Commonwealth v. Striepeke

Citations

• 32 Pa. Super. 82
• 1906 Pa. Super. LEXIS 288

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Charge of court — Trial.'</p> <p>On a criminal trial it is proper for the court to charge as follows: “The commonwealth must make out a case which convinces the jury of the guilt of the defendant, and the various elements of it, and all of them, so that there is no reasonable doubt left in the minds of the jury that the commonwealth’s case is made out. The duty of the jury, therefore, is to take all the evidence they have heard, both of the commonwealth and the defendant, and apply it to their own common sense, their knowledge of human affairs, and to make up their minds whether or not they are convinced, they are sure, that there is no reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.”</p> <p>Criminal law — Improper conduct of counsel — Jury—Discretion of court.</p> <p>Where private counsel for the commonwealth in a criminal prosecution uses violent and inflammatory language against the defendant, but the court in a calm and dispassionate charge warns the jury not to be affected by prejudice, and subsequently refuses a motion for a new trial based on the language used by counsel, the appellate court will not under the circumstances review the discretion of the trial judge and reverse the judgment entered on a verdict of guilty.</p>