Court Opinion

ID: 9769906
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 15:07:43.916886+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:09.176426
License: Public Domain

on appellant’s motion for rehearing.
BEAUCHAMP, Judge.
Appellant’s motion for rehearing deals chiefly with the refusal of the court to consider his Bill of Exception No. 7, which is directed at the argument of the District Attorney and arises in the following manner, as set out in the bill:
In the final argument the district attorney told the jury, in explaining the general custom, that when one kills in self-defense the matter will be presented to the grand jury and he will be no-billed if they find it so. It seems he was interrupted at this point and the further statement which he started to make is not included. In response to the objection, the court said “I do not know that counsel made a point of it or not.” The defendant then asked the court to instruct the jury to disregard the remark. In response to this request the court instructed the jury: “If the Jury understood that the indictment brought by the Grand Jury is evidence in this case, the court is instructing the jury it should disregard the same.” Defendant then said, “May we have our bill?”
Qualifying the bill, the court says that when he gave the instruction to the jury the defendant offered no exception and no objection.
We concur in the treatment of this bill in the original opinion and, in addition, we think that it would not show error even if it had been completed according to the rule.
*370The motion presents quite an ingenious argument in favor of his contention that the bill shows that the argument was not made in reply to argument of the defendant, nor in any manner invited by the defendant. If we followed this argument, however, it would violate one of the firm rules of procedure that have been invoked by this court and by all courts of which we have any knowledge for all time. The state is required to so plead its case by the indictment that the court will not be required to indulge any presumption to complete the pleading. A like rule prevails when it becomes the burden of the defendant to show, by bill of exception, the procedure forming the basis for the bill. The motion asks this court to take the view that because objection was made and the court complied with the request to instruct the jury, we should then presume that the argument was not made in reply to any argument of defendant and was not invited by him — otherwise the court would not have sustained the objection. This we cannot do. If it was not invited by defendant he should have said so in his bill, which, if it appeared in the record with the approval of the trial court, would be conclusive and would comply with the rule.
If we followed the reasoning thus presented in the motion no case would ever be reversed because we would have to presume that the trial court followed the law and was perfect in his ruling. Again, it is argued that the trial court, in qualifying the bill, would have stated that the argument was invited or provoked by the action of the defense attorney. Such qualifications to bills sometimes appear in records, but the court does not always qualify bills even when justified by the facts.
Other argument presented is to like effect and we do not think the authorities discussed sustain appellant’s contention.
The motion for rehearing is overruled.