32 Pa. Super. 82 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1906
Opinion by
The defendant was indicted and convicted upon a charge of aiding and abetting a misdemeanor, to wit: maintaining a common bawdy house and place for the sale of liquor on Sunday and without a license. The first assignment of error is without merit. The answer to the point'; taken in connection with the general charge of the court, fully and fairly presented the defendant’s theory of the case. The rule to govern the deliberation of the jury was stated to be as follows : “ The commonwealth must make out a case which convinces the jury of the guilt of the defendant, and the various elements óf it, and all of them, so that there is no reasonable doubt left in the minds of the jury that the commonwealth’s case is made out. The duty of the jury, therefore, is to take all the evidence they have heard, both of the commonwealth and the defendant, and apply it to their own common sense, their knowledge of human affairs, and to make up their minds whether or not they are convinced, they are sure, that there is no reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. If they are so convinced, then it is their duty to find him guilty; and if not so convinced, then it is their duty to find him not guilty.”
The second assignment of error raises a question that is not free from difficulty, and it is important to consider the surroundings which developed it. One McElwain was the director of the department of public works ; one Scandret, the director of public safety, and this defendant, a commissioner of highways in the department of public works of Allegheny city, each being inducted into office in the spring of 1908.. Soon
The district attorney of the county had associated with him as assistants in the prosecution of' this case, two prominent members of the Allegheny county bar, and to whom he transferred the active management of the case. In the concluding argument before the jury, one of these counsel, speaking for the .district attorney, commented upon the crime with which this defendant was charged, and of his association with the two other public officials, in the language which is the subject of this assignment of error, and which has been regularly brought on the record for our review. The attention of the court was promptly called to it, and an exception was taken to the objectionable parts of the speech as being contrary to law, and calculated to .inflame the minds of the jury against the defendant.
The law on this subject has been so frequently declared that there can be no doubt as to the privilege of counsel and the duty of the court under such circumstances. The object of a trial at law is to do exact justice under the evidence between the parties. Allusions to the wealth or poverty of the parties, strength of municipal or private corporations, and the helplessness of ordinary citizens, are proper when they are. made in a spirit of fairness, and for the purpose of stimulating the jury to a careful and conscientious discharge of their duty in the particular ease; but when such allusions are made and changes are rung upon them, for the evident purpose of inflaming the passions and prejudices of the jurors, and leading them to disregard their duty and overlook the actual facts, or set aside the clear legal rights, they are improper and reprehensible, and the advocate who makes them forgets his official oath, and the judge who permits them neglects a clear official duty,. is the language of the Supreme Court in Henry v. Huff, 143 Pa. 548. It is. further said in Holden v. Penna. Railroad Co.,
The assignments of error are overruled, the judgment is affirmed, and it is ordered that the record be returned to the court below to the end that the sentence of the court may be carried into effect, and the defendant committed for .the term of his imprisonment which had not expired at the time this appeal was made a supersedeas.