Court Opinion

ID: 9564384
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:59:33.527326+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:23.048965
License: Public Domain

On Rehearing
BRETT, Judge.
In the trial hereon, the defendant made request for only one instruction, which was as to the weight and credibility to be given the testimony of a witness as affected by the fact he had been previously convicted of an offense. The court covered this in his instructions. No other requests were made.
On this rehearing it is urged that the trial court erred in not instructing on the question of Van Buskirk being an *767accomplice of the defendant, Samples. He relies principally upon Sipes v. State, 36 Okl.Cr. 1, 251 P. 511. It is contended that the trial court should have instructed on the question of accomplice and left the determination thereof to the jury. The Sipes case would have been applicable if the defendant herein had been established by the facts as a co-conspirator or associate, aidor and abettor of Van Buskirk in receiving the oil from Van Buskirk for concealment by prearrangement. Wilkerson v. State, Okl.Cr., 265 P.2d 739. He was not a recipient of the goods in such capacity. No one, so he testified, told him this was stolen oil. The contrary was true in the Sipes case. If the facts had been in dispute as to whether Samples was an accomplice of Van Buskirk in concealing the oil, it would have been proper for the court to have given an instruction on accomplice and submitted the question to the jury. But -where, as herein, the facts are not in dispute in that regard, a question of law was presented for the court to determine whether the facts made Samples an accomplice of Van Buskirk. Sipes v. State, supra. Hence, the court could determine he was not an accomplice and there was no need for an instruction thereon. We believe the facts support this conclusion. In fact, Samples’ own testimony repudiates the idea of an accomplice. It is therefore clear why no requested instruction thereon was offered. It was, in our opinion, not error for the trial court to not instruct on the question of accomplice.
On the question of the trial court’s failure to instruct on the defendant’s theory of his defense, that he acted in good faith in the purchase of the oil from Van Buskirk, we are not unmindful of our holding in Lac Coarce v. State, Okl.Cr., 309 P.2d 1113. We were impressed therein that the defendant was completely stripped of his defense by the omission in the trial court’s instructions of the defense of insanity. But, such is not the situation in the case at bar. Even though the trial court did not give an affirmative instruction on his theory of defense, he was not stripped of his defense thereby. The trial court instructed on presumption of innocence, reasonable doubt, and all the essential elements of receiving stolen property: that the property must have been stolen and as such was received by the defendant knowing it to have been stolen or by reason of the circumstances under which he received it he knew or had reason to believe and did believe it was stolen. The court instructed if the jury so found, beyond a reasonable doubt, it should return a verdict of guilty. On the other hand, the court instructed if the jury failed to find from the evidence the state had established each and every element thereof, it should find the defendant not guilty. These instructions went to the very essence of the question of good faith, for if the jury found the property was not received with knowledge of its stolen character, then it would of necessity have found the property to have been received in good faith.
In Burgess v. State, 206 Ark. 157, 174 S.W.2d 239, it was held:
“In prosecution for knowingly receiving stolen property, it was proper for defendant’s counsel to argue to jury that purchase of tires from the garage keeper for reasonable price were circumstances inconsistent with guilt but such argument could not properly be incorporated in instructions.”
It is obvious that those matters went to the question of good faith, which, the court said, would have been improper matters of instruction, for that would have constituted an invasion of the jury’s province to weigh the evidence both as to guilt and innocence. It would have required the trial court to place undue emphasis on the defendant’s evidence and the weight to have been given it. The question of good faith was one for argument, which no doubt was impressively presented.
Finally, we have repeatedly held that where the defendant was not satisfied with the trial court’s instructions, and he desired additional instructions upon his theory of the case, it was his duty to pre*768pare the same in writing and request the trial court to give them. Wilkerson v. State, supra; Carpenter v. State, 56 Okl.Cr. 76, 33 P.2d 637; and other cases. No such request was ever presented in this case. In view of the foregoing authorities and conclusions, on rehearing the. judgment and sentence as modified is affirmed.
POWELL, P. J., concurs.
NIX, J., not participating.