People v. Eckert

Citations

• 16 Cal. 110
• 1860 Cal. LEXIS 180

Syllabus

<p>To convict a defendant of larceny upon the testimony of an accomplice, together with corroborating evidence, the corroborating evidence must connect the defendant with the offense charged. It is not sufficient that it corroborate the accomplice as to the fact that a larceny was committed.</p> <p>McB., the accomplice, swore to the larceny by the defendant. The Court instructed the jury, “ that though the witness McB. was impeached, if his testimony was corroborated by the testimony of witnesses unimpeached, they were bound to believe his testimonyHeld, that the instruction was wrong, as taking from the jury their right to judge of the credibility of all the statements of the witness.</p> <p>It is irregular for one of the Justices composing the Court of Sessions, on a criminal trial, to retire before the termination of the trial, and another Justice, not present during the previous stages of it, to come in and participate in the proceedings. The members of the Court who act as such when the case is developed, should continue to act until the close. Whether such irregularity is sufficient to reverse a conviction otherwise regular, not here decided—but the practice is dangerous and disapproved of.</p>