Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-03-31
NEW DEPARTURES In MURDER TRIALS

Hurtado, now confined in the jail of this
county under sentence for murder, shot
and killed Estuardo in this city something
over year ago. He was indicted for MUIR
der, and on the trial temporary insanity,
or, as it is more popularity known, emo
tional insanity, was set up as defense, it
being commended that the defendant had
been informed of the adultery of his wife
with the deceased, and that the informa.
ton threw him into such frame of mind
that he killed the man under an irresistible
or insane impulse, and that at most the
killing was manslaughter. In support of
that plea, testimony was offered tending to
show that the information was true. To
this the prosecution objected, as irrele-
want. For the prosecution the District
Attorney 81. L. Buckley, City Attorney
w. A. Anderson and special counsel Grove
L. johnson appeared, and for the defense
C. 7. Jones. Mr.. johnson and Mr.. Jones
argued the point deliberately. and the OBJ.
lection was sustained by Judge S. G. Den.
son. On that as the leading point the
defendant went to the Supreme Court.
That tribunal has affirmed the judgment of
conviction, holds the position of the prose-
cution to be sound, and sustains the ruling
of the Judge. At the time of the trial
the RECORD UNION remarked upon the
verdict of guilty in connection with the
ruling: "This is very remarkable out
come, for it is opposed to long line OF
verdicts, in which juries have acquitted
murderers in utter defiance of the law,
and have thus so demoralized many Judges
as to make them think that the plea of
seduction was somehow admissible under
the law. In the Hurtado case the
ruling of the Court put this ques.
ton straight at the beginning. Grove L.
johnson, who prosecuted, has certainly
won decided triumph in this case, for it
must be admitted that all the probabilities
seemed against him, and that the jury
would have ample precedent for acquitting
the prisoner. 1t is to be hoped the Su-
preme Court will make strong and clear
ruling upon this important point. 1t is
certainly time it was settled" etc. Add.
tional and very able counsel appeared for
the defendant in the Supreme Court with
Mr. Jones, and Mr.. johnson appeared for
the prosecution. An exhaustive argument
of the question and review of all the
cases was had. 1t may, therefore, now be
fairly claimed that the Hurtado case takes
rank as leading one, and that departure
in criminal jurisprudence has been made,
at least from the line of American prece-
dents. We believe it is the first case, Ger.
tainly the first in the United States, where
proof tending to prove the adultery has
not been admitted, save as means of as.
pertaining how far information of fact af-
fected the mind of the defendant Judge
benson charged Neither the seduction
of the defendants wife by the deceased,
nor an aduIterous intercourse betwssn her
and the deceased, will constitute an excuse
or justification for his killing" The Su-
preme Court now holds, as we understand
it, that the fact of the truth of the infor-
nation was irrelevant, and to admit evi.
dence totally irrelevant because it might in
some degree render more probable testi-
mony which is relevant, would be to open
up the way to the trial of side issues in
other words, the Court holds that the
question of adultery is side issue in such
a case. As we understand it this is op.
posed to the trend of the Sickles case, the
Mcfarland Richardson case, the Muy bridge
case, the Horace Smith case, the Schroeder.
LIE Fevre case, and long line of like cases.
The whole matter amounts to this The
fact of adultery is not one of the justiica-
tions the law recognizes for taking human
life