Sauntry v. United States

Citations

• 117 F. 132
• 55 C.C.A. 148
• 1902 U.S. App. LEXIS 4419

Syllabus

<p>1. Evidence—Presumption — Uncertainty Caused by Wrongful Act of Party.</p> <p>In an action by the United States to recover the value of timber alleged to have been unlawfully cut and removed from public lands by defendants, where the only evidence as to the quantity of . timber taken was the testimony of scalers, who made their estimates from measurements of stumps and tops remaining upon the land several years after the trespass was committed, an instruction that if the jury found that the timber was taken by defendants, but were in doubt as to the quantity so taken, they might indulge every fair and reasonable inference justified by the evidence in favor of the United States and against defendants, was proper and applicable to the case, although there was substantially no conflict in the estimates of the witnesses, since there was an inherent element of uncertainty in such estimates, caused by the wrongful acts of defendants, and for the further reason that defendants could presumably have produced better evidence, but did not.</p> <p>2. Witness—Improper Cross-Examination.</p> <p>Where a witness introduced by defendant was examined only as to the quantity of timber taken from certain described lands, which constituted a part of the subject-matter of the suit, it was error to permit plaintiff to cross-examine as to the quantity taken from other tracts also involved, but as to which he was not examined in chief.</p> <p>3. Appeal—Improper Cross-Examination—Harmless Error.</p> <p>An error in permitting the cross-examination of a witness as to' matters not covered by his direct examination was without prejudice where his testimony agreed substantially with that of the only other witness on the subject, the correctness of which was undisputed.</p>