Whan v. State

438 S.W.2d 918, 1969 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1092
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 26, 1969
Docket41789
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 438 S.W.2d 918 (Whan v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whan v. State, 438 S.W.2d 918, 1969 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1092 (Tex. 1969).

Opinions

[920]*920OPINION

WOODLEY, Presiding Judge.

The offense is murder; the punishment, death.

The indictment alleged that Max Thomas Yeary and appellant did with malice aforethought kill Edward Jordan by shooting him with a gun. The second count further alleged that the murder was committed by the said Yeary and appellant while they were engaged in the perpetration of the crime of robbery.

The offense was alleged to have been committed on or about December 29, 1966. The indictment was returned January 26, 1967.

On May 10, 1967, severance was granted Yeary; the district attorney gave notice that he would seek the death penalty as the proper punishment for appellant Whan, and Hon. Frank Mabry and John Baker were appointed to represent appellant.

On May 29, 1967, the case was continued on application of appellant and set for September 11, 1967.

On August 28, 1967, the court granted appellant’s motion for Expenditures not to exceed $250.00 for investigation and expert testimony as to the mental condition of appellant.

Following pretrial hearing on appellant’s motion for discovery and the selection of a jury, appellant pleaded not guilty to the first count of the indictment and guilty to the second count, but changed his plea to guilty to the indictment after the witnesses were sworn, which plea of guilty was accepted and entered after proper admonition of appellant by the court as to its conse-sequences.

Appellant’s first ground of error complains that the selection of the jury and excusing of prospective jurors for cause who had conscientious scruples against capital punishment was in violation of and reveals the same situation as existed in Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed. 776, decided June 3, 1968. The voir dire examination of certain prospective jurors he alleges was preserved to show the means, mode and conduct of the court in excusing jurors for cause in anticipation of the opinion by the Supreme Court in Witherspoon.

The record includes the voir dire examination of 20 prospective jurors, 10 of whom were challenged for cause by the state because of their conscientious scruples against the death penalty. Only one juror was peremptorily challenged by the state.

The record does not support the contention that jurors were excluded simply because they expressed conscientious scruples against the infliction of death as punishment for crime. To the contrary, the jurors who were challenged by the state and excused were further examined, some by the court, as to whether their conscience would permit them to impose the death penalty, and answered in the negative.

In view of the fact that the state exercised but one of its 15 peremptory challenges, the excusing of one or two prospective jurors on the state’s challenge for cause would not constitute reversible error. Scott v. State, 434 S.W.2d 678, 683.

The record reflects compliance with the Texas practice in regard to the excusing of jurors challenged by the state on the ground of conscientious scruples against the infliction of death as punishment for crime.

Pittman v. State, 434 S.W.2d 352, and Scott v. State, supra, sustain our conclusion that the Texas practice followed by the court in the selection of appellant’s jury does not offend the rule in Wither-spoon v. Illinois, supra.

Appellant’s second ground of error complains of the refusal of the court to allow him to perfect a bill of exception.

[921]*921This ground of error refers to the following proceedings reflected by the court reporter’s transcription of his notes.

“MR. MABRY: Your Honor, again, as before in anticipation of the State’s attorney calling the deceased’s widow, I would like for him to call her outside the presence of the jury so that we can elicit from her any testimony that might be material in this cause and show her physical condition and show she can testify to nothing that would be material or relevant to this case. In her physical condition it would do nothing but inflame the minds of the jury and gain sympathy.
“THE COURT: That motion will be overruled at this time.
“MR. MABRY: Note our exception.
“MR. ERNEST: We will call Mrs. Jordan.
“MR. MABRY: Since Mr. Ernest has called her, we would like to have her outside the presence of the jury to perfect my bill.
“THE COURT: For what purpose?
“MR. MABRY: To show that any testimony she might offer would be immaterial and irrelevant and do nothing except bolster the testimony of other witnesses, can do nothing to enable the State to make their case in any way. She knows no facts surrounding the alleged murder and there is no controversy as to any items introduced into evidence. They all have been properly identified and admitted.
“THE COURT: That motion will be denied.
“MR. MABRY: Note our exception.
“THE COURT: Bring the jury in, Mr. Payne.
(At this time the jury returned to the courtroom in the custody of the bailiff and in the presence of the jury the following proceedings were had:)
“MRS. JEWEL ELIZABETH JORDAN, called as a witness on behalf of the State, after having first been duly sworn, testified as follows:
“DIRECT EXAMINATION
“Questions by Mr. Ernst:
“Q. Will you state—
“MR. MABRY: At this time the Defense is going to object to the calling of the widow and ask that the jury be removed so that we can make a bill as to the materiality of any evidence she might offer.
“THE COURT: That’s overruled.
“MR. MABRY: Note our exception.”

Appellant’s brief sets out that from the very beginning he anticipated that the district attorney would call the widow of the deceased as a witness. This is verified by the record referred to which reflects that appellant’s counsel, on the first day of the trial, vainly sought to “suppress any testimony offered by the widow unless it’s something that’s material to the offense with which the defendant is charged and something that’s not in controversy. We are asking that the Court suppress any testimony from her unless she can testify to something of the actual killing.”

Appellant’s brief further recites in connection with this ground of error: “Mrs. Jewel Elizabeth Jordan, the wife of the deceased, was a pitiful sight to behold. She was handicapped as a result of a leg injury in 19S6 and there were no muscles left in her leg as a result of the injury and she had to have a walker in order to get about. She had to be helped wherever she went. * * *

“When Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
438 S.W.2d 918, 1969 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1092, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whan-v-state-texcrimapp-1969.