Slaughter v. State

• Decision Date: 22 January 1941
• Docket Number: 28613.
• Citation: 13 S.E.2d 391,64 Ga.App. 423
• Parties: SLAUGHTER v. STATE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

13 S.E.2d 391

64 Ga.App. 423

SLAUGHTER v. STATE.

No. 28613.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 1.

January 22, 1941

Rehearing Denied March 4, 1941.

Syllabus by the Court.

See also 61 Ga.App. 619, 7 S.E.2d 215.

Grover C. Powell and Jno. W. Bolton, both of Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.

L L. Meadors, Sol. of LaGrange, for defendant in error.

GARDNER Judge.

Fred Slaughter was convicted under an accusation charging him with assault and battery, "for that the said Fred Slaughter in the county aforesaid, on the 2nd day of April, 1939, did then and there unlawfully upon the person of J. T. Thomasson did make an assault, and him, the said J. T Thomasson, did unlawfully beat, contrary to the laws of said State, the peace, good order and dignity thereof." The defendant moved for a new trial, which, as amended, contained the usual general grounds and twenty special grounds. The court overruled the motion and the defendant excepted.

After a careful study of the lengthy record and briefs of counsel we are of the opinion that the special assignments of error are without merit, and that the only question for our determination is whether the evidence authorized the verdict of guilty on the accusation charging assault and battery. The record of the evidence and the defendant's statement shows much conflicting testimony and highly extraneous immaterial matter. The latter the court must disregard, and determine whether, resolving all conflicts in the evidence in favor of the verdict (Western & Atlantic Railroad v Mathis, Ga.App., 10 S.E.2d 457, decided July 17, 1940), there was sufficient evidence to authorize the conviction of the defendant. For a consideration of this question, the evidence was briefly and substantially as follows: The defendant, representing a religious sect known as "Jehovah's Witnesses", on April 2, 1939, on Sunday, about midday, in LaGrange, Georgia, called at the home of J. T. Thomasson, uninvited, with a phonograph containing a record of their Bible lecture, and with a hand case containing Bible literature, and, ringing the door bell, inquired of Thomasson whether he was the resident. Thomasson, who had been ill and was in his bathrobe, went to the front door. We quote from the testimony of Thomasson: "Some one came to the door, rang the bell and I called out, 'what do you want?' The man said, 'Are you the resident here?' and I said that I was. The screen door was closed and the front door open. I went to the door and the man whom I now know to be Fred Slaughter, attempted to open the screen and come in. He had this machine in one hand. He had this small phonograph in his right hand, this other smaller thing he kept his papers in in the other. He put the phonograph down on the porch and said he wanted to play something on a record. I did not want to hear it and I asked him to get off my premises. He refused and he insisted on playing the record. I stepped out from behind the screen door and kicked this [indicating the phonograph] off the porch or to the edge of the porch. He ran and got it and grabbed me in the collar with his hand and attempted to hit me...