State v. Jones

Citations

• 112 La. 980
• 36 So. 825
• 1904 La. LEXIS 499

Syllabus

<p>CRIMINAL LAW — NEW TRIAL — NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE — MISCONDUCT OF JURY.</p> <p>1. Motions for new trial are in great measure addressed to the discretion of the trial court.</p> <p>2. Application for a new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence should be corroborated by other persons than the accused, and, when possible, by the testimony of the new witnesses themselves. The defendant should not rely upon his single, uncorroborated statement. Knob-loch, p. 331.</p> <p>3. “Motions for new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence must be regarded with suspicion and disfavor. In such cases the inducements to false swearing on the part of the party convicted are obvious.” State v. Washington,- 36 La. Ann. 341.</p> <p>4. Motion for new trial will not be granted when that which the defendant swears he expects to prove by witnesses would not be admissible in evidence as it is hearsay.</p> <p>5. An affidavit for new trial on the ground of a juror’s misconduct must identify the juror. It is not enough for the accused to swear, and his witness himself to say under oath, that one of the jurors was inimical, and that he said he would find a verdict of guilty if accepted as a juror. His name should have been given. He must be identified, and in this case it appears that identification was possible.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>