Case Title: Bryant v. State

Citation: 118 N.E.2d 894, 233 Ind. 274

Docket Number: 29,080

State: indiana

Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Date: 1954-04-29T00:00:00Z

Document:
233 Ind. 274 (1954)
118 N.E.2d 894
BRYANT
v.
STATE OF INDIANA.
No. 29,080.

Supreme Court of Indiana.
Filed April 29, 1954.
*275 Robert A. Buhler, of Fort Wayne, for appellant.
Edwin K. Steers, Attorney General, and Thomas M. Crowdus, Deputy Attorney General, for appellee.
GILKISON, J.
Appellant, James R. Bryant, with one Harold Harris, was charged by affidavit in the Allen Circuit Court with robbing one Earl E. Doering of $14.00 in money of the United States, one bill-fold and one gold ring of the value of $50.00, by violence and by putting said Doering in fear, under Section 10-4101, Burns' 1942 Repl.
*276 The sufficiency of the affidavit is not questioned in this court.
Without a plea, the cause was set for trial on April 21, 1953, and by agreement it was heard by the court without the intervention of a jury, resulting in a finding of guilty of robbery as charged and that the defendant is less than 21 years of age. The judgment of guilty was duly rendered and the appellant was sentenced to the Indiana State Reformatory for a period of not less than one year nor more than ten years.
A motion for a new trial was duly filed on the 22nd day of May, 1953, and was overruled on June 3, 1953.
The motion for new trial is that the decision is not sustained by sufficient evidence and is contrary to law. These reasons are not discussed in appellant's brief, and therefore we consider them as waived.
The motion also questions alleged error of law in sustaining objections of the State to certain questions asked by the defendant on cross-examination and re-cross-examination of state's witness, Donald Heater, and other witnesses. We find no error in the rulings on objections made in the matter of the examinations and cross-examinations of the other witnesses above mentioned, but feel that we must consider the alleged errors presented in the cross-examinations of state's witness, Donald Heater.
Defendant also properly presents a question concerning the overruling of his objection to a question asked by the state of its rebuttal witnesses, Edgar J. Prasse and Orvin T. Workinger, which we must consider.
It is shown by the evidence that Donald Heater was with the appellant and one Harold Harris when the crime charged was committed. He testified as a witness *277 for the state. On cross-examination he was asked by appellant's attorney as follows:
This court in Lavengood v. Lavengood (1947), 225 Ind. 206 at page 214 et seq., has stated the law with reference to the cross-examination of a witness thus:
The questions noted above along with many others too numerous to copy in this opinion were proper questions on cross-examination and re-cross-examination of the witness, Donald Heater. Sustaining objections to each of them is reversible error. Dotterer v. State (1909) 172 Ind. 357, 361, 362, 88 N.E. 689.
The state called one Edgar J. Prasse as a rebuttal witness and asked him concerning the prosecuting witness as follows:
Defendant's motion to strike the answer was not ruled upon by the court. Thus the answer remained in the evidence.
Similar questions were asked by the state of rebuttal witness  Orvin T. Workinger, with similar objections from the defendant which were overruled by the court, and the witness answered: "I would say it (Mr. Doering's reputation for truth and veracity) was good." A motion to strike out the answer was overruled by the court.
A witness is presumed to speak the truth, and evidence of good reputation for truth and veracity of a witness is never admissible until that reputation has been put at issue by the evidence or otherwise. The rulings admitting the evidence as to the good reputation of the prosecuting witness, Doering, by the witnesses, Prasse and Workinger, when that reputation had not been attacked, are reversible errors. Pruitt v. Cox (1863), 21 Ind. 15, 16; Johnson v. State (1863), 21 Ind. 329; Clackner v. State (1870), 33 Ind. 412, 413, 414; Presser v. The State (1881), 77 Ind. 274, 280; Brann et ux. v. Campbell et ux. (1882), 86 Ind. 516; Fitzgerald, Trustee v. Goff (1884), 99 Ind. 28, 33, 34; Leinberger v. State (1933), 204 Ind. 311, 315, 316, 183 N.E. 798.
In the case last cited above, Fansler, J., speaking for the court at pages 315, 316, said:
We are not inclined to evade, ignore or overrule the numerous authorities cited, and with which the action of the trial court is in conflict as noted.
We find no merit in other questions raised by appellant.
For the errors noted the judgment is reversed with instructions to grant the motion for new trial and further procedings agreeable with this opinion.
NOTE.  Reported in 118 N.E.2d 894.