Marr v. State

Citation248 Miss. 281,159 So.2d 167
Decision Date16 December 1963
Docket NumberNo. 42556,42556
PartiesJ. G. MARR v. STATE of Mississippi.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

Wall Doxey, Jr., Holly Springs, for appellant.

Joe T. Patterson, Atty. Gen., by G. Garland Lyell, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

McELROY, Justice.

J. G. Marr, appellant, was indicted for murder of Rufus Edwards, a seventy-two-year-old resident of Byhalia, Mississippi, in the Circuit Court of Marshall County. He was tried once and had a mistrial; at the second trial he was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to serve a term of ten years in the state penitentiary.

Appellant was the duly elected constable of the Third District of Marshall County. He was indicted at the February 1961 term of court.

On March 6, 1961, during the February term of court, attorney for appellant, or defendant, filed a motion to quash the indictment, stating that the Board of Supervisors made a complete departure from the law, that is, section 1766 of the Mississippi Code of 1942, Rec., in the method of drawing the jury, in particular the part of the section which provides that the list shall be taken as nearly as it can be conveniently done from the several supervisors' districts in proportion to the number of qualified persons in each district, etc. There was no charge of fraud. The defendant moved the court to hear proof on this motion to quash indictment prior to swearing and qualifying of the special venire in the case. The record does not show in any respect that the motion was ever passed on by the court, nor does the record show that the motion was ever called to the attention of the court. Even on the motion for a new trial, this was not set out as one of the grounds.

The appellant was tried at the August 1962 term of court. At the close of the state's testimony the defense attorney made a motion for a directed verdict. At conclusion of both state and defense testimony, appellant made the following motion:

'Comes now the Defendant by and through his attorney and moves the court for a new trial and as grounds therefor assigns the following: 1. That the State of Mississippi failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty the charge of manslaughter. 2. The State of Mississippi failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty the indictment for murder as required by law. 3. That the jury verdict was contrary to the great weight of the evidence.' The court overruled this motion.

Both motions of the defendant were dictated into the record, and no formal motion was made by the attorney for a new trial other than the dictated motion.

The judgment of the court shows that the motion of the defendant for a new trial was overruled. It shows that the motion for an appeal to the Supreme Court was sustained, and that appearance bond on appeal was set for $5,000, subject to the Clerk's approval. The supplemental motion for a new trial was overruled. This order was entered on the 5th day of September, 1962. The defendant on September 5, 1962 made a $5,000 personal appearance bond to the Supreme Court, which was approved on that date. The costs bond for appeal was also made, in the amount of $500, and was approved on the 6th day of September by the Clerk. All of this was done in the August term of court.

A similar question to the one raised here as to the motion to quash the indictment was passed on by this Court in Boatwright v. State, 143 Miss. 676, 109 So. 710. The Court stated: 'Neither does the record show that the court ever took any action upon the demurrer, which, likewise, was filed on August 7, 1925, and no effort on the part of the defendant to have the demurrer disposed of; nor does it appear that the court had called to its attention the demurrer, save and except what may be inferred from the amendment permitted by the court's order.'

In Polk v. State, 156 So.2d 592 (Miss.), and cases cited therein, it was held that appellant's decision to appeal to the Supreme Court 'constituted a waiver or abandonment of his motion for new trial,' and complaint can not be made on appeal.

24 C.J.S. Criminal Law Sec. 1679, p. 1208, states: 'Demurrer or other similar objection. Where the record shows no ruling on a demurrer or similar objection or challenge to an indictment or other accusatory pleading or plea, questions as to such demurrer or objection cannot be considered, unless the indictment or information is so wholly insufficient that it will not support a judgment of conviction; and where a ruling on a demurrer or similar objection is rested on a particular ground, other grounds of objection not ruled on are not properly preserved for consideration by the reviewing court.'

We are of the opinion that such motions not passed on by the court are not reversible error, and that in order for a question to be preserved for review on appeal it is necessary that there be an actual ruling upon the motion. If a party permits the court to proceed to judgment without an order of the court upon his motion or objection, he will be held to have waived the right to have same acted upon. Thus where a motion to quash an indictment is filed, it is the duty of the party filing the motion to call up the motion for action, and if, instead of so doing, he goes to trial without objection, he can not for the first time on appeal insist that his motion should have been sustained, unless the indictment is so wholly insufficient that it will not support a judgment of conviction.

The jury laws are, by section 1798, Mississippi Code 1942, Rec., directory only, and there can be no reversal unless there has been a radical departure from the statutory scheme. Kouvarakis v. Hawver, 208 Miss. 697, 45 So.2d 278. Therefore, even if a hearing was had and proof developed, the mere fact that the jurors were not drawn proportionately from...

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31 cases
  • Watts v. State, 96-DP-01030-SCT.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi
    • January 28, 1999
    ...bias or fraud, or is manifestly against the weight of credible evidence. Cromeans v. State, 261 So.2d 453 (Miss.1972); Marr v. State, 248 Miss. 281, 159 So.2d 167 (1963); and Freeman v. State, supra [228 Miss. 687, 89 So.2d 716 Id. at 1311(quoting Maiben v. State, 405 So.2d 87, 88 (Miss.198......
  • Evans v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi
    • September 11, 1997
    ...396 So.2d 1031 (Miss.1981); Martin v. State, 354 So.2d 1114 (Miss.1978); Conn v. State, 260 So.2d 471 (Miss.1972); Marr v. State, 248 Miss. 281, 159 So.2d 167 (1963); Grant v. Planters' Bank, 5 Miss. (4 How.) 326 (1840). PROPORTIONALITY REVIEW ¶ 456. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-105(3)(c) mandate......
  • Kolberg v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi
    • August 29, 2002
    ...bias or fraud, or is manifestly against the weight of credible evidence. Cromeans v. State, 261 So.2d 453 (Miss.1972); Marr v. State, 248 Miss. 281, 159 So.2d 167 (1963); and Freeman v. State, 228 Miss. 687, 89 So.2d 716 Kolberg I, 704 So.2d at 1311. The State correctly notes that on Kolber......
  • Kolberg v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi
    • December 8, 1997
    ...bias or fraud, or is manifestly against the weight of credible evidence. Cromeans v. State, 261 So.2d 453 (Miss.1972); Marr v. State, 248 Miss. 281, 159 So.2d 167 (1963); and Freeman v. State, supra [228 Miss. 687, 89 So.2d 716 Maiben, 405 So.2d at 88 (Miss.1981) (emphasis added). In the ca......
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