Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-06-23
OFFICIAI..
Opinions Of the Supreme Court of the state
of Tennessee, delivered at Jackson, al
April Term, 1858.

BOWles vs.. the State.
The Prisoner was indicted for murder at the Grim.
inal Court ct Memphis, at The February term,
1856. At the following June term, on the applica-
uOn Of the prisoner, the venue was regularly
changed by order Of the Court, as seems from the
record, to the County Of Fsyetts; and transcript
of the record and proceedings was ordered to be
certified to said Court For some osuse-of which
the transcript before leaves in utter ignorance
the order for the change Of venue was not exeeut-
ed and the next step in the case according to the
record, was ct the October term, 1856, of said
Criminal Court, when, as it appears, the case was
considered as still remaining in that Court for trial.
whereupon the prisOner-in the form of special
plea-set up the objection Of want of authority in
that tribunal to entertain further Jurisdiction of the
case, by Of the order of the preceding term
by changing the venue. To this plea, the attorney
general put in demurrer, which was sustained,
and leave given the prisoner to plead the indct-
ment. The prisoner then pleaded not guilty, and
the case was continued on his application. At the
February term, 1857, the venue was again ordered
to be changed, on application of the prisoner to
Upton county; in which latter county, a trial was
had, at the January term, 1858
The prisoner was convicted of msnslaughter, and
sentenced to confinement in the Pententiary for
term Of three years. From which judgment he pros
cuted an appeal in error to this Court.
l. Taking the proceedings to have been as pre-
sented in this record, and we cannot do otherwise
the Court had no jurisdiction of the case after the
first order for the change Of venue.
We are not called on to say, in the state of this
record, whether it might not have been allowable
for the Court with the assent of the prisoner to
have VGeasd the order for the change Of venue, at
the same term Of which it was made; no such ques
ton arises We cannot presume that any such thing
took place On the contrary, the objection by the
prisoner at the ensuing term urged by way of plea
to the jurisdiction, implies that no such proceeding
took place.
That the jurisdiction of the case was transferred
to the Circuit Court of Fayette by the first order
of the Court admits debate, after which the Crim-
nal Court Of Memphis had no further control or
Jurisdiction of the case except to make additional
ORDERS if necessary, to complete the transfer of the
case.
2 From the record it appears that the
jury who tried the prisoner-Wss composed of oplv
steUe1 men. This is not clerical error in the
transcript certified to this Court! The omission
exists in the original entry on the minutes of the
Circuit court Of Upton, as admitted here.
We cannot presume against the prisoner, that
this was merely omission Of the clerk in making
up the minutes Of the court This defect is not OBJ.
waited by anything in the Act of 1872
The judgment will be reversed on both of the
foregoing grounds. MCKINNEY.
Test: NJ. D. WEIGH, CIerk.