Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad v. Shelton

Citations

• 66 Ill. 424

Syllabus

<p>Instructions—must not assume facts. In an action against a railroad company to recover for a personal injury in being put off the cars of the defendant, the issue made by the parties was, whether the conductor put the plaintiff off the car while it was in motion. The court instructed the jury as follows: “ The jury are instructed, that if they believe, from the evidence, that the plaintiff had not paid or offered to pay his fare from Elkhart to South Bend, then the defendant would not be warranted in throwing the plaintiff from the train, in a way to endanger his life or limb, or throw him off while the train was in motion:” Meld, that the instruction assumed as fact the very matter in contest, and was calculated to prejudice the defendant. The court say, however, that they would not be inclined to reverse for this error alone, if the record had shown that substantial justice had been done.</p>