Williams v. State

49 S.W.2d 772, 120 Tex. Crim. 288, 1932 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 263
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided March 23, 1932·No. No. 15103.·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinions

CHRISTIAN, Judge.

— The offense is selling intoxicating liquor ; the punishment, confinement in the penitentiary for one year.

Raymond Manning testified, in substance, that on the 29th of August, 1931, he met appellant in the town of Greenville and arranged to buy a half gallon of whisky from him; that he advised appellant that he would be at the place of business of Ukie Williams, his father-in-law, to receive the liquor; that on the following Sunday appellant came to the place of Ukie Williams in an automobile, and delivered the whisky to him; that he paid appellant $2.50 for the whisky; that ten or twelve minutes after appellant delivered the whisky to him an officer appeared on the scene and took possession of the whisky; that the officer took him and Ukie Williams to town with him. Ukie Williams testified that he saw appellant deliver the whisky to Raymond Manning. The sheriff testified that he went to the home of Ukie Williams and found the half gallon of whisky in the possession of Raymond Manning. He said that appellant was present at the time.

Appellant did not testify in his own behalf. He introduced the witness Foster, who testified that Raymond Manning told him after the examining trial of appellant that appellant was not the man who sold him the whisky. A second witness for appellant testified that he rode with appellant to the town of Greenville, and that there was no whisky in the automobile.

*290 After appellant had offered proof to the, effect that state’s witness Manning had stated that appellant was not the man who sold him the whisky, the sheriff testified that Manning told him at the time he took possession of the whisky at Ukie Williams’ place that appellant had sold it to him. Ukie Williams gave testimony to the same effect.

Bill of exception No. 1 relates to the refusal of the court to grant appellant’s application for a continuance. Appellant stated in his motion that his request was a first application. In his qualification to the bill of exception the trial court states that when the case was called for trial on October 26, 1931, a postponement was granted on appellant’s application; that on November 4, 1931, the case was again called for trial and a postponement ordered, when appellant presented his application for a continuance; that when the case was again called for trial on November 16, 1931, appellant presented the present application for a continuance, which the court treated as a subsequent application; that the application was overruled on the ground, among, others, that it did not meet the requirements of the statute. It was alleged in the application that appellant’s wife would testify, if present, that she was with appellant on the occasion of the alleged sale, and that appellant did not sell any whisky to the state’s witness. She would further testify, according to the averments in the application, that she rode with her husband in his automobile to Ukie Williams’ place, and knew that he carried no whisky with him.

The opinion is expressed that the court was warranted in denying the continuance.

Under the facts stated, the request for a continuance constituted a subsequent application. Brannan v. State, 108 Texas Crim. Rep., 418, 1 S. W. (2d) 279; Griffith v. State, 62 Texas Crim. Rep., 642, 138 S. W., 1016; Coffey v. State, 82 Texas Crim. Rep., 57, 198 S. W., 326; Jeffers v. State, 104 Texas Crim. Rep., 199, 283 S. W., 785; Ferguson v. State, 101 Texas Crim. Rep., 670, 276 S. W., 919; Williams v. State, 102 Texas Crim. Rep., 559, 278 S. W., 1103; Mullin v. State, 114 Texas Crim. Rep., 225, 24 S. W. (2d) 423. The court had theretofore overruled an application for a continuance by appellant and postponed the case approximately two weeks.

With reference to absent testimony in subsequent applications for a continuance, it is incumbent upon the appellant to state that the defendant had reasonable expectation of procuring the same at the next term of the court. Subdivision 2, article 544, C. C. P.; Beckwith v. State, 104 Texas Crim. Rep., 467, 284 S. W., 546; Johnson v. State, 114 Texas Crim. Rep., 638, 26 S. W. (2d) 256. The application under consideration does not so state. Hence it is fatally defective. Beckwith v. State, supra; Johnson v. State, supra; Reynolds v. State, 116 Texas Crim. Rep., 193, 32 S. W. (2d) 454. A subsequent application for a *291 continuance must conform strictly to the statute, nothing being presumed in its favor. Beckwith v. State, supra; Johnson v. State, supra.

The application being fatally defective in the respect pointed out, formed no basis for a complaint in the motion for a new trial on account of the denial of the continuance in the first instance. Brannan v. State, supra; Johnson v. State, supra; Wheeler v. State; 118 Texas Crim. Rep., 358, 42 S. W. (2d) 69.

Bills of exception 2 and 3 relate to the same matter, and will be treated together. In qualifying these bills of exception, the court refers to the statement of facts. While the state’s witness, Raymond Manning, was being cross-examined by counsel for appellant, he was asked: “I will ask if about two weeks after they had this examining trial in which you said you testified that you had bought this liquor from Mr. Williams, if you didn’ meet two men down here on Washington street or near the Washington Hotel on St. Johns street, and if they didn’t ask you if you were the fellow that had turned in Gordon Williams, and that if you didn’t say yes you were the man that, turned him in, and if they didn’t point him out to you and ask if that was the man you turned in and you said that wasn’t the man but he was the man you told the sheriff you got the liquor from and that you had sworn to that in the examining trial and you could not go back on it?” The witness answered in the negative. On redirect-examination the district attorney elicited from Manning the fact that he stated to the sheriff within ten or twelve minutes after he bought the whisky that appellant had sold the whisky to him. Manning testified that he pointed out appellant to the sheriff and said: “There is the fellow in the car we got the whisky from.” A witness for appellant testified that Manning stated to him after the examining trial that he did not buy the whisky from appellant. The sheriff testified that at the time he discovered the whisky in Manning’s possession he (Manning) told him he bought it from appellant. Appellant objected to Manning’s statement to the effect that he told the sheriff that he bought the whisky from appellant, and also objected to the sheriff’s testimony to the effect that Manning stated to him that he bought the whisky from appellant. In qualifying the bills of exception, the court states that he considered the testimony as being res gestae, and, further, that appellant had gone into the matter in the first instance. The question presented by the bills of exception might be considered in another light. Appellant attempted to impeach the witness by showing that he had made statements out of court with reference to the transaction different from and contradictory to his testimony delivered on the trial. Hence it was not error to permit the state to support the witness by showing that shortly after the transaction, and before any motive or inducement existed to fabricate, he made statements in the matter similar to his testimony delivered on the trial. Branch’s Annotated Penal Code, sec. 181; Kipper v. State, 45 Texas Crim. Rep., 386, 77 S. W.,

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Williams v. State, 49 S.W.2d 772, 120 Tex. Crim. 288, 1932 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 263 (Tex. 1932).

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