83 P. 226 | Idaho | 1905
— The defendant and one Fred Hanning were charged jointly on information by the prosecuting attorney
“See. 7860. When two or more defendants are jointly indicted for a felony, any defendant requiring it must be tried separately. In other cases the defendants jointly indicted may be tried separately or jointly in the discretion of the court.
“See. 7861. When two or more persons are included in the same indictment, the court may, at any time before the defendants have gone into their defense, on the application of the district attorney, direct any defendant to be discharged from the indictment, that he may be a witness for the people.
“Sec. 7862. When two or more persons are included in the same indictment, and the court is of opinion that in regard to a particular defendant there is not sufficient evidence to put him on his defense, it must order him to be discharged from the indictment before the evidence is closed, that he may be a witness for his codefendants. ’ ’
It may often happen that either the state or one of several defendants jointly indicted will want to place one of the defendants on the witness-stand, and the foregoing sections were evidently enacted for the purpose of enabling the court in its discretion to compel such a witness to testify. But in view of the requirements of section 8143, where it is enacted that “A defendant in a criminal action or proceeding to which he is a party is not, without his consent, a competent witness for or against himself,” and the court would have no right to compel one of two or more defendants jointly indicted to testify either for the state or the defendant without first discharging him from the indictment or information. As soon, however, as one of the defendants has entered the plea of guilty, the requirements of the provisions of these
Defendant’s second assignment of error is that “The instructions given by the court which were excepted to at the time by the defendant in that the same were misleading, as they did not relate to the corroborative evidence which was necessary in aid to the defendant Hanning’s testimony to support the corpus delicti
The third assignment of error is as to the court permitting the prosecuting attorney to cross-examine the defendant while on the stand in regard to where he kept his money after the
Lastly, it is urged that the evidence of the accomplice is not sufficiently corroborated by other and independent evidence to support the verdict. It is unnecessary and can serve no useful purpose for us to recite the evidence in this opinion. We have examined it carefully and feel that it justified the jury in returning the verdict of guilty. We find no error in the case. The judgment is affirmed.