State v. Sefrit

Citations

• 82 Wash. 520
• 144 P. 725
• 1914 Wash. LEXIS 1553

Syllabus

<p>Venue — Change — Bias of Judge — Disqualification. Upon an affidavit for a change of judges on account of the bias of the trial judge, and asking that a judge of some other county be called because the judge of department No. 2 would be called as a witness, the trial judge has no jurisdiction other than to send the case to the judge of department No. 2; since he cannot pass upon the qualifications of such judge.</p> <p>Judges — Disqualification—Judge as Witness. In making an affidavit to disqualify a trial judge on the ground that he would he a witness in the trial, the defendant, .especially in a criminal case, need not divulge any part of his evidence in advance of the trial; nor should a judge be required to pass upon the materiality or admissibility of his own testimony.</p> <p>Appeal — Review—Harmless Error. Error in overruling a motion to call in a new judge, because of the disqualification of the trial judge by reason of the fact that he would be called as a witness at the trial, is not prejudicial where, when called to testify, the trial judge ruled, as the fact was, that the matter was entirely immaterial.</p> <p>Libel and Slander — Criminal Prosecutions — Malice—Truth of Charge — Information—Sufficiency. Malice being the gist of the offense of criminal libel at common law and under Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2424, defining the offense as a “malicious publication” without making any reference to the truth or falsity of the publication, it is not necessary to allege in the information that the publication was false; especially in view of Id., § 2425, providing that every publication having the tendency mentioned in § 2424 shall be deemed malicious unless justified or excused, and that such publication is justified -when the matter charging the commission of a crime is true, and was published with good motives and with justifiable ends; since the truth is made material for the first time only as a defense overcoming the presumption of malice.</p> <p>Same — Crimin