State v. Hall

• Decision Date: 17 January 1939
• Docket Number: 44120.
• Citation: 283 N.W. 414,225 Iowa 1316
• Parties: STATE v. HALL.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

283 N.W. 414

225 Iowa 1316

STATE v. HALL.

No. 44120.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

January 17, 1939

Appeal from District Court, Black Hawk County; R. W. Hasner, Judge.

An information was filed by the County Attorney of Black Hawk County against Thomas Hall, accusing him of the crime of lascivious acts with a child, under sixteen years of age, and also with being an habitual criminal. He entered a plea of not guilty. There was a trial to a jury, which found him guilty. Defendant has appealed. Opinion states the facts.

Affirmed.

Bernard Stenzel, of Waterloo, for appellant.

Burr C Towne, Co. Atty., and Ralph Wm. Travis, Asst. Co. Atty., both of Waterloo, John H. Mitchell, Atty. Gen., and Buell McCash Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

MITCHELL, Justice.

On the 17th day of March, 1937, an information was filed by the County Attorney of Black Hawk County, accusing Thomas Hall of the crime of lascivious acts with a child under the age of sixteen years, and also of being an habitual criminal setting out in said information the commission of two crimes, one on the 16th day of September, 1918, and the other on the 11th day of February, 1924, of which he was convicted.

Defendant pleaded not guilty. He was represented by counsel. The case was submitted to a jury, which returned a verdict of guilty. Defendant has appealed.

The evidence in this case consists of the testimony of a boy seven years of age, in 2-A grade of the public schools of Waterloo, who attended church and Sunday School. He testified that on the 20th day of February, at about the hour of five o'clock, he met Tom Hall at what was known as the Crawford Grocery Store, a neighborhood store, and that the defendant asked him to go to his home, which was next door, where, at the request of Tom Hall, he stayed all night. No good could possibly be accomplished by setting out in detail the testimony. Suffice it to say that this young child testified to acts on the part of the appellant, which, if true, were sufficient to convict him of the crime charged. In addition to this, there is a confession made by appellant which was admitted in evidence, and the testimony of the police officer who heard the confession.

The defense of appellant was that he was intoxicated; that he did not remember the boy coming to his room until the next morning, when he awakened and found the boy in his bed.

Courts are often criticised for delays in criminal cases. This case has been delayed more than eighteen months, but this was due to no fault...