State v. Rodriguez

Citations

• 115 La. 1004
• 40 So. 438
• 1906 La. LEXIS 449

Syllabus

<p>1. Criminal Law — Trial—Limiting Number oe Witnesses as to Character.</p> <p>The number of witnesses to prove character was properly limited to six. If the number exceeds six, process is not denied to the accused, process issues at his own costs. There must be some limit to character evidence.</p> <p>2. Juey — Competency oe Jurors.</p> <p>The venireman was a competent juror. His examination by the court on his voir dire showed reasonable disposition to properly discharge the duties of a juror.</p> <p>3. Same.</p> <p>The second juror challenged peremptorily in his answers to the court corrected all possible impressions of the least disposition not to comply with the law’s requirement of a juror.</p> <p>4. Homicide — Evidence — Threats — Remoteness.-</p> <p>Time, if not too remote, does not render evidence of threats by accused irrelevant.</p> <p>5. Criminal Law — Trial — Preserving Bills oe Exceptions.</p> <p>The trial judge shall “at the time and without delay,” when a bill of exception is taken to the court’s ruling holding that an overt act had been commited, order the clerk to take down the facts -upon which the bill is retained.</p> <p>If prior facts (taken down before bill if exception is taken) have any bearing upon the issue, they are to be incorporated in the statement of facts. If the district attorney and counsel do not agree as to these facts, then the trial judge is to dictate them from memory.</p> <p>His own statement of his conclusions will not suffice.</p> <p>There must be by him dictation of the facts to the extent possible.</p> <p>Although all the facts may not be recalled, there should be substantial compliance as far as possible.</p> <p>It should be a dictation of the facts, though not in -words the same as those used by the witness. It should not be an inference from the facts. The trial judge must be allowed some discretion as to the methods to be followed in complying with the statute.</p> <p>A witness on cross-examination may be examined to