16 Gratt. 547 | Va. | 1864
The record in this case nowhere states the facts proved, or all the evidence offered upon the trial. Each bill of exceptions sets out only so much of the testimony as was necessary to show the relevancy of the question raised and decided by the court; and the correctness of the "rulings of the court- upon the isolated questions is the only matter for consideration here. Erom the bill of exceptions first in order, numbered second in the transcript of the record, it appears, that after the accused had been permitted to withdraw the plea of not guilty, theretoftíre pleaded, he moved to quash the indictment upon the ground that he had not been sufficiently and legally examined by a properly constituted examining court, in this: that R. D. Sanxay one of said court, had acted as coroner by virtue of his authority as a justice of the peace in and for the city of Bichmond, and so had disqualified himself from sitting as one of the justices upon the said supposed examining court. And in aid of his motion, he offered in evidence the record.of said examining court, from which it seems that on the second day of the court, and the court-having fully heard the evidence, .the prisoner moved the court that further proceedings in the case should be discontinued, because B. D. Sanxay, one of the sitting justices in the case, acted as a coroner in the case; which motion was overruled. The prisoner thereupon
After the motion to quash the indictment was so overruled, the accused as it appears by the bill 'of exceptions numbered three in the transcript of the record, tendered two pleas 'in abatement, the first, alleging that said E. D. Sanxay, one of the five justices who sat upon the examining court, had formed and expressed a fixed opinion of his guilt, &c. The second that he had not been legally examined because the said E. D- Sanxay, one of the five justices, had acted as coroner, &c. Which pleas the court upon motion of the commonwealth rejected; to which decision the accused
The constitution and functions of the examining court are regulated and prescribed by the Code of 1860, ch. 205. It is in effect- nothing more than a more formal examination and inquiry into the facts than could be made by a single justice sitting generally alone, without time to examine carefully, or the aid of counsel to assist his deliberations. Under such circumstances he may err (supposing the facts to be undisputed) upon the question whether in law they malee out a felony; or he may be mistaken as to the facts. As an additional safeguard for the liberty and protection of the accused, tlie examining court is interposed. It must be satisfied that there is a corpus delicti, that a felony has been committed, a proposition in regard to which they can have the benefit of consultation and argument. If satisfied on that point, and that there is probable cause to charge the accused therewith, he is to be remanded for trial. If entitled to bail they may bail him. But if it appeal’ to the court, that there is not probable cause for charging the accused with the offence he shall be discharged. And an effect is given to such order of discharge which a discharge by a magistrate does not possess; the accused shall not thereafter be questioned for the same offence. But when they remand, they pronounce no definitive sentence upon the question of the guilt of the accused. Their judgment on the questions of law or fact is not evidence on the trial, and can have no influence upon the result. There would seem to be therefore no more reason for entertaining a motion to quash an indictment by a challenge for favor as to a justice of the examining court, than there would be to a committing justice where there is no examining court. The examining court is peculiar to Yirginia. And no case has been produce d where such a motion has been made or sustained, on
As to the constitution of the court itself, the 4-th see. of eh. 205, provides that the justice who committed or recognized the accused for examination shall not, without the consent of the accused entered of record, be one of the examining court. This is the only exception allowed or provided for by law; and the expression of one excludes all others in a court consisting of duly qualified and acting justices. The coroner does not fall within the letter of the statute and the court could not embrace him except by assuming legislative power. If it were important it might perhaps be shown that he does not fall within the principle of the exception. The committing justice has examined the evidence. He has solemnly adjudged upon the sufficiency of the evidence to charge the accused with the offence. The examining court is to enquire into the same question; and it was therefore provided, that the committing magistrate who
The coroner does not pass judicially upon the question whether the evidence sufficiently charges the accused with the offence. He is committed judicially to no such opinion, and may in fact have made up no definite opinion or have come to a different conclusion from that at which the jury have arrived. I think upon all the grounds insisted upon here, the court below did right in overruling the motion to quash the indictment, and in rejecting the two pleas in abatement tendered by the accused. .
The fourth bill of exceptions, after setting out the testimony of a witness who made the post mortem examination of the body of the deceased, and of several other witnesses who detailed the occurrences as remembered by them respectively, which took place at the time and place of the homicide, gives the narrative of J. E. Goodwin, a witness of the commonwealth, of what had occurred on that occasion. In his evidence the witness said amongst other things, “ That the first he saw of the accused was whilst witness was waiting for the deceased, in his conversation with the officer, and he saw the
In the bill .of exceptions the narrative of this witness is continuous, without discrimination in chief, and on his cross examination. It appears sufficiently, however, .from the whole deposition as recorded, that the first statements quoted were made on his examination in chief, the last on his cross examination. And this is fully shown towards the close of the bill of exceptions and after the testimony of the witness T. H. Quarles is set forth. It is then stated that on the cross examina
The counsel for the accused then proposed to introduce evidence for the purpose of proving that only one witness at the examining court mentioned Quarles’ movements, and that that witness was the witness G oodwin; which' evidence they proposed to follow up by asking Quarles if the witness who spoke of him at the examining court did not, in his examination, say that he, Quarles, after coming out of the Capitol gate with the accused, went down 10th street on the side opposite to that on which the said witness stood. To the introduction of which evidence the Attorney for the Commonwealth objected, and the court sustained the objection, and refused to allow such evidence to be given to the jury: to which decision the prisoner excepted.
