Ballard v. State

Citations

• 31 Fla. 266

Syllabus

<p>1. The allowance of separate trials on the application of parties jointly indicted rests in the sound discretion of the trial court.</p> <p>8. That one of two parties jointly indicted is not ready for trial, is not good ground for a severance on the application of the • former; nor is the mere fact that- one of the two will confess the alleged homicide as having been in self-defense on his part* whereas the other denies it as to himself.</p> <p>3. The refusal of a severance moved for on the ground that important evidence for the justice of the cause would be excluded on a joint trial, and be admitted on a severance, and that the evidence which will be given directly against one will prejudice the cause of the other if they are tried jointly, such motion being supported by an affidavit of the defendants to the effect that “the facts in the above motion are true;” can not be held to have been error in the absence of a statement of the evidence which it was claimed would be excluded, or be prejudicial.</p> <p>4. Motions f<pr a continuance a>-e in the discretion of the trial court, and the action of that court on them will not be reversed unless there has been a palpable abuse of that discretion to the disadvantage of the accused, or whereby his rights may have been jeopardized. The rules as to granting continuances are substantially the same in civil and criminal causes, except as modified by the differences in procedure in the two classes of causes; yet affidavits fpr continuances should be scanned more closely in criminal than in civil cases, because of the superior temptation to delay presented by the former class. All facts necessary to show a clear abuse of discretion to the injury of the accused must be presented, and wherever the record is either silent or uncertain on any point material to establish such an abuse, the presumptions are all in favor of the correctness of the ruling denying the motion.</p> <p>5. On the 24th of October, 1892, the accused moved f