207 Wis. 193 | Wis. | 1932
The testimony on behalf of the State is to the effect that Helen King is the niece of the defendant Leo Haley, and that sometime during the month of June, 1929,
It is conceded that under the law of this state the judgment of conviction may stand upon the uncorroborated testimony of the outraged female, but it is contended that her testimony given upon the preliminary hearing, and upon the two trials had herein, contains such glaring discrepancies as to discredit her testimony to the extent that it is unbelievable and furnishes no support for the judgment and sentence of conviction.
An examination of the record reveals certain discrepancies between the testimony given by Helen King upon the preliminary examination and upon the two trials had in this case, the first trial having resulted in a disagreement of the jury. ■ But there is quite complete accord in the testimony given by her upon the two trials of the case, except in one particular which will be mentioned hereafter.
Upon the preliminary examination she testified to not more than three acts of intercourse with the defendant, affirming that the first act of intercourse occurred in the defendant’s house in September, whereas upon the trial she testified
It appears that her testimony upon the preliminary hearing was given about three or four weeks prior to the time she gave birth to a child of which she was pregnant, allegedly, by reason of her intercourse with defendant. At the time she gave this testimony she was fourteen years of age. She was about to give birth to a child. She had never had any experience in a court room. Her surroundings were unfamiliar and necessarily distracting to her. The juvenile probation officer testified that she escorted her to the room where this preliminary hearing was had; that she was in a nervous condition amounting almost to a collapse. At the time of this hearing she was confined in a Sisters’ home at Green Bay, awaiting the birth of her child. She did not swear to the original complaint. That was sworn to by her sister, and alleged the act of intercourse to have taken place on the 12th day of February, 1930, which accounts for the variance between the pleading and the proof. She came from Green Bay to Oconto county to testify in that preliminary hearing in the forenoon of the day upon which it was held. The district attorney examined her very briefly on behalf of the State. He asked her just eighteen questions, and he interrogated her only with reference to the act of intercourse mentioned in the complaint. Thereafter she was cross-examined by the attorney for the defendant,
Discrepancies in the testimony of witnesses given upon various occasions are not at all uncommon, and it has never been considered that such discrepancies necessarily render the testimony of such witnesses incredible so that a court may say that they are unworthy of belief. As was pointed out in State v. Hints, 200 Wis. 636, 229 N. W. 54, a determination of the weight of the evidence rests with the jury. In this case the jury was charged that if they found that any witness had wilfully sworn falsely as to any material fact in the case, they were at liberty to disregard all the testimony of that witness. The contention that the testimony of Helen King was discredited to the extent as to render it entirely incredible was no doubt urged upon the jury, notwithstanding which they found the defendant guilty, and the trial judge, who had had the opportunity of observing the witnesses who testified in the case, approved their verdict.
It has already been stated that there was a marked discrepancy in her testimony upon the two trials in one certain
When the defendant and his wife ascertained that Helen was pregnant, no attempt whatever was made to discover who was responsible for the pregnancy. The defendant does not claim that he ever asked her who was responsible for her condition, nor is there any testimony to show that his wife made any attempt to ascertain the identity of the one who had committed the outrage. This was certainly unusual conduct on the part of those charged with the responsibility for the welfare of this child. It can very well be appreciated that they might not want her condition to be given'
Cases such as this are always difficult for a reviewing court. It is the established rule that the testimony of the outraged female, especially when supported by circumstances such as we have here, constitutes a sufficient basis for a verdict of guilt. Cobb v. State, 191 Wis. 652, 211 N. W. 785; Richards v. State, 192 Wis. 20, 211 N. W. 669. While we have made no attempt to set out the evidence in detail, it has received our most serious consideration, with the result that we can discover no reason for disturbing the judgment.
Before closing this opinion, however, we desire to remind the attorneys that rule 9 provides that the brief shall give “references to the pages of the record and printed case for each statement and proposition based on the record.” Neither brief in this case refers us to the page either of the record or the printed case containing the authority for the statements of fact asserted. This has greatly added to the labors of the court in our investigation of the case. For example, it is stated in the brief of the plaintiff in error that “it is an undisputed fact in this case that Mr. Horne, district attorney of Forest county, is a bachelor, did not maintain a home and has no children, and that at no time did Helen King talk with him or have any such conversation as she outlined.”
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.