State v. Douthitt

Citations

• 26 N.M. 532
• 194 P. 879

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1.A defendant in a criminal case is entitled to make reasonable and pertinent inquiries of the juror on his voir dire, so that he may exercise intelligently and wisely his right of peremptory challenge; but he has no right to ask a juror as to whether he believes in any principle of law applicable’ to the case, such, for example, as whether he believes in the principle of law which requires the jurors to presume the defendant innocent of the commission of any crime, and whether, if selected as a juror, he can enter the trial of the case with the presumption of the innocence of the defendant in his mind, and whether he can give the defendant the benefit of a reasonable doubt, if such doubt should arise, as these are all matters of law which the juror was bound to take from the court. P. 536</p> <p>2. Where testimony is admitted on behalf of the state upon the statement by the district attorney that the defendants will be connected with the evidence, and the state fails to make the connection, it is the duty of counsel for the defendant to move to strike out the evidence so admitted. P. 539</p> <p>3. Evidence of a conversation occurring immediately preceding the shooting, and about which the shooting arose, is admissible as part of the res geste. P. 539</p> <p>i. In order to take advantage of an alleged error on appeal, the trial court must have been given an opportunity to pass upon the question, and the stating one ground of objection to the introduction of evidence at the trial and urging a different ground on appeal is unavailing to the complaining party. P. 540</p> <p>5. Error cannot be assigned upon the overruling of the objection to a question, where the question was never answered. P. 540</p> <p>6. A witness may know that the reputation1 of a party for truth and veracity is good in a given community, although he has never heard any one discuss it. P. 541</p> <p>7. Instruction reviewed, and held not erroneous on the ground urged