State v. Hall

Citations

• 16 S.D. 6
• 65 L.R.A. 151
• 91 N.W. 325
• 1902 S.D. LEXIS 71

Syllabus

<p>1. Defendant, accused of murder, moved for change of venue, on affidavits alleging that on a previous trial he was convicted after groat difficulty-in obtaining a jury, that the murder and trial had been extensively published, in the county, that many of the citizens had viewed the remains of the deceased, and that there was a strong- prejudice against defendant throughout the county, so that an impartial jury could not be obtained. The application was opposed by affidavits of 100 citizens, many of whom affirmed that they had not heard the case commented on, and had no prejudice, and could sit impartially as jurors; that neither defendant nor deceased was a resident of the county: and. all affirmed that there was no prejudice, and, in their opinion, a fair and impartial trial could be had. Comp. Laws, § 7312, provides that a criminal action may be removed when it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in' the county. Held, no abuse of discretion to deny the change.</p> <p>2. Under Comp. Laws, § 7313, providing that the panel of jurors summoned. on a special venire may bo challenged on account of any bias of the officer who summoned them, which would be good ground of challenge to a jur’or, and section 7358, subd. 2, giving- as ground of challenge of a juror the existence of a state of mind which satisfies the court that the juror cannot try the issue impartially, the overruling of a challenge to the panel of jurors as summoned by an officer who heard the former trial, at which defendant was convicted of murder,, and then formed an opinion as to his guilt, but who had not expressed such opinion, and did not discuss the case with any of tlio jurors summoned, and who testified that, if called as a juror, he could try the case impartially, was not error.</p> <p>3. On prosecution for murder, a witness testified that he saw defendant write his name on two exhibits which contained no matter material to the case, and t