State v. Donaldson
| Decision Date | 09 November 1959 |
| Docket Number | No. 44690,44690 |
| Citation | 238 La. 265,115 So.2d 345 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Robert DONALDSON. |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
Edward G. Koch, Jr., New Orleans, for appellant.
Jack P. F. Gremillion, Atty. Gen., M. E. Culligan, Asst. Atty. Gen., Richard A. Dowling, Dist. Atty., Malcolm G. Mundy, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for appellee.
The appellant, Robert Donaldson, having been convicted on an information charging him with armed robbery of one Jacob Grossman, and sentenced to serve thirty years at hard labor in the State penitentiary, prosecutes this appeal, relying on two bills of exception reserved to the rulings of the Trial Judge.
Bill of Exception No. 1 was reserved to the Court's denial of defense counsel's motion for a mistrial, which occurred when Lt. Stevens of the New Orleans Police Department, in answer to the question of what had been done with the accused immediately following his arrest, stated that the accused was taken from his lodging to the Sixth District and booked with armed robbery of Grossman's, adding answer, he nevertheless denied the motion for a mistrial under authority of State v. Birdsell, 235 La. 396, 104 So.2d 148, because in his opinion the statement was volunteered by the witness and was not responsive to the question propounded by the District Attorney.
We find no error in this ruling. The law is well settled and has been often stated by this Court to the effect that the trial for a criminal offense cannot be defeated or nullified by the act of a witness in volunteering an objectionable remark for which the prosecution is not responsible. State v. Birdsell, 235 La. 396, 104 So.2d 148, wherein other cases are cited in which the rule has been announced, including State v. Rugero, 117 La. 1040, 42 So. 495; State v. Jones, 118 La. 369, 42 So. 967; State v. Goodwin, 189 La. 443, 179 So. 591; State v. Martin, 193 La. 1036, 192 So. 694; State v. Labat, ...
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State v. Rideau, 48138
...stated that a criminal conviction cannot be vitiated by volunteered testimony for which the state is not responsible. State v. Donaldson, 238 La. 265, 115 So.2d 345, and the authorities therein Bills of Exception Nos. 21 and 22 The defendant reserved these Bills when the trial court overrul......
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State v. Graves
... ... It is well settled that when testimony is purely gratuitous and unresponsive to the State's question, the testimony cannot be charged against the State. State v. Callihan, 257 La. 298, 242 So.2d 521; State v. Arena, 254 La. 358, 223 So.2d 832; State v. Donaldson, 238 La. 265, 115 So.2d 345. Moreover, the trial judge admonished the jury to disregard the unresponsive remark. See LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 771 ... The bill is without merit ... [259 La. 539] BILL OF EXCEPTIONS NO. 16 ... The defendant reserved this bill when the State ... ...
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State v. Harris
...the State is not responsible. State v. Callihan, 257 La. 298, 242 So.2d 521; State v. Arena, 254 La. 358, 223 So.2d 832; State v. Donaldson, 238 La. 265, 115 So.2d 345. We conclude that the Bill of Exceptions lacks BILL OF EXCEPTIONS NO. 2 In his closing argument, defense counsel undertook ......
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State v. Luneau
... ... State v. Howard, La., 283 So.2d 197 (1973); State v. Dotson, 260 La. 471, 256 So.2d 594 (1971); State v. Graves, 259 La. 526, 250 So.2d 727 (1971); State v. Donaldson, 238 La. 265, 115 So.2d 345 (1959) ... In the event, however, that the admission of the evidence is chargeable against the State, the error is insufficient on the basis of the record as a whole to warrant a reversal of the conviction. The defendant was convicted, not of possession ... ...