State of Kansas v. Yeater

Citations

• 95 Kan. 247
• 147 P. 1114
• 1915 Kan. LEXIS 202

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. General Reputation — Cross-examination as to Derogatory Reports — Negative Answers Final. Where a witness testifies that the defendant has a good general reputation for peace and quietness, and upon cross-examination is asked if he has not heard reports of particular quarrels or acts of violence in which the defendant participated to which the witness returns a negative answer, the defendant is not then entitled to offer testimony to show that the quarrels or acts of violence spoken of never occurred.</p> <p>2. Affray — Exclusion of Certain Evidence Not Error. No error is committed in excluding testimony as to the conclusions of a witness that certain persons engaged in an affray with the defendant appeared to witness to be “trying to get hold of him to get him down.”</p> <p>3. Manslaughter — No Error in Instructing Relative to Higher Degrees of Homicide. The defendant, who was charged with murder in the second degree and convicted of manslaughter in the third degree, complains of instructions that were submitted to the jury upon the higher degrees of homicide. Held, that he suffered no prejudice from the instructions as to the degrees of the offense of which he was acquitted, and, further, that there was testimony in the case which warranted the submission of instructions on the higher degrees.</p> <p>4. Evidence Sustains the Verdict. The evidence in the case is held to be sufficient to support the verdict finding the defendant guilty of manslaughter in thé third degree.</p>