State v. Guidor

Citations

• 113 La. 727
• 37 So. 622
• 1904 La. LEXIS 700

Syllabus

<p>CRIMINAL LAW — INSTRUCTIONS—SPECIAL CHARGE.</p> <p>1. Where an accused party asks the court to ■charge certain facts as embodying a principle ■of law under which he would be entitled to a verdict of acquittal by the jury, all of the elements which are required to establish and fix the principle must be stated among the facts. 'The requested charge must present such a statement of facts as a predicate as will make the principle of law announced be legally applicable under the evidence of the particular case.</p> <p>2. The court properly declines to charge that ■certain facts establish absolutely and generally .a particular legal principle when certain other facts or conditions not mentioned need to concur with those enumerated in order to make the proposition correct. State v. Cancienne, 24 South. 134, 50 La. Ann. 847; Parrish v. State (Ala.) 36 South. 1012; Kirkland v. State (Ala.) ■37 South. 352; Gilmore v. State, Id. 359.</p> <p>3. When instructions are asked in the aggregate, or propositions are presented as one request, the whole may be refused if there be anything objectionable in any one of them.</p> <p>4. The trial judge cannot be compelled to give a special charge which requires qualification or limitation or explanation.</p> <p>5. A special charge is properly refused, even if correct, when the subject-matter is properly covered by the general charge.</p> <p>6. When propositions of law (even if correct) have no bearing upon the facts of the case, the trial judge commits no error in refusing to charge them.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>