State v. Stewart
| Decision Date | 20 July 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 42822,42822 |
| Citation | 297 Minn. 57,209 N.W.2d 913 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. James Mingus STEWART, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Thomson Wylde & Nordby and Jack S. Nordby, St. Paul, for appellant.
Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, William B. Randall, County Atty., Steven C. DeCoster, Robert Kittel, Asst. County Attys., St. Paul, for Minn. Co. Atty's Assoc.
George M. Scott, Henry W. McCarr, Jr., and David G. Roston, Minneapolis, for Minn. Urban Co. Atty's Bd.
Reheard and considered en banc.
Heard before KNUTSON, C.J., and OTIS, ROGOSHESKE, and TODD, JJ.
Defendant appeals from the trial court's order denying his motion for judgment of acquittal or a new trial and from the judgment of conviction of manslaughter in the first degree. He alleges that he is entitled to a new trial on the grounds that the evidence clearly establishes grave doubts as to his guilt. Defendant further assigns as error the refusal of the trial court to restrain the prosecutor from impeaching the defendant by using evidence of his conviction for burglary some 9 years earlier in the State of Washington.
On Sunday, July 27, 1969, defendant in the company of friends appeared at the Ebony Lounge located in the city of St. Paul to hear a musician who was performing that evening. A sizable audience was in attendance. The defendant was carrying a .38-caliber revolver. At about 11 p.m. the deceased, Elmer Caldwell, arrived at the bar in the company of a female companion. He, too, was armed, with a .32-caliber automatic. Caldwell apparently was a co-owner of the bar and was generally regarded as a violent man. He drank excessively and had on one occasion, in the presence of the defendant, fired his revolver into the air. On another prior occasion in defendant's presence, Caldwell had shot a woman in the foot.
About midnight defendant approached a woman he had previously dated and requested her to leave the bar with him. Apparently she refused and there was some discussion. The manager of the Ebony Lounge came over and was able to quiet whatever disturbance there was. At this time the deceased interjected himself into the discussion and grabbed the defendant by the collar and raised him up and released him. At that point both men drew their guns and emptied them at one another.
The evidence is in dispute as to who fired first. In any event, the defendant, after emptying his gun, noticed the deceased still still standing and ran from the lounge. The deceased, despite being struck by several bullets, was apparently able to turn and walk a slight distance before he collapsed. He died on the way to the hospital. Defendant alleged that he was unaware of the death of the decedent and afraid of the consequences of his actions that evening and fled to the State of Washington. Upon becoming aware that a fugitive warrant was out for his arrest, he submitted to the Washington authorities,...
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