Johnson v. State

• Decision Date: 25 July 1907
• Docket Number: (No. 584.)
• Citation: 2 Ga. App. 405,58 S.E. 684
• Parties: JOHNSON. v. STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

58 S.E. 684

(2 Ga. App. 405)

JOHNSON.

v.STATE.

(No. 584.)

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

July 25, 1907.

1. Larceny—Fbom the House—What Constitutes.

To steal articles of value from the porch of a building used as a restaurant, it being shown by the evidence that said porch was also used as a part of the restaurant, is larceny from the house, and it is not error to instruct the jury that if they "find from the evidence that the basket containing these articles was taken from an ice box which was jammed up between the front steps and the front part of the restaurant, and if you further find that the ice box waspart of the appurtenances belonging to that restaurant, and that, besides this, the offense is proven to you beyond a reasonable doubt, it would be larceny from the house."

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see Cent. Dig. vol. 32, Larceny, § 47.]

2. Criminal Law—Instructions — Invasion of Province of Jury—Intimation of Opinion.

To charge the jury that "the state contends before you, gentlemen, that this defendant was seen by a certain witness to take and start away and carry away this basket containing the articles testified to you about, that it was afterwards found in a wagon he was in charge of and driving, and that this is the only way possible to account for the theft, " so particularizes and argumentatively enforces upon the jury the inference of guilt as to amount to an intimation of opinion, within the terms of section 4334 of the Civil Code of 1893, and is reversible error.

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see Cent. Dig. vol. 14, Criminal Law, §§ 1731, 1732, 1764.]

3. Same—Proof of Good Character of Defendant—Matter Not Supported by Evidence.

To charge the jury that "good character proven by a reliable witness goes to the credit of a witness, but I charge you, further, to take all the surrounding circumstances of this case together, and see if you can learn the facts and arrive at a truthful verdict, " is not a correct charge where the defendant has put his character in issue. It does not give the jury the proper rule applicable to proof of good character of the defendant. It was unauthorized by the evidence in the case, for the reason that no evidence was adduced as to the good character of any of the witnesses; and. in the absence of instructions as to the effect of evidence of good character, the latter portion of the charge was calculated to diminish the force of the evidence for good character in behalf of the defendant, if it did not, indeed,...