Greer v. United States
| Decision Date | 28 January 1918 |
| Docket Number | No. 504,504 |
| Citation | 38 S.Ct. 209,62 L.Ed. 469,245 U.S. 559 |
| Parties | GREER v. UNITED STATES |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
Messrs. J. C. Denton and Frank Lee, both of Muskogee, Oki., for petitioner.
Mr. Assistant Attorney General Warren, for the United States.
The petitioner was tried for introducing whiskey from without the State into that part of Oklahoma that formerly was within the Indian Territory. He was convicted and sentenced to fine and imprisonment. Material error at the trial is alleged because the Court refused to instruct the jury that the defendant was presumed to be a person of good character, and that the supposed presumption should be considered as evidence in favor of the accused, with some further amplifications not necessary to be repeated. The court did instruct the jury that the de- fendant was presumed to be innocent of the charge until his guilt was established beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the presumption followed him throughout the trial until so overcome. The Circuit Court of Appeals sustained the Court below. 240 Fed. 320, 153 C. C. A. 246. This judgment was in accordance with a carefully reasoned earlier decision in the same circuit, Price v. United States, 218 Fed. 149, 132 C. C. A. 1, L. R. A. 1915D, 1070, with an acute statement in United States v. Smith (D. C.) 217 Fed. 839, and with numerous state cases and text books. But as other Circuit Courts of Appeal had taken a different view, Mullen v. United States, 106 Fed. 892, 46 C. C. A. 22; Garst v. United States, 180 Fed. 339, 344, 345, 103 C. C. A. 469, also taken by other cases and text books, it becomes necessary for this Court to settle the doubt.
Obviously the character of the defendant was a matter of fact, which, if investigated, might turn out either way. It is not established as matter of law that all persons indicted are men of good character. If it were a fact regarded as necessarily material to the main issues it would be itself issuable, and the Government would be entitled to put in evidence whether the prisoner did so or not. As the Government cannot put in evidence except to answer evidence introduced by the defence the natural inference is that the prisoner is allowed to try to prove a good character for what it may be worth, but that the choice whether to raise that issue rests with him. The rule that if he prefers not to go into the matter the Government cannot argue from it...
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...will not commit criminal acts of violence in the future has no basis in law or common sense. Cf. Greer v. United States, 245 U.S. 559, 560-61, 38 S.Ct. 209, 210, 62 L.Ed. 469 (1918) (trial court correctly refused to instruct jury that defendant was presumed to be of good III. CONCLUSION We ......
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...a probability of his guilt. Not that the law invests the defendant with a presumption of good character, Greer v. United States, 245 U.S. 559 [38 S.Ct. 209, 62 L.Ed. 469 (1918) ] but it simply closes the whole matter of character, disposition and reputation on the prosecution's case-in-chie......
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