86 Ala. 69 | Ala. | 1888
The established rule in this State is, that the grant or refusal of a continuance rests in the sound discretion of the trial court, and is not revisable on error.- — -1 Brick. Dig., 774, §§ 2, 3; 1 Brick. Dig. 404, § 1. Whether there might, in a possible case, exist such a gross and palpable abuse of this discretion as to authorize a reversal, we do not decide. We discover nothing to except the present case from the general rule above stated. The court had a clear right to put the accused to a showing, with the view of testing the merits of the application, and thus enlightening the exercise of the judicial discretion. The refusal of the accused to state the names of his witnesses, and what he expected to prove by them, or else to show good reasons for such refusal, when
Tbe trial court did not, in our opinion, go further than legally authorized in its examination of tbe witness, Harry T. . Smith, who was tbe attorney of tbe accused, nor require him to make any disclosure in tbe present case not warranted by law. He was only required to state facts tending to prove bis employment by tbe accused to demand of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company compensation for tbe trunks alleged to have been lost by tbe negligence of tbe company, and tbe delivery to tbe attorney of tbe baggage checks as evidence of tbe company’s liability.
Under these principles, the rulings of the court on the evidence were free from error. No exceptions are otherwise taken, so far as appears from the record.
Affirmed.