St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-27
CRIMINAL LAW.
The Case of the State of Mime
sofa VS.. Thomas Brown Re

The Case or the state OF MINNIE
sofa vs.. Thomas Brown Re
viewed.
To the Editor of the Globe
A recent decision by the supreme
court of Minnesota furnishes curious
text for short discussion on criminal
law.
In the case of The State of Minnesota
VS.. Thomas Brown, tried at MoOrhead =
Mimi, the Indictment was for murder
in the fist degree. The defendant was
found guilty as charged, and was SEN
fenced to be hanged, The governor is
sued his death warrant and the same
was placed in the hands of the sheriff.
New counsel was then employed to take
the case to the supreme court. Upon
an examination of the record, several
assignments of error are discovered in
defendants brief. Error is alleged in
the charge of the court and in the ex-
animation of witnesses.
Among the assignments of error Is
the following:
1.-THE court erred in receiving the YER
dict and entertaining the motion for a
new trial in the absence of defendant"
Upon examination of the records it is
found, after the return of the indict
ment by the grand jury, to be as follows:
land the said Thomas Brown being
duly arraigned entered plea Of not
guilty.
And on the 10th and 18th days of
| January. 1889, jury was duly empan-
eled and sworn to try said Thomas
Brown for the offense charged in the in
dictment, which jury on the 18th day of
January, 1889, returned the following
verdict:
- we, the jury. find the defendant
guilty of murder in the first degree
"Whereupon the court, in accordance
| with said verdict, adjudged the defend
ant guilty of the offense charged, and
| on the Oath day of January, 1889. pro-
| nOunced the following sentence:
Here follows the sentence of the
| court:
The stenographer's minutes, which
! were transcribed and afterwards exam
ined and settled by the court and made
part OF the record, recite ''that the
| action came on for trial in said court
| and county, at general term thereof,
on the 10th day of January, 1885,"
There is not word or syllable in the
| entire record made by the clerk OF the
court, Stenographer or any other per-
son, which hints at the presence of the
accused Or his counsel, subsequent to
the time defendant pleaded not guilty.
| until sentence Of death was pronounced,
| except that defendants testimony, in
his own behalf, is recorded in the ste
| nOgrapher's certified report as being
given on the 10th day of January, 1882
| This, according to the certified record
! of the clerk of court, was the day prior
to the completion of the empaneling of
the jury. According to the record. de-
PENDANT may have been in Canada or
] New York when the verdict was rem
| dered. With this record before it, the
supreme court of Minnesota affirmed
the Judgment of death of the trial
court.
The statutes of Minnesota declare that
| in the trial for felony the defendant
| shall be personally present. Chap.
| 113, Sec 8, Statutes of Minnesota.)
The question which was before the
court on the point referred, to was,
| therefore, as to- the necessity of the rec
ord showing afhrmatively the presence
| of the accused throughout the trial and
at the rendition of the verdict in a CAPT.
tai felony. In the opinion filed in the
| case by Vanderburgh.J. it is held that the
| record shows the descendant was present
| and sworn, and if there is error it must
affirmatively appear. The points raised
are, therefore, somewhat obscure in the
opinion.
In Wharton's Criminal Law. vol. 8,
sec. 3197 sixth edition), the learned
author says: 'In capital eases the rec
| ord must show the prisoners presence
| at trial, verdict ana sentence affirma-
lively, OF else the error will be fatal"
This doctrine is thus laid down in the
| text books as elementary. This Mime
sofa decision is so contrary to what has
long been considered elementary, and
SO at variance with an unbroken line Of
adjudications, that 1t will doubtless re-
main one of those anomalous and confus-
ing judicial judgments, always too
many and yearly increasing, which
beSet the lawyer, and make his endeav-