Blanton v. State

• Decision Date: 23 November 1960
• Docket Number: No. A-12887,A-12887
• Citation: 357 P.2d 243
• Parties: John Junior BLANTON, Plaintiff in Error, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Defendant in Error.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

Page 243

357 P.2d 243

John Junior BLANTON, Plaintiff in Error, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Defendant in Error.

No. A-12887.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.

Nov. 23, 1960.

Syllabus by the Court.

1. In rape prosecution, where the evidence of prosecutrix is contradictory, uncertain, improbable or she has been impeached, it is necessary under the law that her testimony be corroborated. The converse of this rule is also true, that one may be convicted upon the uncorroborated evidence of the prosecutrix where her testimony is not contradictory, uncertain or improbable, and she has not been impeached.

2. Record examined, and held that it was not necessary that the evidence of prosecutrix be corroborated; but also that it was sufficiently corroborated under the law.

3. The Court of Criminal Appeals will not set aside the verdict of a jury where there is a conflict in the evidence. It is only when the evidence is insufficient to sustain the judgment and sentence that such action will be taken.

4. While county attorney may interrogate defendant concerning other convictions for crime, for the purpose of affecting his credibility, the trial court should not allow the examination to be enlarged by asking the details of the crime in which conviction was sustained, as such examination might cause the jury to place undue emphasis on former conviction of accused and thus cause them to convict mainly because of bad reputation of the accused.

5. Record examined and held, under facts peculiar to within case, cross-examination by the county attorney complained of and set out in opinion found not sufficient to constitute reversible error.

Appeal from the District Court of Carter County; Kenneth Shilling, Judge.

John Junior Blanton was convicted of the crime of assault with intent to commit rape, and appeals. Affirmed.

Alvin C. Bruce, Ardmore, for plaintiff in error.

Mac Q. Williamson, Atty. Gen., Sam H. Lattimore, Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant in error.

PER CURIAM.

John Junior Blanton was charged by information filed in the district court of Carter County with rape, first degree, was tried before a jury and found guilty of the included offense of assault with intent to commit rape, but the jury being unable to agree upon the punishment left that to the court, who assessed a penalty of five years confinement in the State Penitentiary.

For reversal counsel in brief argues two propositions:

'First: That the court erred in refusing to sustain plaintiff in error's demurrer to the state's evidence on account of insufficiency of the evidence.

'Second: Errors of law occurring at the trial, which were duly excepted to by plaintiff in error.

The State has not favored the Court with a brief.

We shall treat the issues in the order presented, referring hereinafter to the plaintiff in error as defendant.

Treating the first issue, the question simply is, did the State make out a case.

The prosecuting witness and alleged victim, Faye Knight, testified that at the time of the trial she was eighteen years of age, but was seventeen years old at the time she said she came to Ardmore, on August 27, 1959, because 'Mrs. Shantz' had sent her to Judge Legate, the county judge, by reason of her being pregnant. She testified that when she got to Ardmore she went to see Major Kee (of the Salvation Army), who sent her to the Central Rooms, and later gave her a meal ticket to eat at Dessie's Cafe. After the meal she decided to walk down on Caddo Street, shown to be what is known as a 'tough' street in Ardmore. She said she wanted to look around at some second-hand clothes and see if perchance her aunt and uncle, June and Clark Clement, of Healdton, were down on that street. She admitted on cross-examination that they usually visited and traded on Caddo Street on Saturdays, but said they sometimes would appear on other days of the week.

Witness went to a domino parlor and made inquiries. She said that she left the domino parlor and crossed the street to a fruit stand to make inquiries. Then she saw the defendant and another boy sitting in a car, and the defendant 'hollored' and said, 'Well, don't I know you?' She said that the defendant then pushed her into his car, and got her by the arm and pulled her. She said that the other boy in the car was Herbert West, who drove the car. She said that this was after dark, about 9:30 at night; and that the two men drove her to the country to the Sway Back beer joint. She said they stayed there a short time, but did not go in. That her companions were waiting for another car; that when it arrived they talked to the driver, then drove on; that they would not let her get out. Witness denied that she drank any beer. She further testified:

'We went about a half a mile, or a mile, on down that there road, and then he stopped, and Junior Blanton told Herbert West to go get his car, somebody borrowed it or something. Then Junior Blanton started putting his hands on me, and I told him that I wasn't that there kind of a girl. He said he didn't care that he was going to anyway.

