Tully v. State

68 So. 934, 69 Fla. 662
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 3, 1915
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 68 So. 934 (Tully 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
Tully v. State, 68 So. 934, 69 Fla. 662 (Fla. 1915).

Opinion

Shackleford, J.

W. C. Tully, Jr., was indicted for the crime of rape upon Willie Cook, a female over the age of ten years, and one A. E. Tully was charged in the same indictment with being an accessory to such crime. Upon trial before a jury W. C. Tully, Jr., ivas convicted of an assault with intent to commit rape and A. E. Tully was acquitted. W. C. Tully, Jr., was sentenced to confinement at hard labor in the State prison for the period of ten years and seeks relief here by writ of error.

The first error assigned is as follows: “The court erred in permitting the witness, Willie Cook, to testify, over the objections of the defendant, as to a conversation between herself and the witness, Lucy Nelson, such conversation not being in the presence of the defendants, or either of them, such conversation being as follows: ‘When Miss Lucy came in and told me, I told her to go and tell her Mother,’ and in refusing to grant the motion of the defendant to strike such testimony.”

We find that Willie Cook was the first witness introduced upon behalf of the State, whereupon the following proceedings took place:

[666]*666■ “My name is Willie Cook; I am seventeen years of age. I know a man by tbe name of Will. C. Tully, Jr.; he is the man on trial here. I also know a man by the name of Emory Tully. He is also one of the defendants on trial. Q. Will C. Tully, Jr. is charged with having on the 14th day of August this year, had carnal intercourse with you by force and against your will, and Emory Tully is charged with being present at the time. Just state now, Miss Willie, to the court and to the jury how It took place. Just state all the circumstances connected with it, and talk, Miss Willie, if possible, so that the farther gentleman there can hear you (indicating jury). A. Well, I was visiting Lucy Nelson at the time, and Liicy was up town at work, and she came in at twelve o’clock for dinner. She came in the room where I was and told me — -- Mr. Price: Wait a minute. You need not state any conversation between you and Lucy. Mr. Walker: Never mind what Lucy told you. In order to get at it more directly now I will ask you the question. After she came in, what did you say to Miss Lucy? Mr. Price: I object to that; any conversation between the two, not in the presence of the defendant, is improper. The Court: I do not think the conversation is material. Mr. Walker: If your Honor please, the object of the question is to show why she went out and how it was that they went out to this place, and in order to do that, as a matter of fact, the State will have to show what the witness said to other parties, not what Miss Lucy said to her, but what the witness said to other parties before going out there. The Court: It might be admissible for the purpose of leading up to the subsequent events. Mr. Walker: That was the object of the question. The Court: She can answer. Mr. Price: Your Honor will note an exception. When Miss Lucy came and told me, 1 told her to go and tell her mother. [667]*667Mr. Price: I move to strike that statement as being irrelevant and immaterial and hearsay, and not binding on the defendant. The Court: Motion is denied. Mr. Price: Your Honor will note an exception.”

As stated above, this was the first testimony offered b.v the State, and we think that it was admissible “for the purpose of leading up to the subsequent events” as was stated by the trial judge, and rendering them intelligible to the jury. What “subsequent events” might be developed by the testimony had not then been disclosed. It will be observed that the witness did not state what Miss Lucy told her or what the witness told Miss Lucy to tell her mother. How this statement of the witness could have been harmful to the defendant we do not see, therefore must hold that this assignment has not been sustained.

The second and third assignments, which are argued together, are as follows:

“Second Assignment of Error.
The court erred in sustaining the objection interposed by the State to the following question propounded by defendant’s counsel to the witness, Willie Cook, namely: ‘On the night before you went out with the two Tulleys, didn’t you and Lucy Nelson ’phone for a car, and have the car meet you, and two men to meet you, in the dark back of the Capitol and go out driving?’ ”
“Third Assignment of Error.
The court erred in sustaining the objection interposed by the State to the following question propounded by the defendant to the witness, Willie Cook, to-wit: ‘Were you [668]*668and Miss Nelson then on Thursday night, the night this thing, is said to have occurred with Otto Barineau and another party in the cemetery here in town drinking beer and having a good time generally ?’ ”

The two questions to which objections were interposed by the State, the sustaining of which forms the basis for these assignments, were propounded to the prosecuting witness on her cross-examination. We would refer to our discussion in Rice v. State, 35 Fla. 236, 17 South. Rep. 286, 48 Amer. St. Rep. 245, wherein we held as follows: “Upon a trial for rape the character of the prosecutrix for chastity, or the want of it, is competent evidence as bearing upon the probability of her consent to the defendant’s act, but the impeachment of her character in this respect must be confined to evidence of her general reputation, except that she may be interrogated as to her previous intercourse with the defendant, of as to promiscuous intercourse with men, or common prostitution.” As we stated therein, although there is some division in the authorities upon this point, the rule which we therein adopted, is “sanctioned by the preponderance of authority.” See the authorities there cited and also the following: People v. McLean, 71 Mich. 309, 3S N. W. Rep. 917, 15 Amer. St. Rep. 263, and especially the excellent note on page 714 et seq. of 14 L. R. A. (N. S.) where the authorities upon either side of the question will be found fully collected. As we also said in Rice v. State, supra, “Considering the the line of defense adopted by the defendant, no injury could have been done by him by ruling out this testimony. The only purpose for which such testimony was offered was to show a probability of consent on the part of the prosecutrix to the act of the defendant. The defense was not based upon any theory of consent to the act, but [669]*669upon a denial by the defendant that he had ever had any carnal intercourse whatever with the girl. Therefore the testimony was wholly immaterial, and could not have any reference to the defense made by the defendant.” We think that this language is well applicable to the instant case, in which the defense relied upon is a denial of any carnal intercourse with the prosecuting witness. How' could it have availed the defendant, even if such testimony so sought to be elicited had been admitted? If specific acts of the unchastity of the prosecuting witness were not admissible, but only her general reputation for chastity, then it would necessarily seem to follow that the testimony which such questions sought to establish was not admissible, for at the most such acts would only have been imprudent conduct upon the part of the prosecuting witness and her young lady friend. We fully approve of the principles relative to the scope of the cross-examination of witnesses enunciated in the case of Wallace v. State.

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Bluebook (online)
68 So. 934, 69 Fla. 662, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tully-v-state-fla-1915.