Wood v. State

Citations

• 31 Fla. 221

Syllabus

<p>1. It is not error to refuse to permit a party calling an impeaching witness to lead him by reciting in a question the statement which he proposes to prove was made by the witness sought to-be impeached.</p> <p>2. It is not error for the trial court to refuse to permit a party who. has called an impeaching witness to ask him on the direct examination it he had ever heard the reputation of the witness sought to be impeached, discussed. The usual practice is to-leave it to the cross-examination to enter primarily upon a test of the knowledge from which the impeaching witness has spoken.</p> <p>3. In charging juries, care should be taken by the judge not to leave them under impression that, in his judgment, they must convict of some degree of offense covered by the indictment, and can not acquit. The jury should be properly instructed as. to the presumption of innocence which, surrounds a person on trial for crime.</p> <p>4. Points of law as to which a jury is to be instructed, can not arise in any case except upon the facts or evidence thereof, and hence properly the charge to-the jury should give the law applicable to all the facts or evidence, and should not give law which is applicable solely to facts or evidence not in the case. The former law is relevant to the case, whereas the latter is irrelevant to it,, and may be misleading.</p> <p>5. When a judge instructs a jury that they can not convict of a certain offense, or a degree of offense, covered by the indictment, and there is any evidence before the jury, the instruction is not confined solely to the law of the case, but gives his opinion as to the effect or-weight of the evidence; and is a violation of the policy of the statute which prescribes that charges to juries • shall be “only upon the law of the case,” The duty imposed by this statute is most properly performed by simply instructing upon the law applicable to the case, and omitting and refusing to instruct as to the law not applicable thereto. The