Hull v. State

Citations

• 7 Tex. Ct. App. 593

Syllabus

<p>1. Unlawful Marriage. — To sustain a prosecution for unlawful marriage, the indictment must allege and the proof show a valid marriage of the defendant, and his or her subsequent marriage during the life of the lawful spouse. Divorce, or five years’ absence of the spouse without knowledge by the defendant of his or her continued existence, would seem to be matter of defence.</p> <p>2. Same—Evidence. —The survival of the lawful spouse at the date of the subsequent marriage is a question of fact for the jury, and may be established by proof of circumstances reasonably inductive of that conclusion; but no legal presumption can be invoked in lieu of proof. The presumption of innocence at least counterbalances any presumption of the prolongation of life.</p> <p>3. Same—Charge of the Court. —In effect the court below instructed the jury that when a person was shown to have been living at a certain time, his continued existence for seven years thereafter is to be presumed; and that the party who asserts his death within that period has the burden of proving that fact. Held, that the instruction was erroneous because it invaded the province of the jury, and exonerated the prosecution from, proof of a material constituent of the offence.</p>