Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-11-23

hides OF all kinds. Recently its agents had
been instructed TO buy only the skins of
male deer. Formerly the firm had not
paid any attention to the matter of sex, not
being aware OF any law on the subject.
On cross examination witness said that
prior to three or four weeks ago the firm
had never instructed its agents to use pre-
caution in the matter of purchasing or for
warding deer-skins, except in regard to
their quality.
In reply to a question by the Court, Mr..
Knights stated that his firm handled on an
average of six Or seven thousand deer hides
a year.
The defense here rested, and the prose-
cution recalled Thomas Tunstead, who tes-
tilted positively, as an expert, in regard to
| certain points, totally upsetting the opin-
ions and theories advanced by witnesses
Dodge and Watson for the prosecution.
General Hart then offered to submit the
case without argument, to which PROPOSE
ton Mr.. Bruner very promptly and cheer
fully assented.
General Hart then asked the Court to in
struct the jury that criminal intent must
| be shown on the part of the defendant in
order to warrant conviction.
Nj. Bruner objected to counsel offering
his instructions orally. If General Hart
j
on that point, he (Bruner) was perfectly
willing to argue it with him. He would
also ask the Court to instruct the jury that,
if the defendant had committed an unlaw-
full act through criminal carelessness, he
could not be held guiltless.
In charging the jury Justice Devine said
that If the teamster in the employ of the
defendant received the skins in the regular
discharge OF his duty, the firm would be
presumed to have possession of them. If
the jury should find this TO be fact, and
also that any of the skins had had the evil
dence of sex removed, they were bound to
find the defendant guilty. Ignorance of
the law did not excuse him, as all citizens
are presumed to know the law.
General Hart-"The Court surely does
not mean that ?"
Judge Deyine-"The Court so instructs
the jury"
General Hart-"Then l object to the in
structions given the jury, on the ground
that they are not in writing, and further,
that the Court instructs the jury that the
defendant may be guilty of an offense
while ignorant Of the facts constituting the
offensen
Judge Devine-"The Constable will take
charge of the jury!"
And the crowd of lockers on, lawyers
witnesses and others lied out OF the Court
room, and left the jurors alone to wrestle
with the cutaneous problem submitted to
them.
The jury was in session about an hour
and half, and reported to the Court
that an agreement was impossible, and
they were accordingly discharged 1t was
reported that the ballots stood ten for ac-
quittal and two for conviction, and that
the majority held that criminal intent"
had not been proven.
The result was surprise to those disin-
terested persons who heard the testimony.
The case was strongly presented, and the
evidence seemingly conclusive that the de-
PENDANT had in his possession a deer-skin
that somebody (other than himself had
mutilated; and this was all that it was
necessary TO prove.
While there is no desire on the part of
District Attorney Bruner to be unreason-
able in the matter, he says he intends to
push the case to a conclusion. The law has
been a dead letter long enough, and the
only way by which to prevent the illegal
slaughter of deer is to show tie vandals
that it will be enforced in some quarters, at
least.