Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-02-11

Now, / have said that from murder in
the second degree the law works each way
lit goes upward if the state can prove de-
liberation and premeditation, to murder in
the first degree; hut it also descends, so
that in q case where certain other elements
appear which weaken the force Of the
cime then it is called mansiaughter
Now, just as murder in the first degree de-
pends upon the mental condition of weigh
4 ing the matter and deiberating and pre-
meditating it, manslaughter consists in a
| state of mind where the man cannot even
be held to have reasonably intended the
resnls of his acts It is said in the law
that he "acts under sudden heat and pas
sion.n Now you all know that man may
do an act which, if he was not acting under
sudden heat and passion, he would under
stand about what he was doing, but that,
on the other hand, he may do that same
act and, because of that condition of heat
and passion. he may not at the time appre-
ciate or realize the full effect of what he is
doing. Now, the law does not excuse the
man becanse Of that; and it does not all
WAYS make it manslanghter, because there
is another element: His heat and passion,
I
| knowing what he was doing fully at the
time, must have been the result Of justif-
able provocati0n--in other words, if mar
is not violating the law and he is suddenly
thrown into state Of mind bv an assault
from another unexpected and not war
ranted in W, and while in condition Of
Indignation, or of anger, or of anything
else which you would cal heat and passion,
1 he G0cc 5oot Oh, hcr dor
| were not for that state of mind then the
1 law says you must take that into consider
alton, and you mnst say that would have
been murder if the man had acted with
any degree of coolness, it would have been
murder If he had acted in heat and pas
sion that he had hrought upon himself by
his own unlawful conduct; hnt If you find
that it was brought about by the unlawful
condnct of another person, particularly if
that other person is the victim, the law
says then that it was done under heat and
| passion and it takes ont of the act which
occurred the malice of murder; because the
man is not presumed TO have had the mall
ice because he acted under provocation,
which Is not consistent. in the legal theory,
with the possession of malice
Now. it has seemed to me (of course my
main function is to advise you as to the
! law) that q judge shonld give a jury the
benefit OF bis experience is7 critical oases,
as recognize this to be- Leaving to YOU
lall the facts in the case and all the qnes-
tions of the defense and coming to advise
you as to the degrees of homicide, it has
seemed to me that the sort of proof in this
case which has hsen offered with respect to
murder in the first degree would not seem
to come mp to the measure of the legal
proof. am speaking now of my exper-
ience in such matters. This does not bind
you in any way hecanse the responsibility.
while share il with you to the extent of
advising Won, vet the responsibility Of the
| element to he decided hv vour verdict is
entirely with you But when you ask
yourselves, on the critical point of whether
the evidence justifies the idea that this
shooting, when it finally occurred, was the
result of deliberate. wilful and prpmedi-
tated purpose on the part Of Payne that he
wonld take Minks' life, | say to ven, If
you want to know what / think about it,
| that it would not seem so to me: il would
+ not seem to me that il rose to the dignity
of proving generalization and deliberate
in that point of view And vet / couple
that with the statement that Won are super
ior to the statement which the indge makes
in regard to this mattereof advice-I am
yonr superior in the matter of law, and
Won are mine in the matter of fact; and vet
/ ! hold it to be my dusv to tell you how
that part of the case strikes me
As to the other parts of the case consid-
er that they are both close questions about
which the cnnrt has no possible suggestion
or no possible view which it is desirable to
impart to you. because consider that they
are to he carefu " weighed, both as to the
question of whether the defendant has
made ont self defense and also the ones
tion as to whether. if that defense has not
heen made ont, this shooting. when it f.
naliv took place. was done nnder heat and
passion, btnnght about hy an nnjnstifiahle
assault, in law, which Payne had had in
/ ficted upon him, or whether that was not
the case. and whether the shooting was
done with the presence of snch state of
mind that malice copld fairly he assumed.
believe the case TO he, for practical SOL
u'ion, in small compass and to rest with
in the lines that have expressed to vou.
After Won have retired any exhibits that
are here will be submitted to you.
After heing ont two hours and forty-five
minutes the jury rendered verdict of man.
/ slaughter.
On Monday morning Judge Jessup
granted the following licenses:
VIM. Schooner, Evan, fee S1nc.
S. R steeIman, Newfield, 1oc.
A ]. Keeley, CLAYTON, 8 $50.
John Ca Ian. Woodbury., $50.
TRIAL OF INDICTMENTS
In the county courts on Tuesday Pros
ecutor Starr moved indictments.
David Charles, Indicted for assault and
battery on David Farnsworth, both being Of
Frank in township, was defended by lawyer