Beam v. State, 17640

Decision Date13 November 1951
Docket NumberNo. 17640,17640
Citation208 Ga. 497,67 S.E.2d 573
PartiesBEAM v. STATE
CourtGeorgia Supreme Court

C. C. Pittman, W. B. Greene, Cartersville, for plaintiff in error.

Warren Akin, Sol. Gen., Cartersville, for defendant in error.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court.

WYATT, Justice.

1. The only argument presented in this court in so far as the general grounds of the motion for new trial are concerned is, 'We respectfully insist that a new trial should be granted on the general grounds.' We deem it sufficient to say that the evidence was ample to authorize the verdict. There is no merit in the general grounds.

2. Special ground one of the motion for new trial complains because the trial judge excluded from evidence testimony to the effect that the deceased bore the reputation of being a person of violant, turbulent, and dangerous character. 'The true rule * * * is that the defendant can offer proof that the deceased was a person of violent, turbulent, and dangerous character only where it is shown, prima facie, that the prisoner had been assailed and was honestly seeking to defend himself.' Doyal v. State, 70 Ga. 134. See also Crawley v. State, 137 Ga. 777, 74 S.E. 537; Hanye v. State, 99 Ga. 212, 25 S.E. 307; Gardner v. State, 90 Ga. 310, 17 S.E. 86. The foundation for this character of evidence can not be furnished by the defendant's statement alone. See Chapman v. State, 155 Ga. 393, 117 S.E. 321; Jones v. State, 154 Ga. 423, 114 S.E. 326; Weaver v. State, 200 Ga. 598, 37 S.E.2d 802. The only testimony relied upon in the instant case to lay the foundation for this kind of testimony was the evidence of a boy eight years of age, who testified on direct examination that the deceased put his hand in his pocket just before the shooting; then on cross-examination said that he could not see the deceased; and then finally, in answer to a question propounded by the trial judge, said: 'He didn't put it in his pocket. He put it down by the side of his leg.' It further appeared from the evidence that the deceased had made no attack on the plaintiff in error, and that, in a discussion between the deceased and the plaintiff in error about all the deceased said was, 'This is a dam free county and I can say what I want do.' It further appeared that the deceased was shot in the back. Under these circumstances, it was not error to exclude evidence of the general reputation of the deceased for violence.

3. Special grounds two and three of the motion for new trial complain because the solicitor-general read to the court in the presence of the jury...

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7 cases
  • Robinson Imp. Co. v. Tasa Coal Co., CC839
    • United States
    • West Virginia Supreme Court
    • December 17, 1957
    ... ... alleged non-payment of taxes returned delinquent for the year 1931 and sold in 1932 to the State of West Virginia; that said oil and gas interests were not, in truth and fact, delinquent and the ... ...
  • Wilson v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • July 14, 1967
    ...of the United States Supreme Court to the court in the presence of the jury. Nix v. State, 149 Ga. 304, 100 S.E. 197; Beam v. State, 208 Ga. 497(3), 67 S.E.2d 573; Ayers v. State, 215 Ga. 325(4), 110 S.E.2d 669. Nor can we say that there is any merit in the defendant's contention that he wa......
  • Jackson v. State, 22418
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • April 13, 1964
    ...that it was not error to read the quoted excerpt, less the first sentence, to the court in the hearing of the jury. In Beam v. State, 208 Ga. 497(2), 67 S.E.2d 573, this court in a unanimous opinion held that it was not error to read the excerpt read in Nix v. State (supra). We do not belie......
  • Tucker v. State, 31398
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • October 5, 1976
    ... ... Nix v. State, 149 Ga. 304, 100 S.E. 197; Beam" v. State, 208 Ga. 497(3), 67 S.E.2d 573; Ayers v. State, 215 Ga. 325(4), 110 S.E.2d 669.' There is no merit in these enumerations of error ...   \xC2" ... ...
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