State v. Ware

Citations

• 58 Wash. 526
• 109 P. 359
• 1910 Wash. LEXIS 966

Syllabus

<p>Jury—Competency'—Opinions—Presumption oe Innocence. A juror is not disqualified by the opinion that, when a homicide is admitted by the accused, it will be presumed that he was guilty of a crime until evidence of justification is submitted; and this does not conflict with the rule that the juror must, in proper cases, accord the accused the presumption of innocence (Chadwick, J., dissenting).</p> <p>Criminal Law—Instructions'—Comment on Evidence—Withdrawing Issue prom Jury. Where the accused admitted committing a homicide, following a dispute relative to articles of property alleged by the deceased to have been stolen by the accused’s son, it is not an unlawful comment on the evidence for the court to withdraw from the consideration of the jury the merits or demerits of the controversy over the articles, as having nothing to do with the issue of self-defense, which was the only issue.</p> <p>Criminal Law—Statutes—Repeal—Savings Clause. The savings clause in the penal code of 1909 (Rem. & Bal. Code, § 2294), providing that nothing in this act shall apply to an offense committed before the day when this act shall take effect and that such offense shall be punished under existing laws as if this act had not been passed, is sufficient to continue in force the penal provisions repealed by the act until the date when the new act went into effect.</p>