State v. Martinez

Citations

• 25 N.M. 328
• 182 P. 868

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY TRIE COURT.</p> <p>1. Where, in the trial of a criminal case, the judge of the district court announced that he would be absent for a moment, it was equivalent to announcing that a recess had been declared, and anything that occurred in the absence of the judge was no part of the trial; and defendants, in order to predicate error thereon, would be required to show that during the recess something occurred in the presence of the jury that was prejudicial to him. P. 333</p> <p>2. Expert knowledge is not required on the part of the witness to enable him to testify as to the comparative size of a gunshot wound. P. 334</p> <p>3. Threats made by the defendant accused of murder, to kill some person not definitely designated, especially when made shortly before the commission of the crime to which they may be construed to refer, are admissible in evidence in connection with other explanatory circumstances on proof of the corpus delicti. . P. 334</p> <p>4. The following instruction upon the presumption of innocence approved:</p> <p>■“The defendant is presumed by law to be innocent, and that presumption remains with him until his guilt is established by the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of the offense charged against him, and it devolved upon the state to establish the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt before you would be warranted in depriving the defendant of the benefit of this presumption or find him guilty.” P. 336</p> <p>5. The defendant was on trial for murder, and insanity was relied upon as an excuse. The court instructed the jury as to the essential elements of murder in the first degree, and advised the jury, if all the essential facts had been established beyond a reasonable doubt, the law presumed it murder unless circumstances existed excusing or justifying the act or mitigated it so as to make it manslaughter'. Held, that the instructions were not liable to objection of excluding the defense- of an excuse of insanity; but, on