46 F. 917 | N.D. Cal. | 1891
Whether the depositing of an obscene letter in the post-office with no address to it at all would constitute an offense under that act of June 18, 1888, amending section 8893, Rev. St. U. S., it is not necessary now to decide I do not contend or suppose that the sole object of the act was to protect the feelings of parties to w.hom the obscene letter might be addressed. I do not think it was to protect the post-office clerks, either, from being contaminated by reading such objectionable communications. I suppose, though, that, should it appear that a man had a mistress or other person, and that they indulged in such letters and corresponded with each other, and each were sending the letters without objection, and in fact pleasure, 1 think they could be both indicted and punished for using the mails and carrying on the correspondence. It is not necessary that the feelings of the party to whom it is addressed be lacerated; nor would the fact that it was a pleasure and gratification to the person to receive it, — that would not absolve the prisoner from punishment for sending it on through the mail. But all the cases seem to show that further proof must be exacted in addition to the confession, and there must be corroborative circumstances, not amounting by themselves to absolute proof, but taken -with the confession, and be sufficient to satisfy the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that a. crime has been committed, and that the prisoner is the guilty person; because, if full proofs of the commission of crime were exacted, they might not be sufficient of themselves, wholly irrespective of the confession, to establish beyond a doubt that the crime has been committed; but in some way the jury has got to be satisfied, either by con
Supposing all you say you can prove were proved, and I were to charge the jury, as I certainly would, that they must be satisfied that this letter was mailed, what proof would they have, what solitary fact tends to show that, in this case, independently of this confession? The corpus delicti, therefore, rests entirely upon his confession. There is no proof that this letter went through the mail; not a particle. It was answered through the mail, by whom we do not know; and it was taken out of the mail, (the decoy letter was, by him,) but the original letter, which led to the writing of the decoy, was not proved by a scintilla of proof to have been mailed. It is not necessary that there should be some proof, or half proof; but that there must be some corroborative circumstances, when the existence of the crime itself depends on a confession, is a fundamental proposition; and, unless the jury was satisfied of that fact by competent proof, a verdict of acquittal must follow. You cannot punish a person unless you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed, and also that he is the only one who committed it. I do not know that there is anything more to be said about it. Considering all the proofs that you have presented or are in your power to produce, I do not see a particle of proof as to how the letter reached that young lady’s hand, and her mother’s, etc., and found its way into the policeman’s possession; nothing, I say, except his confession.
A good many of the decisions turned upon the general idea of the caution with which confessions should be received. The rule does not stand upon the ground merely that the testimony is unreliable, and liable to mistake, or that it is given under circumstances of duress, or something approaching duress. The slightest thing, say, “You had better confess;” “Make a clean breast of it,” — causes a confession to be rejected. Why? Not because it affords a reasonable ground that an innocent person at such invitation confesses himself guilty of a crime which he never committed, because a rational person can see that no innocent person would be induced to say that he was guilty of a crime of which he was innocent, but the law will not allow a confession, to be extracted from a person unless under the fullest guaranty that it is spontaneous and free, and without any influence brought to bear upon him; not that it raises a presumption that perhaps a person has confessed a crime of which he is innocent, but because the law won’t allow it. There are now no thumb-screws, and those practices which prevailed on the continent, so no one can betray him but himself; and unless it is spontaneous beyond all doubt, and voluntary, it is rejected, as I say, not because the confession may not be true, but because the law will not allow what falls from a prisoner to be received in evidence, on the ground that he is not bound to betray himself. Perhaps they press it a great deal too far, and even by the state statute here and elsewhere the committing magistrate is bound to caution the man that he need not answer any questions; that he has a right to hold his peace; and that, if he does so answer, his con
If this case had any corroborative proof I would be inclined to leave it to the jury. It would be well to look at the cases that require the jury to accept the proof of accomplices. I do not suppose they have .full proof of the man’s crime or they would not put the accomplices on the stand; but it must be' to satisfy the jury that the testimony is true beyond a reasonable doubt. If I told the jury, “Gentlemen, the coniession must be corroborated in this matter, so far as it relates to the corpus delicti, or that .the crime has been committed, and I see no proof of that whatever,” and I should charge them that way, what is the use of detaining them? I might as well instruct them to render a verdict right now; and, if I am satisfied that the circuit court would grant a writ of error, and set the verdict aside if rendered, there is no use of going through a proceeding which I see would be abortive and useless at this time. I do not know' of any technical or other objection to the court saying, at the beginning of the cause, upon the district attorney’s opening: “If the district attorney proves to your absolute sat
Mr. Cook. I think the letter is pretty good proof of that.
The Court. I don’t want to go into the question of insanity. The jury will come in to-morrow morning, and I will tell them that if the facts stated were proved no conviction could be had.
Here a recess was taken until the next day, at 11 a. m.
(charging jury.') You have been sworn to try this case. Judge Hoffman, upon hearing the statement of the district attorney, setting forth the facts which he expected to prove, has become convinced that there is not sufficient corroborative evidence to justify a jury in finding a verdict of guilty, and that it would be his duty to instruct the jury to find a verdict in favor of the defendant. As Judge Hoffman is unable to be present to-day, I am here simply to speak for him, to announce to you his conclusion in the matter, and to instruct you to appoint some one of your number as foreman, and to find a verdict of not guilty.
The jury thereupon returned a verdict of not guilty.