State v. Eagle
| Decision Date | 02 February 1951 |
| Docket Number | No. 724,724 |
| Citation | 63 S.E.2d 170,233 N.C. 218 |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE, v. EAGLE. |
Harry McMullan, Atty. Gen. and T.W. Bruton, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the state.
Higgins & McMichael, Winston-Salem, for defendant.
The question posed for decision is whether the failure of the trial judge to sustain the defendant's objection to the proposal of the Solicitor to exhibit an unidentified bottle of whiskey to the jury for its inspection and examination for the evident purpose of bolstering the State's evidence against the defendant, constitutes prejudicial error in light of the following instruction given by the trial judge in his charge to the jury:
It is apparent counsel for defendant argued strenuously to the jury that the defendant and his three friends had consumed less than half of a fifth of whiskey during the afternoon in question, and in support of his argument had pointed out the State's failure to introduce the bottle of whiskey taken from the defendant's car. Of course the real question before the jury was whether or not the defendant had driven his automobile upon a public highway of the State while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor. However, the Solicitor and counsel for the defendant chose to stress their respective contentions as to the amount of whiskey the defendant and his three friends had consumed during the afternoon, prior to the arrest of the defendant, emphasizing the evidence of their respective witnesses as to the amount of liquor remaining in the bottle at the time it was taken from the defendant's car, as having a material bearing on the defendant's condition at the time of his arrest. The offer by the Solicitor to exhibit the unidentified bottle of whiskey to the jury, for the purpose of refuting the argument made by defendant's counsel and in effect to bolster the State's contentions, was improper and the objection thereto by the defendant should have been sustained, and the jury instructed not to consider it.
If in the opinion of the Solicitor, the ends of justice required the exhibition to the jury of the bottle of whiskey taken from the defendant's car at the time of his arrest, the bottle should have been identified and introduced in evidence at the proper time during the course of the trial, or a motion made to reopen the case and permit its identification and introduction in evidence. State v. Perry, 231 N.C. 467, 57 S.E.2d 774;...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Sparks
...counsel and not through a witness under oath. Defendant cites State v. Williams, 168 N.C. 191, 83 S.E. 714 (1914), and State v. Eagle, 233 N.C. 218, 63 S.E.2d 170 (1951), in support of his contention that the solicitor's argument was improper. In Williams counsel for defendant 'proposed to ......
-
State v. Stegmann
...argument was prompted by statements made by defense counsel and curative instructions were given by the trial court. State v. Eagle, 233 N.C. 218, 63 S.E.2d 170 (1951); Kitchell v. United States, 354 F.2d 715 (1st Cir. 1965). But see Commonwealth v. French, 357 Mass. 356, 259 N.E.2d 195 (19......
-
State v. Phillips, 509
...they serve to observe the rules of practice created by law to give those tried for crime the safeguards of a fair trial. State v. Eagle, 233 N.C. 218, 63 S.E.2d 170; United States ex rel. Darcy v. Handy, 3 Cir., 203 F.2d 407; State v. Grillo, 11 N.J. 173, 93 A.2d 328; State v. Bealin, 201 S......
-
State v. Britt
...Roach, 248 N.C. 63, 102 S.E.2d 413 (1958); State v. Smith, 240 N.C. 631, 83 S.E.2d 656 (1954); State v. Dockery,supra; State v. Eagle, 233 N.C. 218, 63 S.E.2d 170 (1951); State v. Hawley, 229 N.C. 167, 48 S.E.2d 35 (1948); State v. Little, supra. A fair consideration of the principles estab......