Fleenor v. Com., 4867
| Decision Date | 13 October 1958 |
| Docket Number | No. 4867,4867 |
| Court | Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | RALPH EDWARD FLEENOR v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. Record |
Ralph H. Brumet and George M. Warren, Jr., for the plaintiff in error.
Thomas M. Miller, Assistant Attorney General (A. S. Harrison, Jr., Attorney General, on brief), for the Commonwealth.
Ralph Edward Fleenor was convicted by a jury of seduction under promise of marriage of Nancy Ellis, an unmarried female of previous chaste character, in violation of Code, § 18-48, * and his punishment fixed at confinement in the penitentiary for two years. We granted a writ of error to the judgment entered on the verdict.
In his assignments of error the defendant makes the contentions that (1) the verdict is contrary to the evidence because it plainly shows that the prosecutrix at the time of the alleged seduction was not of previous chaste character; and (2) the lower court improperly admitted evidence which tended to show that he was guilty of the unrelated crime of larceny.
Nancy Ellis, the prosecutrix, testified that she met the defendant in March, 1956, when she was sixteen years old and working in a local confectionery. Shortly thereafter they began 'going together regularly' and by May of that year were in love. He gave her an engagement ring and they talked of being married. Because of their ages, he being eighteen and she seventeen, they considered going to South Carolina to be married.
She further related that in May, 1956, while she and the defendant were at the home of a mutual friend, she drank a mixture of beer and whiskey and 'became somewhat intoxicated.' The defendant suggested that since they were in love and shortly would be married, there was 'no use waiting' and they should have intercourse. She yielded to his advances on that occasion which, she says, was her first experience of that kind. Because of repeated expressions of his love for and promise to marry her, she yielded to his further advances and frequently had intercourse with him in the summer of that year. In August she became pregnant. On September 18 the defendant wrote her a letter expressing his love for her. On January 1, 1957, he wrote her a similar letter expressing his deep affection for her and their baby which he knew would be born within a few months.
In the meantime, in December, 1956, the defendant had told the parents and sister of the prosecutrix of his love for her and intention to marry her. However, upon one pretext or another, he postponed the marriage and it never occurred. He finally told her, in February or March, 1957, that he had discovered that she had been intimate with others and for that reason he was not going to marry her. On May 20 the prosecutrix gave birth to a child.
There is little conflict between the testimony of the prosecutrix and that of the defendant. He admitted that they were in love during the spring and summer of 1956; that he gave her an engagement ring, and that they frequently discussed marriage. But he denied that there had been any promise of marriage before the first intercourse.
On this appeal the defendant concedes that the verdict of the jury has settled all conflicts in the evidence adversely to him and that there is sufficient evidence to sustain the finding of seduction under promise of marriage. But he vigorously contends that it is firmly established by the evidence that at the time of the seduction the prosecutrix was not of previous chaste character.
As has been said, the prosecutrix testified that prior to her affair with the defendant she had not had intercourse with any other man. She further testified that during their engagement she 'stayed pure' and remained faithful to him.
On the other hand, Jessee Loudy, a witness on behalf of the defendant, testified that he had intercourse with the prosecutrix on two occasions in the summer of 1956. Mrs. Estes, in whose home the seduction is admitted to have taken place, testified that the prosecutrix suffered a miscarriage at her apartment in February or March, 1956. The prosecutrix vigorously and emphatically denied the truth of these reflections upon her virtue. Moreover, there is evidence of her good and virtuous character from her father, mother, sister and neighbors.
Mrs. Estes further testified that on the day of the trial the prosecutrix told her that she would withdraw the charges against the defendant if he would pay her the sum of $500 to defray her hospital and medical expenses. The prosecutrix vigorously denied this.
It will be observed that under the terms of the statute (Code, § 18-48) chastity is presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary. Thus, the burden is upon the accused to adduce evidence that will at least raise a reasonable doubt as to the chastity of the prosecutrix, when he relies upon that as a defense. Whether such reasonable doubt has been shown is ordinarily to be determined by the jury. Tyree v. Commonwealth, 185 Va. 628, 638, 639, 39 S.E.2d 627, 631.
In the present case the presumption of chastity has been supplemented by evidence on behalf of the prosecutrix, and the verdict of the jury is conclusive of the matter.
The admission of evidence of the unrelated crime of larceny, of which the defendant next complains, arose in this manner: On the third page of the defendant's letter of September 18, 1956, to the prosecutrix, offered by the Commonwealth, the defendant admitted that he and a companion had stolen 'about $75.00 worth' of clothing from a local store, and that while they had disposed of the articles, both were under suspicion and might be arrested. On objection by counsel for the defendant this page of the letter was excluded from the jury. But the letter continued on the next page,
The refusal of the lower court to delete this language from that portion of the letter shown to the jury is assigned as error.
During the cross-examination of the prosecutrix she was asked whether or not she had told Mrs. Estes on the day of the trial that she would withdraw the charges against the defendant if he would pay her $500. The prosecutrix denied that she had made this proposition, but continued by saying that Mrs. Estes had then told her, 'Don't you know that they served another warrant on him.' On the defendant's objection the prosecutrix was told to confine her testimony to her alleged proposition that she would withdraw the charges upon the payment of $500. Again, the prosecutrix denied that she had made this proposition.
On redirect examination the Commonwealth's attorney again brought up the subject of the conversation between the prosecutrix and Mrs....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Thomas v. Com.
...495 S.E.2d 489, 491 (1998). Commonwealth v. Minor, 267 Va. 166, 171-72, 591 S.E.2d 61, 65 (2004). Accord Fleenor v. Commonwealth, 200 Va. 270, 274-75, 105 S.E.2d 160, 163 (1958) (holding that "such evidence confuses the issue before the jury, unfairly surprises the accused with a charge he ......
-
Washington v. Com.
...that because of a criminal propensity he probably committed the crime for which he was being tried." Fleenor v. Commonwealth, 200 Va. 270, 275, 105 S.E.2d 160, 163 (1958). The principle is well established, however, that evidence of other crimes, which are improperly admitted in the prosecu......
-
Smith v. Com.
...the accused with a charge he is not prepared to meet, and tends to prejudice him in the minds of the jury". Fleenor v. Commonwealth, 200 Va. 270, 275, 105 S.E.2d 160, 163 (1958). There are exceptions, however, to this rule, as well established as the rule itself, and such evidence may be ad......
-
Lewis v. Com., 1321-86-2
...Va. 20, 22-23, 197 S.E.2d 332, 333 (1973); Boyd v. Commonwealth, 213 Va. 52, 53, 189 S.E.2d 359, 360 (1972); Fleenor v. Commonwealth, 200 Va. 270, 275-76, 105 S.E.2d 160, 164 (1958). Moreover, I disagree with the majority opinion's view that defense counsel's examination of Robinson opened ......