State v. Zeller
| Decision Date | 14 June 1909 |
| Parties | STATE v. ZELLER. |
| Court | New Jersey Supreme Court |
(Syllabus by the Court.)
Error to Court of Oyer and Terminer, Cumberland County.
Walter Zeller was convicted of murder, and brings error. Affirmed.
Olin Bryan and Edwin F. Miller, for plaintiff in error.
J. Hampton Fithian, Prosecutor of the Pleas, for the State.
PITNEY, Ch. The plaintiff in error, together with Cline Wheeler and Herbert Grigg, was indicted by the grand jury of Cumberland county for the murder of William Read. Zeller bad a separate trial, and was convicted of the crime of murder in the first degree. The present writ of error brings under review the record of the conviction, together with certain bills of exceptions and a certificate of the entire proceedings had upon the trial.
The following are the points relied upon for reversal:
First. The indictment charged that the murder was committed at the borough of Vineland, in the county of Cumberland. It is insisted that there was no evidence that the crime took place in the borough or within the county. Counsel concedes that the borough lies entirely within the county, but contends that while there was evidence to show the crime was committed "in Vineland," it is not to be presumed that it occurred within the borough of that name, in view of what is said to be the fact that the "Great Vineland Tract," as laid out by Charles K. Landis, includes not only the entire borough of Vineland and the township of Landis in the county of Cumberland, but also, as asserted, parts of Gloucester and Atlantic counties, and that all this tract is popularly known as "Vineland." Assuming we could take judicial notice of this (for there is no proof of it), we think that the evidence of the witnesses at the trial, to the effect that the homicide took place "in Vineland," might reasonably be understood by the jury as meaning that it occurred within the borough of that name.
Second. The refusal of the trial judge to charge the jury that the question whether a certain confession made by Walter Zeller, and introduced in evidence, was made when the mind of the prisoner was under the influence of hopes or fears held out to him by the officers of the law was a question of fact, to be determined by the trial court in the first instance, and by the jury subsequently. Without going into the question of the proper function of the jury in the matter, it is sufficient to say that the record clearly shows that no such request was preferred to the trial judge.
The third and fourth points are based upon the ground that the court took from the jury the function, imposed upon it by the statute, of determining the degree of guilt of the prisoner, by instructing them that under the law and the evidence they could not find Zeller guilty of murder in the second degree, and that the law and the evidence, if a verdict of guilt were found, would warrant no other verdict than murder in the first degree. While the statute (Act June 14, 1898 [P. L. p. 824] § 107) prescribes that the jury, if they find one guilty of murder, shall declare by their verdict whether it be murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree this does not in our opinion confer upon the accused any right to have the jury left free to find him guilty of murder in the second degree if there be no reasonable...
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State v. Sinclair
...in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate the felony, our cases say the issue should not be left to the jury. State v. Zeller, 77 N.J.L. 619, 73 A. 498 (E. & A. 1909); State v. Giampietro, 107 N.J.L. 120, 122, 150 A. 367 (E. & A. 1930); State v. Pacheco, 38 N.J. 120, 131, 183 A.2d 54 (19......
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State v. Harper
...in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate the felony, our cases say the issue should not be left to the jury. State v. Zeller, 77 N.J.L. 619, 73 A. 498 (E. & A. 1909); State v. Giampietro, 107 N.J.L. 120, 122, 150 A. 367 (E. & A. 1930); State v. Pacheco, 38 N.J. 120, 131, 183 A.2d 54 (19......
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State v. Sullivan
...the death penalty or life imprisonment should be imposed. Also, the jury is required, except in felony murder cases, State v. Zeller, 77 N.J.L. 619, 73 A. 498 (E. & A. 1909), to determine and designate by its verdict whether the finding of murder is in the first or second degree. N.J.S. 2A:......
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State v. Davis
...in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate the felony, our cases say the issue should not be left to the jury. State v. Zeller, 77 N.J.L. 619, 73 A. 498 (E. & A. 1909); State v. Giampietro, 107 N.J.L. 120, 122, 150 A. 367 (E. & A. 1930); State v. Pacheco, 38 N.J. 120, 131, 183 A.2d 54 (19......