118 Ga. 780 | Ga. | 1903
In the superior court of Baldwin county William Jackson was convicted of hog-stealing. He moved for a new trial, and the motion was overruled. He excepted. There was no doubt that the hog had. been stolen; that much was incontrovertibly proved. The question was as to Jackson’s connection with
The evidence as to finding part of the stolen meat in the house of the father of the accused was objected to upon two grounds. One of these was that this evidence was not admissible against the accused, but, if admissible at all, could be used only against his father. We think that the evidence sufficiently connected the accused with this meat. The meat was identified as that stolen, and it was shown that the accused had possession of other meat which the jury could well have found was part of the same hog. The other ground of objection was, that, as the witness had no search warrant, the admission of this evidence was contrary to the provision of the constitution that no person is to be compelled to furnish evidence against himself. In the first place, evidence is not generally rendered inadmissible by its having been discovered by ah illegal search. Williams v. State, 100 Ga. 511. In the second place, this evidence does not appear to have been gained by
Complaint is made that the court charged: “ The State is hot required to demonstrate to a mathematical certainty his guilt, but it does have to show to a moral and reasonable certainty his guilt. If the State has succeeded in doing this, then this presumption in his favor is removed, and it is your duty to convict. If the State has failed to do this, then it is your duty to acquit the defendant.” This question was settled, contrary to the position taken by the plaintiff in error, in the case of Bone v. State, 102 Ga. 387. See also Davis v. State, 114 Ga. 108. That the jury should take the law from the court is settled in this State. See annotations to .Penal Code, § 1033. And it is not error to so charge the jury. Nor is it error to charge that the particular facts of decisions read by counsel had nothing to do with the case so far as the jury were concerned, the law applicable to the facts in the case on trial being given them by the court in its charge. See Solomon v. State, 100 Ga. 81. Exception is taken to the court’s having charged .upon the subject of recent possession, on the ground that there was no evidence to authorize a charge on this subject. We are clear that this exception is not well taken.
The last exception is to the court’s having allowed the case to be reopened, after the witnesses for both sides had been dismissed and after the State’s counsel had concluded his argument and while counsel for the accused was making an argument. The case was reopened and one of the State’s witnesses was reintroduced and
Judgment affirmed.