Turner v. State

1929 OK CR 264, 279 P. 525, 43 Okla. Crim. 380, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 287
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 3, 1929
DocketNo. A-6647.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1929 OK CR 264 (Turner v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turner v. State, 1929 OK CR 264, 279 P. 525, 43 Okla. Crim. 380, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 287 (Okla. Ct. App. 1929).

Opinion

CHAPPELL, J.

The plaintiff in error, hereinafter called defendant, was convicted in the district court of Tulsa county on a charge of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentenced to be imprisoned in the state penitentiary for eight years. Motion for new trial was filed, overruled, and exceptions saved, and. the case is now on appeal in this court.

The defendant complains, first, that the trial court erred in receiving the verdict. The case was tried by Hon. A. C. Brewster, a district judge, who was not a resident district judge, but who was assigned by order of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to hold a term of court in Tulsa county beginning on the 15th day of November, 1926, and lasting for thirteen days. The jurisdiction to hold court in Tulsa county under said order expired at midnight on the 27th day of November, 1926. The trial of this case commenced on November 26, 1926, and was concluded by the return of the verdict at midnight on November 27, 1926. On the 27th day of Novem *382 ber, 1926, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court issued another order assigning the said) Honorable A. C. Brewster to hold court at Tulsa for a period of three days beginning November 28, 1926. There is a dispute between the state and the defendant as to whether or not the verdict of the jury was actually received in open court before midnight on the 27th day of November, 1926. The case-made at page 523, has this recital:

“Thereupon, pursuant to the order of court, the jury retires until twelve o’clock midnight, November 27, 1926, at which time court is reconvened with the defendant present in court and the jury present in open court, and thereupon the following proceedings are had, to wit:
“The Court: Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon a verdict in the case?
“The Foreman: We have.”

In our view of the case, it is immaterial whether this verdict was actually received before or soon after 12 o’clock midnight of November 27th. In the case of Layne v. State, 23 Okla. Cr. 36, 212 Pac. 328, this court said:

“A special or substitute judge authorized to hold court outside of his district, by virtue of an order made by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ending on a Saturday night, supplemented by another order beginning on Monday following, under circumstances recited in the opinion, was probably a de jure judge during the intervening .Sunday. * * *
“This court may look beyond the express terms of the Constitution (sec. 9, art. 7), and orders made pursuant thereto, to ascertain the "true intent and object of the lawmakers and of the judge acting thereunder relating to the powers of a special judge, and where such intent and object is manifestly to' carry out the lawmakers’ intent an inadvertent omission of Sunday from the period in which the special judge is authorized to hold *383 court, will not deprive such special judge of supervising power over court officers during this particular Sunday.”

The defendant next complains of the misconduct of the county attorney in calling in the presence of the jury, one Lydia Turner, the wife of the defendant, as a witness for the state. It appears from the record that the only thing the assistant county attorney did, in the presence of the jury, that it is contended constituted such misconduct as to deny this defendant a fair and impartial trial, was to ask the bailiff to call as the next witness for the state, one Lydia Turner. It further appears that the jury was excused, and that the witness Lydia Turner wasi placed upon the witness stand, and that as soon as it was made to appear that she was still the wife of the defendant, the court refused the state permission to use her against the defendant. Did the mere calling of her name, as a witness for the state, by the county attorney, in the presence of the jury constitute such official misconduct on his part as to require this court to reverse this judgment? There was no persistent effort here to get incompetent testimony before the jury, nor to have an incompetent witness testify. It is objectionable practice for the state in a criminal case to call a wife to testify against her husband, and thereby compel him to object to such witness testifying. Misconduct of this kind will be considered and construed by this court in reference to the evidence, and, if it appeal’s that the alleged misconduct probably determined the verdict, a new trial should be granted. In this case it is apparent that the defendant was at least guilty of. manslaughter under his own testimony in the case. The evidence of the defendant’s guilt of the crime of manslaughter is such that this judgment should not be reversed except for error of the most fundamental and prejudicial nature. A careful ex *384 amination of the whole record discloses that an honest jury could have returned no other verdict except guilty. We are therefore of the opinion that the calling of the name of the wife of the defendant as a witness for the state, while improper, is not sufficient misconduct to require a reversal of this case.

The defendant next complains of the bias and prejudice of the trial judge in the conduct of the trial. This assignment can be disposed of with the remarks used by this court in disposing of a similar contention in the case of Davis v. State, 35 Okla. Cr. 86, 249 Pac. 165, wherein the court said:

“It is contended that certain remarks of the court and of the county attorney were prejudicial. Some of the remarks complained of were invited, if not encouraged, by the defendant’s counsel. To some others there were no exceptions taken. Considering all that transpired at the trial, we think the court and prosecuting attorney exercised a remarkable degree of restraint and caution, and in this regard committed no prejudicial error.”

Defendant next complains of the error of the court in rejecting certain testimony tendered by the defendant. Defendant has incorporated in his brief numerous excerpts from the record disclosing adverse rulings of the trial court- on testimony tendered by the defendant. Defendant advances no argument and cites no authority to show in just what respect this proffered evidence was competent. The burden is upon the appellant, not only to establish error, but also that the error, if any, was prejudicial to him. Killough v. State, 6 Okla. Cr. 311, 118 Pac. 620.

•Rule 7 of this court requires the full substance of the evidence rejected stating specifically the objection and also a brief of the argument exhibiting a clear statement *385 of the point of law or fact to be discussed, with a reference to the pages of the record and the authorities relied upon in support of each point. Counsel gave no reasons why the rulings were erroneous, and cites no authorities in support thereof. For the reasons stated, the assignment of error presents no question for consideration by this court.

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Related

Eubanks v. State
1958 OK CR 65 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1958)
State v. McMullan
66 So. 2d 574 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1953)
Abby v. State
114 P.2d 499 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1941)
Oklahoma Transportation Co. v. Lewis
1936 OK 405 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1936)
Carter v. United States
57 F.2d 163 (Second Circuit, 1932)
Harris v. State
1932 OK CR 6 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1932)
Arms v. State
292 P. 76 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1930)
Watson v. State
1930 OK CR 30 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1930)
People of New York v. Hopkins
18 F.2d 731 (Second Circuit, 1927)
United States v. Bernstein
16 F.2d 233 (Eighth Circuit, 1926)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1929 OK CR 264, 279 P. 525, 43 Okla. Crim. 380, 1929 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 287, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-state-oklacrimapp-1929.