Opinion

Brown v. State

  • 75 Tex. Crim. 315
  • 170 S.W. 716
  • 1914 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 468
Court
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Filed
Oct 28, 1914
Status
Published
Author
Habpeb
On the bench
Habpeb
Cited by
0 cases

The opinion

HABPEB, Judge.

—Appellant was convicted of selling intoxicating liquor in prohibition territory, and his punishment assessed at one year confinement in the State penitentiary.

Will Tolbert testified he purchased a bottle of whisky from appellant and paid him a dollar for it, therefore this would authorize the conviction of appellant.

He first complains of the action of the court in overruling his application for a postponement of the case on account of the absence of four witnesses. By the qualification of the court to the bill it is shown that all the witnesses named in the application attended court except one— appellant’s daughter; she lived in Oklahoma, consequently the issuance of a subpoena would not be diligence. Ho effort was made to take her depositions, and under such circumstances the court did not err in overruling the application.

The foreman of the grand jury signed the indictment but his name wras not indorsed or signed on the back thereof below the words “a true hill.” This did not vitiate the indictment, and the court did not err in so holding.

Appellant requested the court to instruct the jury that the "defendant in a criminal case is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is established

*317

by legal and competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, is not a mere fiction of the law, but is a substantial right of the defendant

equal to a witness

in his behalf.” This is not the law, and the court did not err in refusing the requested instructions. He gave the usual and customary instruction as to presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt, and this was all that was necessary.

[Rehearing denied November 18, 1914.—Reporter.]

The judgment is affirmed.

Affirmed.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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