906 Mo. LEXIS 153
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMarch 6, 1906
DocketNo. 1
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 92 S.W. 494 (State v. Temple) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Temple, 92 S.W. 494, 194 Mo. 228, 1906 Mo. LEXIS 153 (Mo. 1906).

Opinion

BURGESS, P. J.

On the 14th day- of June, 1904, the prosecuting attorney of Buchanan county filed an information in the office of the clerk of the criminal court of said county, in which it is alleged that the -defendant, Sol Temple, on or about the 14th day of May, 1904, at said county, “did then and there-, unlawfully, feloniously and wilfully, in and upon one J ames Grable make an assault, and did, then and there, feloniously and wilfully point at and towards him, the said James Grable, a certain . . . revolving pistol, then and there loaded with powder and leaden balls, which he the said Sol Temple in his right hand then and there had and held, with the intent then and there him,, the said James Grable, feloniously and wilfully to kill and murder, contrary to the form of the statute in such ■cases made and provided, and against the peace and -dignity of the State. ’ ’

- The defendant was duly arraigned, and pleaded not guilty. Thereafter, on the 15th day of August, 1904, defendant was placed upon trial, found guilty, and his punishment fixed at five years in the penitentiary. In due time defendant filed motions for new trial' and in arrest, which being overruled, he saved exceptions, .and brings the case to this court, by appeal, for review.

The facts of the case are but few, and are substantially as follows: On the 14th day of May, 1904, a man named Wilkerson called upon William P. Gibson, a police sergeant in the city of St. Joseph, to go to a livery "barn with him and see whether a team placed in the harn by the defendant answered the description of a team which had been advertised as stolen at Savannah, Missouri, and of which the St. Joseph police officers had .a description. In company with Wilkerson, Gibson went to a saloon in the neighborhood of the said bam, where [232]*232they found the defendant. Gibson explained to defendant that he was a police officer, and requested defendant to show him the team. On the way to the barn they were joined by officer Grable. Defendant stepped into the stall of one of the horses, and was engaged in untying it when Gibson remarked, “Why, this is not the team.” Defendant was slow in backing out the horse, and Wilkerson, addressing defendant, said, “It takes you a long time to untie those horses; why don’t you bring thein out of there ? ’ ’ About that time Wilkerson saw defendant draw his revolver and shoot at Gibson, the ball striking Gibson in the face. So close was the revolver that the powder burned Gibson’s face. The defendant then turned his revolver upon officer Grable, who testified at the trial that he was very close to defendant and that as soon as defendant aimed the revolver at him he grabbed it with both hands, his left thumb being placed behind the hammer. Defendant endeavored to wrench the revolver from the grasp of the officer and fire it off, but was unable to do so. With the aid of other persons, who went to the assistance of Grable, the defendant was finally subdued and placed under arrest for shooting officer Gibson. No testimony was offered in behalf of the defendant.

' Over the objection and exception of defendant, the court gave the jury six instructions, but for the purposes of this opinion it is only necessary to incorporate two, the first and second, as they alone are criticised. They are as follows:

“1. The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the offense with which he stands charged, and this presumption continues throughout the case until overcome by evidence showing him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and if you have a reasonable doubt of defendant’s guilt, you must acquit him; but such doubt to authorize an acquittal must be a substantial doubt founded on the evidence, and not a mere possibility of the defendant’s innocence.

[233]*233“2. If you believe and find from tbe evidence that the defendant, Sol Temple, at the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri, within three years before the filing of the information in this case, with a certain revolving pistol, loaded with powder and leaden balls, feloniously and wilfully made an assault on the witness, James Grable, with the intention of then and there killing him, the said James Grable, with said revolving pistol, you will find the defendant guilty of assault with intent to kill, and assess his punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not less than two nor more than five years, or imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than six months, nor more than one year, or by both a fine of not less than $100 and imprisonment in the county jail not less than three months, or by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars.

“ ‘Wilfully’ as used in the foregoing instructions means intentionally, that is, not accidentally.

“ ‘Feloniously’ means wrongfully, and against the admonition of the law.”

The defendant requested the following instructions, which were refused, and exceptions saved:

“1. The jury are instructed that if they find from the evidence that an assault was committed by the defendant on officer Grable, but that said assault was committed at the same time and was part of and was co-incident with an assault made upon one William Gibson, you will find the defendant not guilty.

“2. The jury are instructed that unless you find that the assault on officer Grable, complained of in the information filed in this case, is distinct and separate from, and forms no part of the assault on one William Gibson, for which defendant has already been tried and convicted, you will find the defendant not guilty.”

The first proposition with which we are confronted is as to the sufficiency of the information, which defendant insists is insufficient, in that it fails to charge that [234]*234the assault was made feloniously, on purpose, and of the defendant’s malice aforethought, all of which, it is contended, is necessary in order to. make the information good. If the information was under section 1847, Revised Statutes 1899, there would he much force in defendant’s contention. [State v. Seward, 42 Mo. 206.] It is not, however, drawn under that section, hut under section 1848, and is in accordance therewith. The information is for a felonious assault, “with intent to kill,” and is not rendered defective by an omission to charge that the assault was committed “on purpose and of malice aforethought.” [State v. Stewart, 29 Mo. 419; State v. Seward, supra.]

It appears from the record that while being conducted from the jail to the court house, and back again, as occasion demanded, the defendant was shackled and guarded by two officers, and that the shackles were removed from his hands in the presence of some of the jurors in the court room, and again placed on his hands at the adjournment of the court, while the jury was still in the court room, the effect of which was, as contended by counsel for defendant, to prejudice the minds of the jury against the defendant and cause them to1 believe him to be a dangerous and desperate man.

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Bluebook (online)
92 S.W. 494, 194 Mo. 228, 1906 Mo. LEXIS 153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-temple-mo-1906.