Case Name: Henry Belcher v. The State
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1924-01-16
Citations: 96 Tex. Crim. 561
Docket Number: No. 8092
Parties: Henry Belcher v. The State.
Judges: 
Reporter: Texas Criminal Reports
Volume: 96
Pages: 561–563

Head Matter:
MARCH, 1924
Henry Belcher v. The State.
No. 8092.
Decided January 16, 1924.
Rehearing denied March 5, 1924.
1. —Unlawful Manufacture of Intoxicating Liquor — Sufficiency of the Evidence — Indictment.
Where, upon trial of unlawfully manufacturing liquor, the indictment is sufficient and the evidence supports the conviction, there is no reversible error. Following Russell v. State, 88 Texas Crim. Rep., 518, and other cases.
2. —Same—State and Federal Law.
The State law prohibiting the manufacture of intoxicating liquors, except for certain named purposes, embraced in article 588% P. C. is not rendered invalid by the Federal statutes upon the same subject. Following Ex Parte Gilmore, 88 Texas Crim. Rep., 529.
3. —Same—Special Venire — Ku Klux Klan — Bill of Exceptions.
While, under article 649 C. C. P., the right to exercise a peremptory challenge jurors may be examined on their voir dire as to politics, religion, etc., as a predicate for peremptory challenge, yet where the bill of exceptions was defective in not being sufficiently certified, there is no reversible error. Following Wilson v. State, 87 Texas Crim. Rep., 629, and other cases.
4. —Same—Rehearing—Bill of Exceptions.
The bill of exceptions under discussion contains a certificate of the trial judge that he does not certify that the proceedings set out in the bill were had, nor does he certify that any of the matters alleged therein are true, nor that there was any basis for supposing them to be true, the same could not be considered, and there was no reversible error.
Appeal from the Criminal District Court of Dallas. Tried below before the Honorable C. A. Pippen.
Appeal from a conviction of unlawful manufacture of intoxicating liquor; penalty, two years imprisonment in the penitentiary.
The opinion states the case.
W. W. Nelms, for appellant
Cited: Tyson v. State, 14 Texas Crim. App., 388; Hinton v. State, 65 Texas Crim. Rep., 408; Jones v. State, 33 id., 8.
Tom Garrard and Grover C. Morris, Assistants Attorney General, and Shelly S. Cox, District Attorney, for the State.

Opinion:
MORROW, Presiding Judge.
The offense is the unlawful manufacture of intoxicating liquor; punishment fixed at confinement in the penitentiary for a period of two years.
The evidence supports the verdict. The indictment is like that held sufficient in Russell v. State, 88 Texas Crim. Rep., 582; Stringer v. State, 92 Texas Crim. Rep., 46.
The statute prohibiting the manufacture of intoxicating liquor, except for certain named purposes embraced in Article 588^4, P. C., is not rendered invalid by the United States statute upon the same subject. Ex parte Gilmore, 88 Texas Crim. Rep., 529.
Appellant presented a bill of exceptions to the trial judge, - complaining that he had been denied the privilege of ascertaining from the members of the venire whether they were members of the order known as the Ku Klux Klan. The judge made upon it this indorsement :
"The Court does not certify that the above proceedings were had, nor does the Court, certify that any of the matters alleged therein are true, nor that there was any basis for supposing them to be true."
A peremptory challenge is defined as "a challenge made to a juror without assigning any reason therefor." Article 609, G. C. P. The right to exercise a peremptory challenge confers upon the accused the right to "give effect to Ms natural impulse to eliminate from the jury-list, not only persons who are rendered incompetent for some of the disqualifying causes named in the statute, but persons who, by reason of politics, religion, environment, association or appearance, or by reason of the want of information with reference to them, the accused may object to their service upon the jury to which the disposition of his life or liberty is submitted." Kerley v. State, 89 Texas Crim. Rep., 199, and authorities cited. As a predicate for such action, the accused may, by proper interrogation, elicit facts which will enable him to intelligently exercise his right of challenge. ': This must, of course, within reasonable limits, be determined under the facts of the particular case by the trial judge. His discretion in the matter, however, has limitations, and, when abused, will be corrected upon appeal." Reich v. State, 94 Texas Crim. Rep., 449, 251 S. W. Rep., 1073, and cases there cited. In the present case, however, the record brings forward for review no rulings of the trial court in conflict with the statute and practice mentioned. It appears only that a bill of exceptions was presented and that the court, for the reasons stated, did not allow it. The reasons given in the certificate are certainly sufficient to justify such action. Prom the certificate it appears that the proceedings recited in the bill did not take place. Conceding this to be true, there was no occasion for the judge to file a bill of exceptions in lieu of the one presented. If the appellant regarded the certificate as untrue, a bystander's bill was available to him. The reason and authorities in the opinion of Judge Lattimore, speaking for this court in Wilson's case, 87 Texas Crim. Rep., 629, are applicable to the present case. See also Shaw v. State, 89 Texas Crim. Rep., 205, 229 S. W. Rep., 511.
The judgment is affirmed.
A ¡firmed.