Lancaster v. State
| Decision Date | 06 December 1902 |
| Parties | LANCASTER v. STATE |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appeal from Van Buren Circuit Court, ELBRIDGE G. MITCHELL, Judge.
Reversed.
Judgment reversed and case remanded.
Chas Jacobson, for appellant.
A judgment contrary to law is void. Sand. & H. Dig. § 2255; 58 Ark. 233; 26 Ark. 323-330; 26 Ark. 534; 26 Ark. 514; 31 Fla. 176, 164; 32 Fla. 244; 40 Ala. 698; 42 Ala. 509; 45 Ala. 32; 54 Ala. 520; 65 Ala. 492; 71 Ala. 329; 12 Md. 514; 60 Md. 402. This court has power to reverse the verdict. Sand. & H. Dig. § 2432.
The defendant, John Lancaster, was indicted by the grand jury of Van Buren county for the crime of murder in the first degree. The record shows that, after a copy of the indictment had been served upon him, he appeared in person and with his attorney in open court, and waived arraignment, and for a plea to the indictment "says he is guilty."
The record further recites that "the court, after hearing the testimony in the case, both upon the part of the state and the defendant, and being sufficiently advised, doth fix his punishment at hanging by the neck until he is dead," and gave judgment accordingly. After the expiration of the term the defendant by his attorney sued out a writ of error from this court, and the record and judgment is brought before us in that way for review. It will be noticed that the defendant pleaded guilty to the indictment generally, and that there was no special finding either by the court or a jury that he was guilty of murder in the first degree. Our statute provides that "the jury shall in all cases of murder, on conviction of the accused, find by their verdict whether he is guilty of murder in the first or second degree; but, if the accused confess his guilt," the statute provides that "the court shall impanel a jury and examine testimony, and the degree of crime shall be found by such jury." Sand. & H. Dig. § 2255.
This statute was no doubt overlooked by the circuit judge, for under it this court has several times decided that a verdict upon an indictment for murder which does not find the degree of murder is so defective that no judgment can be entered upon it. Porter v. State, 57 Ark. 267, 21 S.W. 467, and cases cited. The statute, it will be seen, requires that there should be a special finding of the degree of murder by a jury, even though the defendant confess his guilt.
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Shinn v. State
... ... In ... construing this statute this court has held that where a ... defendant pleaded guilty to an indictment for murder in the ... first degree it is reversible error to sentence him without ... ordering a jury to be impaneled to find the degree of murder ... Lancaster v. State , 71 Ark. 100, 71 S.W ... It will ... be noted that the statute provided that the jury shall find ... by their verdict whether the accused is guilty of murder in ... the first or second degree ... In ... Capital Traction Co. v. Hof , 174 ... ...
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Davidson v. State
... ... Our laws make no distinction. This court has held that ... one accused of the crime of murder may enter a plea of ... guilty, but that, on account of the statutory limitation upon ... the powers of the court, a jury must be empaneled to pass ... upon the degree of the offense. Lancaster v ... State, 71 Ark. 100, 71 S.W. 251 ... In ... McVay v. State, 104 Ark. 629, 150 S.W. 125, ... where the defendant was convicted of murder in the first ... degree, we held that he had the power to waive the presence ... of the trial judge during the progress of ... ...
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...410; 12 Md. 514; 11 Gray, 438; Id. 8; 12 Allen, 170; 26 Ark. 333; 34 Ark. 649; 67 Ark. 27; Kerr's Law of Homicide, § 542; 58 Ark. 233; 71 Ark. 100; 57 Ark. 58 S.W. 350; 143 S.W. 935; 94 Ark. 548. 4. The court's action in refusing to grant a new trial on the ground of newly discovered eviden......
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Jones v. State
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