Fletcher v. State

Citations

• 60 Miss. 675

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal Law. Continuance after venire drawn. Sect. S059, Code 1880, construed.</p> <p>Under sect. 3059 of the Code of 1880, which provides that, “Applications for continuances in capital cases shall not be entertained after the drawing of a special venire, except for causes arising afterwards, unless good cause be shown for not having made the application before,” a defendant in an indictment for murder is not entitled to a continuance, when his case is called for trial, on the ground of the absence of a witness, who having been subpoanaed before the drawing of the speeial venire was then absent, unless good cause be shown for his failure to make the application before the drawing of the venire.</p> <p>2. Samis. Judge presiding out of his district. Record..</p> <p>When the record in a case of homicide shows that the judge presiding was presiding by interchange with the judge of the district in which the case is tried, it is not necessary for it to recite that the “public interest” required the interchange.</p> <p>3. Same. Incompetent cumulative evidence. Erroneous admission thereof. Memorandum of committing magistrate.</p> <p>Upon the trial of I\\, under an indictment for murder, the court permitted the committing magistrate to read in evidence a pencil memorandum, made by him at the preliminary examination, of the testimony of a physician as to the nature of the wound inflicted on the deceased. The character of the wound and the fact that it was the cause of the death of the deceased were clearly established by other competent testimony. Held, thatas the facts soughtto be proven by the magistrate’s memorandum were clearly established by other and competent evidence, the accused was not prejudiced by the admission of the memorandum in evidence.</p> <p>4. Same. Juror. Competency. Opinion formed. Peremptory challenge.</p> <p>It is no ground for reversal of the judgment in a capital case that the court below declared competent, and thereby forced the defendant t