151 Mich. 187 | Mich. | 1908
(after stating the facts). Counsel for defendant has 41 assignments of error. The most of them are too frivolous to require notice.
“ Q. Right there, in that vicinity.
“A. In Lawton, as far as I know, it was all right. It was good. I never heard anything against him.”
On cross-examination he testified that he knew nothing at all about his reputation over in the neighborhood where he lived.
In a prosecution for larceny it is competent to inquire into the defendant’s reputation for honesty in the community or neighborhood where he resides. The inquiry in each case should relate to the trait of character involved in the crime charged. 3 Greenleaf on Evidence (16th Ed.), § 25; Edgington v. United States, 164 U. S. 361. But the fact that the witness knew nothing of his reputation in the community where he lived rendered the testimony of the witness valueless, and the ruling of the court was error without prejudice.
3. Some witnesses, who testified that the reputation of Baugher for truth and veracity was bad, were asked if they would believe him under oath, but the court excluded the testimony. It was admissible. Hamilton v. People, 29 Mich. 173; Keator v. People, 32 Mich. 484. Justice Campbell exhaustively treated this question in the 29th Michigan, at page 184, and cites English and American authorities. The question there arose upon cross-examination. In Keator v. People the question arose upon direct examination, and the court held the inquiry competent.
The exclusion of this testimony would, as a rule, be prejudicial error. Where it clearly appears that the testimony offered and excluded or admitted could not have prejudiced the jury, appellate courts ought not to reverse the judgment. The essential facts in this case are undisputed. Defendant and Baugher, under cover of darkness, drove to the slaughter house from the home of Baugher; after getting the hides they drove to defendant’s house, and then drove all night to a distant market
Conviction affirmed.