Commonwealth v. D'Angelo

Citations

• 29 Pa. Super. 378
• 1905 Pa. Super. LEXIS 338

Syllabus

<p>Appeals — Assignments of error — Excerpts from, charge — Charge as a whole —Criminal law.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for a crime, the trial judge cannot be convicted of error by excerpts taken from his charge, which were not complete paragraphs or represented separate and entire instructions on essential phases of the case, where the charge considered as a whole fully and fairly presented the defendant’s case in an adequate manner.</p> <p>Criminal law — Assault and battery — Charge of court — Reasonable doubt.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for assault and battery where the first count charges an aggravated assault and battery, and the second a simple assault and battery, the trial judge fulfills his duty if he defines the offense of aggravated assault and battery by reading the statutory definition given to it in the crimes act, and describes the offense charged in the second count by a plain and comprehensive explanation. No further repetition is required of him.</p> <p>Where the defendant in a criminal trial makes no request for particular instructions as to the definition of the term “reasonable doubt,” and the court in the course of the charge several times brings to the attention of the jury the question of reasonable doubt, the defendant, on appeal, cannot complain of the inadequacy of the instruction given on the subject.</p>