Johnson v. State, 29115
| Decision Date | 19 June 1957 |
| Docket Number | No. 29115,29115 |
| Parties | Harry Lynn JOHNSON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
Harry H. Brochstein, Houston, for appellant.
Leon B. Douglas, State's Atty., Austin, for the State.
The offense is the possession of marijuana; the punishment, 2 years.
Officer Brannon of the Houston police testified that, while in company with his fellow officer Hart, he observed an automobile being driven in excess of the speed limit, that they gave chase and brought the automobile to a halt. The appellant, who was the only occupant, walked back to meet the officers and asked them, 'What's the matter?' Brannon stated that when the appellant got near him he saw the appellant raise his left hand, make a quick turn, his hand came down, and a little bottle hit the ground. He stated that he recovered the bottle, the bottom of which had broken out and its contents spilled, put such contents as he could find back in the Bufferin bottle, and carried it to the chemist for analysis.
The bottle and its contents have been forwarded to this Court as State's Exhibit No. 1.
The appellant, an automobile salesman, testified that on the night in question he had been to visit his fiancee, whom he had married at the time of the trial, and was on the way home at the time he was apprehended. He admitted that he was driving in excess of the speed limit but denied that he dropped any bottle and explained the movement of hands by saying that he began to cough and was endeavoring to cover his mouth. The jury resolved this conflict in the evidence against the appellant, and we move now to the real question in the case, which is whether or not the quantity of marijuana found is 'an amount sufficient to be applied to the use commonly made thereof' as discussed in Pelham v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 298 S.W.2d 171, 173, and Greer v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 292 S.W.2d 122.
The chemist who analyzed the contents of the bottle stated that he used approximately one-half of its contents in order to make his tests and there remained at the time of the trial 'at least a half a grain' of marijuana or 'something slightly less than required to make a cigarette.'
In the Pelham case, the majority tested the sufficiency of the evidence by the proof of the contraband which was found in the personal possession of the accused. We shall apply the same test to the case at bar. We quote from our opinion in the Pelham case:
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Mitchell v. State
...appellant's interpretation of the record, we hold that such amount is sufficient to support the conviction. Cf. Johnson v. State, 165 Tex.Cr.R. 158, 305 S.W.2d 361. Moreover, State's Exhibit No. 1 was introduced into evidence. The Exhibit is a matchbox which is over one-half full of marihua......
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Buntion v. State, 44518
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Taylor v. State, 46129
...made thereof, if does not constitute marihuana within the meaning of the statute.' Pelham v. State, supra. In Johnson v. State, 165 Tex.Cr.R. 158, 305 S.W.2d 361 (1957), after chemical analysis of the contents of a bottle found in the Personal possession of the accused, there remained appro......
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Getters v. State
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