Whitley v. State

236 S.W. 470, 90 Tex. Crim. 503, 1922 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 13
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 11, 1922
DocketNo. 6557.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 236 S.W. 470 (Whitley 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
Whitley v. State, 236 S.W. 470, 90 Tex. Crim. 503, 1922 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 13 (Tex. 1922).

Opinion

DATTIMORE, Judge.

Appellant was convicted in the District Court of Wichita County of swindling, and his punishment fixed at confinement in the penitentiary for two years.

The State’s motion to strike out appellant’s bills of exception, because filed too late in the court below, must be sustained. Article 845, Vernon’s C. C. P., provides that in the absence of an order extending ffie time for filing, bills of exception must be filed in the lower court *504 within thirty days after final judgment, provided the trial term extends more than eight weeks, and within thirty days after adjournment, if the length of the term be otherwise. The term of the trial court in the instant case extended more than eight weeks, but appellant’s motion for new trial was not overruled until the day of adjournment, which was July 2, *1921. There was no order extending the time for filing bills of exception, and same appear not to have been filed till August 4th. This was moré than thirty days after such adjournment.

Three special charges requested on behalf of appellant, were refused. We cannot consider complaint of the court’s action in this regard. There is nothing on the face of any of said charges to apprise us whether same were presented before the argument in the case began, and the bills of exception relative thereto have been stricken out. Jones v. State, 74 Texas Crim. Rep., 205, 167 S. W. Rep., 1110; Lopez v. State, 73 Texas Crim. Rep., 624; Perrett v. State, 75 Texas Crim. Rep., 94, 170 S. W. Rep., 316. Either by bill of exceptions or otherwise in the record, it must be made to appear that the requested' charges rvere presented at a proper time. Goldstein v. State, 73 Texas Crim. Rep., 558. There were no exceptions taken to the main charge, and we have held that unless there be such exceptions directed at some omission or error of the main charge, the refusal of requested charges will not be considered on appeal. Speer v. State, 75 Texas Crim. Rep., 348, 171 S. W. Rep., 201.

The only remaining question is the sufficiency of the evidence. This matter has given us much concern. The State only introduced two witnesses — Mary Foley, the alleged injured party — -and one Moore, the tax assessor of Hill County. Mr. Moore’s testimony related solely to whether or not certain lots in Mt. Calm, Hill County, Texas, existed.

Miss Foley said that she let appellant have $500 in September, 1920. Apparently no note or other evidence of indebtedness or security, was given her at the time of such lending. On October 22, 1920, it appears that appellant was about to leave the town of Wichita Falls, and on that date he executed and delivered to Miss Foley two instruments in writing, one of which is copied in the indictment as being the subject of certain false pretenses made by him to Miss Foley upon which she relied and was induced thereby to part with the $200, the obtaining of which is here charged against appellant as criminal. It is charged in the indictment that appellant pretended to Miss Foley that the instrument set out therein was a valid deed of trust on certain lots and a house in Mt. Calm, Hill County, Texas; and that relying on his representations she delivered to him in exchange for said pretended deed of trust, her $200 in money. The traverse in the indictment states that the property did not in fact exist, and that the pretended deed of trust was not valid because such property did not exist, and “Because-said written instrument was not then and there a valid and legal deed of trust.”

*505 The written instrument so set out was not a deed of trust and bears no res'emblance to such an instrument. It was merely a filled out form for an ordinary vendor’s lien note, and recited that J. E. Whitley promised to pay Mary Foley $1,200 thirty days after date, and that this note was given in payment for certain described property in the town site of Mt. Calm, Hill County, Texas, this day conveyed by me to Mary Foley; to secure payment of same a vendor’s lien is retained in said conveyance; and as further security for the payment hereof a deed of trust is this day given to Mary Foley as security on a promissory note. Other recitals usual in such note forms, also appear. At the conclusion of the document and above the signature of appellant appears: “Nov. 15, 1920, $1,200.”

The other instrument offered in evidence which was executed by appellant at the same time, and which was also delivered to Miss Foley by him on said date, was a mortgage on a Ford car and a piano, and recites that it is given to secure a note for $l,200«given by J. E. Whitley to Mary Foley, dated October 22d, and due November 15, 1920. If any deed of trust, or any conveyance or other instrument, was executed by appellant, same does not appear in the record.

According to Miss Foley these instruments were delivered to her about or soon after 12 o’clock on October 22d, and neither at the time of such delivery or before then was anything said to her by appellant about any $200 loan, or the obtaining of said sum in any way, and we are forced to conclude that she regarded the transaction of the delivery and acceptance of said papers, as closing up the $500 loan above mentioned. Miss Foley says: “With reference to the time I gave him the check for two hundred dollars, just identified, he gave me those papers that afternoon; about along soon after twelve o’clock. I gave him the checks after that time. Yes, sir, that same afternoon. I don’t know how long afterwards; it was about one hour; I do not know. Well, after he came to me and wanted to borrow two hundred dollars more, then I wrote the check out and went down to the bank — it was after he gave me the papers; he told me what they were worth, and after that he told me that he wanted to borrow two hundred dollars. He told me those papers were worth twenty thousand dollars; that they included those lots and a piano.” In another part of her testimony she said: “Well, he gave me all of those papers that day before he borrowed the money. I don’t know whether he included the papers on the other two hundred, or not. I don’t remember. Yes, sir, some money he had borrowed, five hundred dollars. Well, he gave me those papers that day. He didn’t come back right there at the house and borrow the two hundred dollars; soon after that. Well, he had not asked for the two hundred dollars when he gave me the notes.” She also testified: “No, he had not mentioned the two hundred dollars at the time he executed the papers. He fixed the papers up and told me they were worth twenty thousand dollars, and I received the papers *506 from him. Yes, sir, and later, right there in the house, he wanted to borrow two hundred dollars more,” and further on in her testimony again said: “No, sir, I did not know at the time he was going to want two hundred dollars more. He told me what they were worth. No, he didn’t make or renew any representations; he didn’t say anything else about it. We went to the bank and cashed the check,” and then still further on she repeats: “No, he did not make any further representations as to the value of the property.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Viehweg v. Commissioner
90 T.C. No. 81 (U.S. Tax Court, 1988)
Paine v. Commissioner
63 T.C. 736 (U.S. Tax Court, 1975)
Westfall Oldsmobile, Inc., Etc. v. United States
243 F.2d 409 (Fifth Circuit, 1957)
Waghalter v. State
70 S.W.2d 420 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1934)
Mowrey v. State
55 S.W.2d 816 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1932)
Walker v. State
251 S.W. 235 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1923)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
236 S.W. 470, 90 Tex. Crim. 503, 1922 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 13, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitley-v-state-texcrimapp-1922.