State Of West Va. v. Howard Dawson et al., No. 9837
| Court | Supreme Court of West Virginia |
| Writing for the Court | Kenna, President: |
| Citation | 129 W.Va. 279 |
| Parties | State of West Virginia v. Howard Dawson et al. |
| Docket Number | No. 9837 |
| Decision Date | 12 November 1946 |
129 W.Va. 279
State of West Virginia
v.
Howard Dawson et al.
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
Submitted September 10, 1946.
Decided November 12, 1946.
[129 W.Va. 279]
Criminal Law
Neither the nature nor the weight of the evidence adduced before a grand jury upon which an indictment is returned can be examined under a plea in abatement to the indictment.
[129 W.Va. 280]
Error to Circuit Court, Mineral County.
Howard Dawson and William Garrett Davisson were indicted for murder. The circuit court sustained a plea in abatement to the indictment and entered a judgment of dismissal, and the State brings error.
Reversed.
Ira J. Partloiv, Attorney General, Ralph M. Hiner, Assistant Attorney General, and Eston B. Stephenson, Special Assistant Attorney General, for plaintiff in error.
H. G. Shores and H. R. Athey, for defendants in error.
Kenna, President:
The Circuit Court of Mineral County sustained a plea in abatement to an indictment charging Howard Dawson and William Garrett Davisson with murder, and this Court, upon petition of the State, granted a writ of error to its judgment of dismissal. The plea in abatement attacks the indictment as found upon a reporter's transcript of the testimony of a witness since dead and the question sought to be tested is whether the transcript, neither the identity nor accuracy of which is questioned, of the testimony of the victim of felonious assault given at a preliminary hearing arising from the assault, where the victim thereof was the only witness against the accused, who cannot be otherwise identified, can be used in the trial of an indictment for murder when the witness-victim, allegedly as a result of the attack, has dropped dead while on the stand at the preliminary hearing after his examination in chief and cross-examination in the presence of the accused.
On the evening of July 30, 1945, at about 8:45 P. M., Floyd N. Hebb met Howard Dawson and William Garrett Davisson, both in the uniform of this country's armed service and both apparently overseas veterans, in Keyser. They seemed to be seeking an agreeable place to spend the evening, either the headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars or of the American Legion. After
[129 W.Va. 281]
some time had been spent in a restaurant, Hebb undertook to guide them and while on a lonely side street, with Dawson walking slightly ahead and Davisson by Hebb's side, Davisson struck Hebb "a heavy blow on the temple". Hebb was left unconscious and did not regain consciousness until after he had been discovered and taken to a hospital, when he noticed that his billfold containing between $375.00 and $400.00 was missing.
Floyd N. Hebb was a conductor on the B. &. O. Railroad, whose home was in Cumberland, Maryland, Keyser being one terminus of his route, where he rented a room so that he could sleep between shifts. On the...
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State v. James Edward S., No. 19577
...273 S.E.2d 578 (1980), overruled on other grounds, State ex rel. Cook v. Helms, 170 W.Va. 200, 292 S.E.2d 610 (1981); State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d 306 (1946); State v. Sauls, 97 W.Va. 184, 124 S.E. 670 (1924). Page 848 [184 W.Va. 413] A. Rule of Necessity The initial showing un......
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State v. Riley, No. 12565
...State v. Woodrow, 58 W.Va. 527, 52 S.E. 545, 2 L.R.A., N.S., 862; State v. Dailey, 72 W.Va. 520, 79 S.E. 668; State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d The second assignment of error is the refusal of the trial court to grant the defendant's motion for a bill of particulars. This assignment......
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State v. Lewis, No. 20930
...to examine the sufficiency of the evidence and issued a writ of prohibition. A similar fact pattern was present in State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d 306 (1946), where the indictment was dismissed because there was insufficient evidence presented to the grand jury. With even less dis......
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State v. Sims, No. 13906
...Another question frequently raised is whether the homicide occurred during the commission of the designated felony. State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d 306 (1946); Haskell v. Commonwealth, 243 S.E.2d 477 (Va.1978); 40 Am.Jur.2d Homicide § 73. See Annot., 58 A.L.R.3d 851. No such factu......
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State v. James Edward S., No. 19577
...273 S.E.2d 578 (1980), overruled on other grounds, State ex rel. Cook v. Helms, 170 W.Va. 200, 292 S.E.2d 610 (1981); State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d 306 (1946); State v. Sauls, 97 W.Va. 184, 124 S.E. 670 (1924). Page 848 [184 W.Va. 413] A. Rule of Necessity The initial showing un......
-
State v. Riley, No. 12565
...State v. Woodrow, 58 W.Va. 527, 52 S.E. 545, 2 L.R.A., N.S., 862; State v. Dailey, 72 W.Va. 520, 79 S.E. 668; State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d The second assignment of error is the refusal of the trial court to grant the defendant's motion for a bill of particulars. This assignment......
-
State v. Lewis, No. 20930
...to examine the sufficiency of the evidence and issued a writ of prohibition. A similar fact pattern was present in State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d 306 (1946), where the indictment was dismissed because there was insufficient evidence presented to the grand jury. With even less dis......
-
State v. Sims, No. 13906
...Another question frequently raised is whether the homicide occurred during the commission of the designated felony. State v. Dawson, 129 W.Va. 279, 40 S.E.2d 306 (1946); Haskell v. Commonwealth, 243 S.E.2d 477 (Va.1978); 40 Am.Jur.2d Homicide § 73. See Annot., 58 A.L.R.3d 851. No such factu......