Commonwealth v. Bezek

Citations

• 168 Pa. 603
• 32 A. 109
• 1895 Pa. LEXIS 843

Syllabus

<p>Criminal laxo — Murder—Continuance—Discretion of court.</p> <p>The Supreme Court will not reverse a judgment on a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree because the lower court refused a continuance, where there is nothing on the record to show an abuse of discretion in the action of the lower court, or that a postponement of the trial would have resulted in strengthening the defense in any respect.</p> <p>Evidence — Blending relevant with irrelevant matters — Review.</p> <p>In civil cases the rule of evidence is that “ where an offer blends irrelevant and inadmissible matters with a matter relevant and admissible, and it is made and rejected as a whole, the rejection of it is not error; ” but this rule ought not to be summoned to sustain a ruling prejudicial to the interests of a defendant on trial for murder.</p> <p>Where an offer of evidence is improperly rejected, but immediately afterwards under another offer the evidence is admitted in full, the ruling on the first offer is not a ground for reversing the judgment.</p> <p>Murder — Insanity—Evidence.</p> <p>Insanity is an independent defense, and he who sets it up must show the existence of it by fairly preponderating evidence.</p> <p>Evidence — Confession—Voluntary statement.</p> <p>Where a prisoner is warned that any statement he might make concerning a murder with which he is charged may be used against him, and that he need not say anything about it unless he desires to do so, and he subsequently makes a statement, such statement may be used as evidence at his trial.</p>