State v. Mitchell
| Decision Date | 16 November 1948 |
| Citation | 34 N.W.2d 661,253 Wis. 626 |
| Parties | STATE v. MITCHELL. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from judgment of the Circuit Court for Eau Claire County; William F. Shaughnessy, Judge.
Affirmed.
Prosecution of Earl Mitchell on an information charging him on three counts with taking indecent liberties with Shirley Christopher, a fourteen year old girl, in violation of sec. 351.34, Stats. Defendant pleaded not guilty. On a trial by jury he was found guilty on each count and upon the verdict the court adjudged defendant guilty and imposed sentence. Defendant appealed.
Stafford & Stafford, of Chippewa Falls (Robert F. Pfiffner, of Chippewa Falls, of counsel), for appellant.
Grover L. Broadfoot, Atty. Gen., William A. Platz, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Henry E. Steinbring, Dist. Atty., of Eau Claire, for respondent.
The child, Shirley, lived with her father, Milton Christopher, and stepmother, a brother and two younger sisters and a grandfather in a two story house in Eau Claire; and the defendant Earl Mitchell was a boarder and roomer in the house. The parents' bedroom was on the first floor and on the second floor there were separate bedrooms for defendant, the grandfather and for Shirley and the other children. Shirley was fourteen years of age. She attended school and came home about 4 P.M. and did the housework and cooking for the family. Her father and stepmother were employed on jobs from which they did not return home until after 5 P.M. Defendant likewise was employed elsewhere but usually came home earlier in the afternoon. The grandfather stayed at the house, but during the day was downstairs or in the yard.
On the trial Shirley testified that on or about November 4th, and again on November 20th and December 1st, 1947, while she was in an upstairs room, the defendant committed certain acts which, if committed as she described, clearly constituted taking indecent liberties with her person. She was not sure on just what dates these acts were committed, nor in what room in the house. She testified——
Her testimony, in its context, shows she meant that the incidents occurred on various dates in different parts of the house, but she was unable to be certain as to just where each particular incident occurred, because on some occasions the same thing happened elsewhere in the house. At none of the times did she cry out, nor were her parents taken into her confidence or advised by her of what had occurred. She was friendly with the defendant and...
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State v. Friedrich
...of prior sexual misconduct by the accused with the same person who was the victim in the case being prosecuted. State v. Mitchell, 253 Wis. 626, 34 N.W.2d 661 (1948), also confined the admission of evidence of a prior sexual assault to an incident with the same In Hendrickson v. State, 61 W......
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State v. Copeland
...and state did not identify specific "carnal knowledge" event among several on which it relied for conviction); State v. Mitchell , 253 Wis. 626, 34 N.W.2d 661, 661-62 (1948) (affirming convictions despite fourteen-year-old victim's inability to recall the dates and exact locations of sex cr......
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State v. Conley, 87-0318-CR
...615, 629-30, 55 N.W. 1035, 1039-40 (1893); Lanphere v. State, 114 Wis. 193, 200-01, 89 N.W. 128, 130-31 (1902); State v. Mitchell, 253 Wis. 626, 627, 34 N.W.2d 661, 661 (1948); Hendrickson v. State, 61 Wis.2d 275, 282, 212 N.W.2d 481, 484 (1973). Although the rule established in Proper is b......
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Hendrickson v. State
...(1902), 114 Wis. 193, 200, 89 N.W. 128, 131.5 Gundlach v. State (1924), 184 Wis. 65, 73, 198 N.W. 742, 745.6 State v. Mitchell (1948), 253 Wis. 626, 628, 34 N.W.2d 661, 662. See also: McAllister v. State (1901), 112 Wis. 496, 499, 88 N.W. 212, 213, holding only evidence of previous attempts......