'Q. Is that what he said, that he was going to anyway? A. He was going to get some anyway.

'2. What did you say then? A. Well, he got out on that--on the other side of the car door, and about time I got my arm on this side, well he was on that side.

'Q. Well, now, we're talking about these sides. What side did you put your arm on? A. On the right, I was sitting on the right and he was--and he was over on the--he skooted over that way to get out.

'Q. I see. A. By the time he got out, well, he was on that there other side.

'Q. Well, did you get out of the car? A. Well, yes, but he came over there and opened it.

'Q. I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, he came over there--A. He came over there and opened the door.

'Q. Well, did you get out then? A. Yes. And I started running.

'Q. Which way did you run, to the front of the car or the back of the car? A. Run to the back of the car.

'Q. Back of the car. What happened then? A. Well, he caught me and kind of pushed me down, and he skinned my leg, and then I got up and runned again, and he pushed me down again, then he started pulling on my blouse and then he pulled on my pants. Then finally he got them off.

'Q. What did he do when he got your panties off, Faye? Can you tell us?'

Witness, to the last question said that she 'could come out and tell' what defendant did. She used the vulgar name for the sexual act, being in meaning that defendant had sexual relations with her. Further she was asked and answered:

'Q. Do you know what a penis is, Faye? A. Yes.

'Q. What did he do with his penis? A. He stuck it in me.

'Q. Are you sure he put it in you? A. Yes. I'm sure.

'Q. Did he do anything to your brassiere at that time? A. Yes. He undone that little old strap thing.

'Q. What did he do then? A. He took it down and then he got to biting me.

'Q. Where did he bite you? A. On the left side of my breast.

'Q. Were you trying to fight him during this time? A. Yes.

'Q. What county were you in at the time this happened, Faye? A. Carter.

'Q. What happened after this was over? A. He went to that there--that there fellow, well, he went to that there whiskey joint.'

Witness further testified that after defendant got through, that Herbert West got on top of her. She said that the defendant had intercourse with her three or four times. No objection was interposed to the question and answer, and no motion was made to require the prosecution to elect. In fact, this question is not an issue anywhere in the proceedings. The instructions given by the court were not excepted to, and no different or additional instructions were requested.

Witness said that the defendant and West finally got back in the car in the front seat and put her in the back seat, and they then drove to a 'whiskey joint' where they stayed for about thirty minutes. She said that both of the men got out of the car, but kept watching her; that she motioned to the man who ran the place and asked him if he could get her away from there, but that he said no, that he owned the place. This was some time after 11:00 o'clock at night.

Witness stated that following this the defendant and West drove to defendant's sister's house and got a baby to take to defendant's mother. It was about two years old. They stopped at a drive-in and defendant gave the child and her each a coke.

Witness further testified:

'Q. What happened after that, Faye? A. Well--well, they took the baby home and they went back to that there--oh, back to that there whiskey joint and they was talking about gambling or something there, or about some money or something. And they--well, they was still in the car when they drove up, and they just got to talking, and they went out there to that there Nob Hill. And Junior Blanton and Herbert West got out of the car, and I was looking to see if it was out in the clear where I could run to that there Nob Hill. Is that the name?

'Q. Un-huh. A. And I went and told that there colored women and I went and stayed in that there rest room.

'Q. Well, now, whereabouts was this rest room and where was the colored lady? A. She was at the front.

'Q. Where, at Nob Hill? A. Un-huh.

'Q. Where did they go, do you know? A. Who?

'Q. Were they in Nob Hill? A. No. They went next door playing gambling in that little old white house.

'Q. All right. A. And I went running in and told them to call a cab, or something. And, so she told me to stay in that there rest room. And so, the cab came, but she told me not to go out there, cause them two boys was out there. And I don't know who called--called the police.

'Q. Did the police come out? A. Yes.

'Q. What did the police do then? A. It was some colored police come after me first, that was a colored place. And, so, he--I got--I ran to his car, and he called back to that there other car. And they took me--they brought me back to, I think, over to the jail house--then they took me to a hospital, to have a check-up. Then they...