Commonwealth v. Exler

Citations

• 61 Pa. Super. 423
• 1915 Pa. Super. LEXIS 346

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Statutory rape — Murder—Former acquittal.</p> <p>Consensual or statutory rape is not a constituent of murder. A verdict for statutory rape cannot therefore be returned upon an indictment charging murder.</p> <p>If a person has been convicted of murder in the first degree, death occurring in consequence of the statutory rape of a child under sixteen years of age, and the conviction has been set aside, the defendant on a subsequent trial for the statutory offense cannot set up the plea of twice in jeopardy as a defense. Since he could not have been convicted of this offense at the first trial, he is not twice in jeopardy at the second.</p> <p>Criminal law — Rape—Statutory rape — Evidence—Circumstantial evidence — Act of May 19,1887, P. L. 128.</p> <p>To carnally know and abuse a woman child under the Act of . May 19, 1887, P. L. 128, there must.be a penetration or an attempt to have intercourse. This may be shown by circumstantial evidence; but such evidence, both as to the fact of a crime committed, and its author if the victim is dead, should be such as to exclude all rational theories but that the crime was committed, and the accused was its author; and great care should be taken that this proof should be clear and unequivocal. A conviction based upon such evidence will be sustained.</p> <p>Criminal law — Jury—Challenges.</p> <p>On the trial of an indictment for statutory rape it is proper practice to call all the jurors into the box, examine them on their voir dire, and make the challenges in the manner provided by the Act of July 9, 1901, P. L. 629, before the persons called are sworn as jurors.</p> <p>Criminal law — Jurors—Challenge—Opinion of juror.</p> <p>A challenge of a juror for cause in a criminal case is properly overruled, where the juror in his voir dire states that he has read of the case, and had formed and expressed an opinion as to the guilt of the prisoner, but could try and decide the case from the evidence unaffected by such for