As the witness Quarles had been asked on his cross-examination, whether Goodwin did not, in his examination before the examining court, make the statement aforesaid with reference to Quarles’ movements* after leaving the gate, and no objection seems to have been made to the inquiry, it is probable the. decision of the court was founded on the latter objection. However that may be, if the testimony was improper on either ground it should have been rejected; if legal the accused was deprived of the benefit of it by the decision of the court. The stress of the argument here on the part of the commonwealth has been rested on the first ground, that the evidence was incompetent; that the matter in regard to which it was attempted to contradict the witness was collateral to the real issue in the cause.
It is a well settled rule, found in all the text writers upon evidence, that a witness cannot be cross-examined as to any fact which is collateral and irrelevant to the issue, merely for the purpose of contradicting him by other evidence, if he should deny it, thereby to discredit his testimony. And if a question is put to a witness which is collateral or irrelevant to the issue, his answer cannot be contradicted by the party who asked the question, but it is conclusive against him.- 1 Greenl. Evidence § 449. The rule was recognized, and the reason stated why his answer cannot be contradicted in the case of Charlton v. Unis, 4 Gratt. 58; where it is said this would be unjust to the witness and the party introducing him; for though every witness may be supposed to come prepared to sustain the truth of his testimony given on the trial, he cannot be expected to come prepared to prove the truth of every collateral statement he may have made on another occasion.
It was held also in-the same case, that it is competent to impeach the credit of a witness by proof that he has made statements inconsistent with the testimony given on the trial. And accordingly we find it laid down in Greenleaf, ubi siupra, that it is not irrelevant to inquire of the witness whether he has not on some former occasion given a different account of a matter of fact to which he has already testified, in order to lay a foundation for impeaching his testimony by contradicting it. These expressions in the opinion and authority referred to “the testimony given on the trial” “to which he has
In the case referred to from Grattan the plaintiff having read the deposition of a witness, the defendant to discredit him, introduced an affidavit made by the witness a short time before the institution of the suit, stating various matters; and then introduced evidence contradicting one of the statements contained in the affidavit, thereby to discredit the witness by showing a want of memory or of veracity in respect to that statement. This was held to be improper.
Applying those principles to this case, if the witness Goodwin had not referred to the movements of .Quarles in his testimony in chief, but if this had been brought out upon cross-examination, and shown to be collateral or irrelevant to the issue, his answer could not have been contradicted by the p^rty who asked the question, but would have been conclusive against him. But that was not the case here. On his examination in chief he said that he saw the accused and Quarles whom he knew by sight, just before they came through the gate from the Capitol Square nearly opposite' to Manassas Hall. The gate was revolved on the centre and Quarles came out on the left side of the gate, and the accused came out on the right side. Quarles came out first and witness did not recollect which way he went or what became of him, as he kept his eyes on the accused: and he then proceeds to detail the circumstances which in their nature were calculated to occupy all of his attention. This statement necessarily tended to give weight to his details of- the main transaction; to show that his atten
It is not for the court to say what weight such testimony should have upon the jury, whether it tended, to weaken his testimony by showing a defect of memory, or to discredit it by showing that he liad made a false statement with a view that his testimony upon other matters should make a deeper impression. I think therefore that it was competent for the accused after asking the witness, Goodwin, upon his cross examination, and with a view of contradicting him, whether he had not said in his testimony before the examining court, that Hr. Quarles, after coming out of the gate with the accused went down 10th street on the opposite side from that on which he, Goodwin, was standing; and if he
I think, therefore, that the court erred, to the prejudice of the accused, in excluding the testimosiy he proposed to introduce for the purpose of contradicting and so discrediting the witness, Goodwin, as "set forth in the fourth bill of exceptions; and that for such error the judgment must be reversed, and the verdict of the jury set aside; and the cause remanded for a new trial of the accused upon the indictment.
This conclusion renders it unnecessary to express any opinion upon the propriety of the decisions of the court below upon the motion for continuance on account
Daniel and Robertson Js. concurred in the opinion of the President, except that they did not think it important whether the statement of the witness Good-win came out on his examination in chief or on cross-examination.
Monguee J. concurred in the. opinion, except that he thought that the statement was relevant testimony.
Judgment eeveesed.