Wright v. State

Citations

• 10 Tex. Ct. App. 476

Syllabus

<p>1. Practice—Evidence.—Unless part of the res gestee, or part of a conversation put in evidence by the prosecution, the declarations of one conspirator in favor of his fellow are not admissible as evidence. Note suggestions of this court as to what matter should be embraced in bills of exception reserved to the rulings of the court below on the evidence.</p> <p>2. Sake.— When a party is first found ifi possession of recently stolen property, and his explanation is reasonable, natural and probable, the burden of showing its falsity is thrown upon the State. His statements in explanation are admissible in his own behalf if made when first arrested; and so, it seems, are such statements of his co-conspirator if made in Ms presence.</p> <p>3. Sake.— The indictment charged the theft of “ one certain horse, the property of A,” giving no further description, and the court permitted the witnesses to describe the horses of A found in defendant’s possession. Held, that the court did not err. If the defendant had more than one of A’s horses in his possession, and they were taken at or about the same time, the State could show it for the purpose of establishing identity in developing the res gestee, or in maMng its proof by a chain of circumstances connected with the offense on trial, or for the purpose of showing motive or intent in the crime charged.</p> <p>4. Practice.—When, as in this case, it appears that the court was limited to a single week in which to dispatch its business,—that one of its rules was to give preference to jail-cases,— and that the defendant was the only person confined for trial (all others being on bail), this court will not reverse because he was forced to trial before others whose cases had precedence on the docket, unless it appears that he suffered injustice thereby.</p> <p>5. Evidence.— The question “from what you saw, did the defendant have as much to do with those horses as any body else?” was erroneously permitted, as leading and suggestive,