Dixon v. State

Decision Date08 August 1902
Citation116 Ga. 186,42 S.E. 357
PartiesDIXON. v. STATE.
CourtGeorgia Supreme Court

CRIMINAL LAW — EVIDENCE — SELF-SERVING DECLARATIONS — INCRIMINATING STATEMENTS—TESTIMONY OF ACCOMPLICES—CONSPIRACY — WITNESSES — COMPETENCY — EXAMINATION—INSTRUCTIONS.

1. The verdict in this case having been fully warranted by the evidence, there is no merit in the general grounds of the motion for a new trial.

2. It is not, on the trial of a criminal case, competent to introduce in behalf of the accused evidence of his own self-serving declarations, whether made before or after the time of the commission of the alleged offense.

3. Though evidence of an incriminating statement made by a prisoner to another shortly after the latter had offered an inducement extending a hope of benefit is not admissible, another and entirely different incriminating statement, made hours afterwards, to the same person, under circumstances tending to show that it was purely voluntary, and not elicited bysuch inducement, may be proved; the question whether or not the statement was in fact free and voluntary being one for determination by the jury.

4. That one is a convict does not render him incompetent to testify as a witness in the courts of this state.

5. The question of allowing a witness to be recalled to the stand for further examination, at the instance of either party, is always one within the discretion of the presiding judge, which this court will never control unless manifestly abused.

6. The accused in a criminal case is not entitled, as matter of right, to the privilege of making a supplemental statement to the jury.

7. While a conviction of a felony cannot be lawfully had upon the testimony of an accomplice, unless the same be corroborated by other testimony directly connecting the accused on trial with the perpetration of the crime, it is not essential that the corroborating testimony shall, in and of itself, be sufficient to warrant a verdict of guilty, or that the testimony of the accomplice shall be corroborated in every material particular.

8. It is not, on the trial of one of two or more persons jointly indicted for a crime, inappropriate to charge upon the law of conspiracy merely because the indictment does not, in terms, allege that there was a conspiracy to commit the offense.

9. The existence of a conspiracy may be proved by circumstantial, as well as by direct and positive, testimony.

¶ 9. See Conspiracy, vol. 10, Cent. Dig. § 106.

10. There was in the present case ample evidence to show that there was a conspiracy, not only to commit the crime, but also...

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45 cases
  • Carpenter v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • July 1, 1983
    ...been repeatedly held by this court that a conspiracy may be proved, though not alleged in the indictment or accusation. Dixon v. State, 116 Ga. 186(8), 42 S.E. 357." Bruster v. State, 228 Ga. 651, 652, 187 S.E.2d 297 (1972); Knowles v. State, 159 Ga.App. 239, 283 S.E.2d 51 (1981). The court......
  • Chambers v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • October 23, 1942
    ... ... principal, then, just as in case of principals in the first ... and second degrees, no distinction need be made in the ... indictment. It has been repeatedly held by this court that a ... conspiracy may be proved, though not alleged in the ... indictment or accusation. Dixon v. State, 116 Ga ... 186(8), 42 S.E. 357; Whitaker v. State, 159 Ga ... 787(5), 127 S.E. 106; Johnson v. State, 188 Ga ... 771(3), 4 S.E.2d 639; Harris v. State, 190 Ga ... 258(4a), 9 S.E.2d 183; and see, also, Loeb v. State, ... 6 Ga.App. 23, 27, 64 S.E. 338; 31 C.J. 740, § 290; ... ...
  • Davis v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • July 28, 1920
    ... ... the accomplice and warrant a conviction. Penal Code 1910, § ... 1017; Evans v. State, 78 Ga. 351; Pritchett v ... State, 92 Ga. 33, 18 S.E. 350 (1); Boswell v ... State, 92 Ga. 581, 17 S.E. 805; Chapman v ... State, 112 Ga. 56, 37 S.E. 102 (2); Dixon" v ... State, 116 Ga. 186, 42 S.E. 357 (7), and Nance v ... State, 126 Ga. 95, 54 S.E. 932 (1) ...          (a) In ... this case the testimony of the accomplice tended to prove the ... case as laid, and it was sufficiently corroborated by the ... other evidence ...        \xC2" ... ...
  • Fairfield v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • May 21, 1923
    ...App. 133, 136, 76 S. E. 1070. 1071; Vaughn v. State, 88 Ga. 731, 16 S. E. 64; Cochran v. State, 113 Ga. 736, 39 S. E. 337; Dixon v. State, 116 Ga. 186, 42 S. E. 357; Pollard v. State, 144 Ga. 229, 86 S. E. 1096. "A failure to allow the accused to make a supplementary statement, even where t......
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