People v. Gress

Citations

• 107 Cal. 461
• 40 P. 752
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 776

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Homicide—Evidence—Hearsay—Declarations oe Deceased.—Upon a trial for murder, declarations of the deceased not made in extremis, as dying declarations having reference to the circumstances of the death, and not constituting any part of the res gestas, are hearsay and inadmissible in evidence.</p> <p>Id.—Declarations Preceding Homicide.—On the trial of a defendant accused of murder, the admission of evidence of the declarations of the deceased made on the day before the homicide, to the effect that he had discovered that the defendant had been writing to his wife, and was trying to get his wife and child to run away with him, is prej udicial error.</p> <p>Id.—Irrelevant Evidence—Testimony of Wife of Deceased.—Where the killing was admitted by the defendant, and the only issue was as to whether it was in necessary self-defense, the testimony of the wife of the deceased, and of the defendant’s efforts to induce her to leave her husband, is not pertinent to any issue before the jury, and it is prejudicial error to admit such testimony in evidence.</p>