Tillman v. State

58 Fla. 113
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1909
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 58 Fla. 113 (Tillman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tillman v. State, 58 Fla. 113 (Fla. 1909).

Opinion

Shackleford, J.

An information, based upon Section 3476 of the General Statutes of Florida, was filed against the plaintiff in error, upon which he was tried, convicted and sentenced to confinement at hard labor in the State prison for a term of four years. A review of this judgment and sentence is sought here by writ of error. The information contained three counts but only the last two are before us for consideration, the first having been quashed on motion of the defendant. In substance, the crime charged against the defendant was that, during a term of the Criminal Court of Eecord for Suwannee County, at which one Margarete Stanley had been tried and convicted of the unlawful sale of liquors, the defendant, “then and there well knowing the official capacity of him the said H. E. Carter and with the purpose and intent of fraudulently influencing the act, opinion, decision and judgment of the said EL E. Carter, a judicial officer, and then and there the Judge of said Criminal Court of Eecord, on a certain matter and question to-wit, the matter and question of modifying and reducing the sentence theretofore imposed upon the said Margarete Stanley as aforesaid, and with the intent to fraudulently induce the said EL E. Carter in his official capacity as Judge of said court to reconsider and modify and reduce the sentence and judgment theretofore imposed upon the said Margarete Stanley as aforesaid, he the said G. EL Tillman, did then and there, on the said 16th day of February, 1909, aforesaid corruptly offer to the said EL E. Carter as Judge of said court as aforesaid, a gift and gratuity, to-wit, a bank check of the value of ten dollars, which said [116]*116bank check was and is in the words and figures following, to-wit:

’No.......... Live Oak, Fla. 2-16 1909.

The Citizens Bank of Live Oak,

Pay to the order of..........Cash..........$10.00 ..........Ten & 00-100..................Dollars.

G. H. Tillman,

Baker.’

Contrary to the form of the Statute, in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Florida.”

The Honorable H. E. Carter, Judge of such court, filed with the clerk a suggestion of his disqualification in such cause, under Section 3871 of the General Statutes of Florida, reciting therein that he was a witness in such cause on behalf of the State. The clerk notified the Governor, in accordance with the provisions of such statute, who issued an order assigning the Honorable John S. Maxwell, Judge of the Criminal Court of Record for Duval County to try such cause. All of such proceedings affirmatively appear in the transcript.

The first two assignments are as follows:

“First Assignment of Error: It does not appear from the suggestion of disqualification filed by Hon. H. E. Carter, Judge of the Criminal Court of Record for Suwannee County, Florida, that he as judge of said court, was disqualified from presiding at the trial of said cause.

Second Assignment of Error: - The Hon. John S. Maxwell, Judge of the Criminal Court of Record of Duval County, Florida, was without jurisdiction to preside in said cause.”

Even if we assume that the defendant could by appropriate action in the trial court in the-way of pleas, ob[117]*117jections or otherwise have raised the question as to the authority and jurisdiction of Judge Maxwell to preside over the court in the trial of such cause, no such action was taken, consequently we are not called upon to decide that question. See Coyle v. Commonwealth, 104 Pa. 117; Walcott v. Wells, 21 Nev. 47, 24 Pac. Rep. 367, 9 L. R. A. 59, and authorities therein cited; State v. Lewis, 107 N. C. 967, 12 S. E. Rep. 457, 13 S. E. Rep. 247, 11 L. R. A. 105; Orme v. Commonwealth, 21 Ky. 1412, 55 S. W. Rep. 195; Butler v. Phillips, 38 Colo. 378, 88 Pac. Rep. 480, 12 Amer. & Anno. Cas. 204. The decided weight of authority is to the effect that where no objection to the authority or jurisdiction of the judge is made in the trial court and no action of any kind taken by the defendant toward raising such question, he will be deemed to have waived such privilege or right by his silence and will not be permitted to raise such question for the first time in the appellate court. See State v. Holmes, 12 Wash, 169, 40 Pac. Rep. 735, 41 Pac. Rep. 887; State v. Anone, 2 Nott & Mc. (S. C.) 27; State v. Lowe, 21.W. Va. 782; Schlungger v. State, 113 Ind. 295, 15 N. E. Rep. 269; People v. Mellon, 40 Cal. 648; State v. Gilmore, 110 Mo. 1, 19 S. W. Rep. 218; Roberts v. State, 126 Ala. 74, 28 South. Rep. 741, 30 South. Rep. 554; Slone v. Slone, 2 Metcalf (Ky.) 339; Ripley v. Mutual Home & Savings Ass’n, 154 Ind. 155, 56 N. E. Rep. 89; Crawford v. Lawrence, 154 Ind. 288, 56 N. E. Rep. 673; Hunter v. Ferguson, 13 Kans. 462; Missouri Pac. Ry. Co. v. Preston, 63 Kans. 819, 66 Pac. Rep. 1050; Perry v. Pernet, 165 Ind. 67, 74 N. E. Rep. 609, 6 Amer. & Eng. Anno. Cases 533. Also see 23 Cyc. 616 to 618, and authorities cited in notes, and 11 Ency. of Pl. & Pr. 793. We see no occasion for any extended discussion of the matter or pointing out the distinctions which exist in the cited cases. We have no intention of 'committing ourselves to all that is said therein, but they [118]*118will be found to throw light upon the point under consideration. We would also refer to Finley v. Chamberlin, 46 Fla. 581, 35 South. Rep. 1, for a discussion of the distinction between a direct and collateral attack and a review of the earlier Florida cases upon the subject. These two assignments, which are the principal ones relied upon, need not longer detain us. It is sufficient to say that they have not been sustained.

The third assignment is based upon the overruling of the motion to quash the information as to the second and third counts. It is earnestly contended that such counts are fatally defective because it does not' affirmatively appear therein that the prosecution against Margarete Stanley was still pending in such court at the time of the alleged commission of the crime charged herein. It is urged that inasmuch as it is alleged therein that sentence had -already been pronounced upon such defendant this constituted a final judgment and divested the trial judge of any further jurisdiction therein. This contention is not borne out by the information and is untenable for several reasons. The statute under which the defendant was informed against is very comprehensive and sweeping in its scope, as an inspection thereof will disclose. It is also distinctly alleged in the information that the defendant offered the alleged bribe to the judge of such court for the purpose of and in order to induce him “to modify and reduce the sentence” theretofore imposed upon such defendant. The authorities cited by the defendant are not in point and do not sustain his contention. This court has decided that the right of a defendant to make a motion for a new trial, within the time provided by law, is not forfeited by the fact that sentence had been passed upon the defendant prior to his making such motion, Massey v. State, 50 Fla. 109, 39 South. Rep. 790. So, too, during the same term of court [119]*119at which the sentence is imposed, before the defendant has begun serving such sentence, the trial judge has the power to modify such sentence. In this case it does not affirmatively appear that such defendant had begun serving her sentence.

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58 Fla. 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tillman-v-state-fla-1909.