Case ID: sw_170/html/0309-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "HARPER, J.", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

ALLEN v. STATE.
    (No. 3272.)
    (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
    Oct. 28, 1914.)
    Criminal Law (§ 614) — Trial—Time to Secure Counsel.
    Where an offense was committed some time before court convened, and the case was postponed to allow defendant to arrange for counsel, and where defendant had ample time to secure counsel before it was subsequently called, a refusal to postpone again to allow him to secure counsel, and his trial without counsel, was not reversible error.
    [Ed. Note. — For other cases, see Criminal Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 1312-1314; Dec. Dig. § 614.]
    Appeal from District Court, Camp County; R. W. Simpson, Judge.
    Ben Allen was convicted of assault to murder, and he appeals.
    Affirmed.
    C. E. Lane, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
    
      
      For other cases see same topic and section NUMBER in Dec. Dig. & Am. Dig. Key-No. Series & Rep’r Indexes
    
   HARPER, J.

Appellant was convicted of assault to murder, and his punishment fixed at 10 years in the penitentiary.

There are no bills of exception in the record, and no complaint was made to the charge of the court before it was read to the jury. However, in appellant’s motion for a new trial he complains that he was not given ample time to secure counsel to represent him, and that he was tried without counsel. In the qualification to the bill the court states:

“The case was called for trial on a day of the term previous, and, defendant having informed the court that he wanted to go out in the country to get some white men to arrange for counsel, the ease was passed. The .offense was committed some time before court convened, which was on or about March 13, 1914, and defendant, an able-bodied man, had ample time to procure counsel.”

As thus qualified, the bill presents no error. By it, it is shown that the court had postponed the case to give appellant time to procure counsel, and if he had not used that time in obtaining counsel*the court would have no assurance that, if he again postponed it, the same plea would not be interposed when the case was called for trial the third time.

Affirmed.