People v. Merkle

Citations

• 89 Cal. 82
• 26 P. 642
• 1891 Cal. LEXIS 777

Syllabus

<p>New Trial — Discretion — Credibility of Witnesses. —Granting or refusing a new trial rests largely in the discretion of the trial court, and an order denying a new trial will not be reversed, where it appears that the question presented by the motion for a new trial necessarily involved a consideration of the credibility of the witnesses.</p> <p>Id.—Homicide — Husband and Wife — Evidence — Privileged Communication— Newly Discovered Evidence.—Affidavits on a motion for a new trial of a female defendant found guilty of manslaughter, made by herself and her husband, to the effect that he, and not the defendant, committed the homicide, and that he told her of that fact before the trial, but refused to allow her to use the communication in her defense, are not per se ground for a new trial, as the question of the truth of such affidavit is a matter for the consideration of the trial judge, and to be determined by reference to all the evidence in the case.</p>