State introduced over objection the confession of defendant that he had hit child. Information elicited by defense counsel of defense witnesses mentioned the child beating but was intended to show that defendant’s conscious appreciation was affected by previous glue sniffing at the time of the alleged incident. This court held that appellant did not waive the objection since the questions were directed to the appellant’s state of mind, i. e., his use or non-use of glue or drugs, a fact not mentioned in the confession.
How later courts described this case
- State introduced over objection the confession of defendant that he had hit child. Information elicited by defense counsel of defense witnesses mentioned the child beating but was intended to show that defendant’s conscious appreciation was affected by previous glue sniffing at the time of the alleged incident. This court held that appellant did not waive the objection since the questions were directed to the appellant’s state of mind, i. e., his use or non-use of glue or drugs, a fact not mentioned in the confession.
- “The confession, having been taken in violation of Section 51.09, is inadmissible as a matter of law.”
- admissions made by a juvenile require careful inquiry and special caution
- “If the Legislature had intended such a result, it would have clearly said so.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
DOUGLAS, Judge
(concurring).
The majority is correct in that part of the opinion which holds that the confession of the juvenile without the aid of counsel is inadmissible. Also correct is that part of the opinion which shows testimony elicited by appellant’s counsel is not tantamount to the same facts and details found in the confession. The rest of the opinion about introducing evidence to combat illegally introduced evidence is unnecessary to the opinion and is dictum.