Williams v. State

Citations

• 11 Tex. Ct. App. 275

Syllabus

<p>1. Theft — Charge of the Court — Possession of Recently Stolen Property as Evidence of the Theft. — It was error to charge that the unexplained possession of recently stolen property is a fact from which alone guilt of the theft may he inferred, irrespective of the attending and surrounding circumstances, and particularly of the further inquiry whether there was occasion and opportunity for. explanation by the accused.</p> <p>2. Venue of the Offense—Presumption,— In a trial for horse-theft the trial court charged the jury that if the horses, prior to the theft, were last seen in the county where the venue was laid, the law presumed that they stolen in that county. Held, erroneous because there is no such legal presumption, and because the charge was on the weight of the evidence and invaded the province of the jury.</p>