Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1892-03-16
THE I0TRT or APPEALS.
The Melvin and Esidgley label Suft
Decision or the Lower C0urt
Sustained


Among the decisions filed today in
the Court of Appeals. was tnat Of Melvin
aud Ridgley. publish rs Of the Maryland
Republican of this city. VI. Frank A.
Bono, for criminal libel and tried 10 the
Circuit Court for Anne Arundel county
at the October term of curt The re
suit of the trial below was adverse TO the
traversers, from which they took an APP
peal. The decision, which i by Judge
Fowler. says la part
"The trayersers demurred to the in
dictment aud their demurrer having been
oyeFruled they pleaded the general IS
sue and went TO trial before jury. Dur
ing the cause Of the trial, they took twelve
exceptions, one 20 the refusal OF the
court at the conclusion Of the States tes-
timony in chief TO instruct the jury that
there was no legally sufficient evidence
before them to support the indictment
and that this verdict must be for the ira
yersers; and eleven exceptions TO the
ruling of the Court upon the adminissi-
bility of testimony. The verdict OF the
jury being against them. they have APP
pealed. no judgement. however, having
been entered in the case below 1t has
been repeatedly held in this State that
no appeal lies from any ruling upon de-
murrer until after final judgement. and
that then the case can only be brought
up for review by writ Of error. The
questions arising upon demurrer are,
therefore, not before us. The first ex-
ception presents the question as TO the
right of the parties In q criminal proceed
ing TO require the Court to instruct the
jury as TO the legal effect of the evidence.
Ia rfarxs xNff ha IF
there ought not te be any doubt about
the question here presented. for it has
been frequently held that no Court in this
State, " hereveI may be the rule elsewhere
can be required by counsel or jury on
criminal cases 10 give instructions eth
er upon the law OF crime or the legal CT
feet OF the evidence. The action of the
learned Judge. however. appears TO have
been correct even upon the theory of the
appellant for there was some evidence
and to go TO the jury The State proved
the publication of the alleged libel by
the traversvers, and that Gen. Bond was
one of the judges of election, in regard
TO whom the libellous language set forth
in the indictment had been used. This
certainly was evidence tending TO sup
port the allegations of the Indictment.
THE State having abandoned all other
charges except that of theft, IL would be
a needless consumption of time to allow
the trayersers to offer proof of the truth
of something they are not in fact or In
law charged with having published. I'm
der these circumstances 1t seems TO us
very clear that according 10 the settled
rules of evidence the testimony showed
have been, as it was, confined to the
one issue before the jury namely, were
the charges of theft trueg The traversers
admitted the publication and they were
bound TO establish the truth of this allie
CATION. And when, therefore, it appears
by an examination of the second, third,
fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth
bill OF exceptions that they contain no
testimony relating to the charge OF theft,
it is clear without regard TO other valid
objections that the testimony therein
set forth was properly excluded. The
answer of Hon. Chas. b. Roberts as to
why he moved to institute an investi-
CATION was properly excluded because II
was hearsay evidence. We seeno error in
excluding the evidence objected TO and
ruled out in the tenth exceptioD;for the
interest disclaimed any knowledge of the
subject The traversers offered TO put
in evidence the report of the committee
of investigation made to the Board of
Directors and the action of the Board
therein. But the report which is the
evidence offered is not set out in the bill
of exceptions and it will therefore, be
presumed that it was properly neglected.
AS to the exception relating TO the order
of evidence, this order is in the discre-
ton of Court and there no appeal lies.
Rulings affirmed and cause remanded.