Little v. State, 18447.

• Decision Date: 21 October 1936
• Docket Number: No. 18447.,18447.
• Citation: Little v. State, 97 S.W.2d 479, 131 Tex.Cr.R. 164 (Tex. Crim. App. 1936)
• Parties: LITTLE v. STATE.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

97 S.W.2d 479

LITTLE v. STATE.

No. 18447.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

October 21, 1936.

Commissioners' Decision.

Appeal from Criminal District Court No. 2, Harris County; Langston G. King, Judge.

E. L. Little was convicted of murder, and he appeals.

Reversed and remanded.

Fred L. Perkins and Paul Maaz, Jr., both of Houston, for appellant.

Lloyd W. Davidson, State's Atty., of Austin, for the State.

CHRISTIAN, Judge.

The offense is murder; the punishment, death.

No statement of facts is brought forward. A statement on the part of the trial judge appended to appellant's bill of exception No. 1 conclusively shows that the failure to secure a statement of facts cannot be charged to appellant. We quote the certificate, as follows:

"It is true that the defendant, E. L. Little, was tried on an indictment charging him with the offense of murder, the facts showing that the deceased was his son.

"The defendant was convicted and the jury fixed the punishment at death. Thereafter, defendant filed his motion for a new trial, and on January 10th, 1936, it was by this court overruled, and the defendant duly excepted and gave notice of appeal to the court of Criminal Appeals.

"That T. M. Mangum, now deceased, was the official court reporter of this court at the time of said trial, and took down the shorthand notes upon said trial. That thereafter, about the 3rd or 4th of March, 1936, and at a time when said Mangum was ill, he informed this Court that the defendant, through his counsel, had ordered statement of facts in the case, and that he expected to go to work on the same within a few days. Thereafter, and on the 7th day of March, 1936, Mangum died. That before Mangum's death he had transcribed for the defendant counsel the objections and exceptions taken during the trial of the case, but had not begun the statement of facts.

"Shortly after Mangum's death, and within the time required by law, a purported statement of facts was presented to this court, prepared by Walter Pridemore, official court reporter for the Criminal District Court of Harris County, Texas, who had been requested to transcribe Mangum's notes, but the State and the defendant have failed to agree on such statement of facts, and have stated to this court that they will be unable to agree.

"The State has submitted to the court the statement of facts referred to as prepared by Walter Pridemore, after having eliminated those portions of the same that the State contends should not be in the statement of facts, as the statement of facts in this cause. The defendant will not agree to it. The defendant has submitted a statement of facts, prepared by...