Morrison v. State
Texas Supreme Court
Appeal from Wharton. Tried below before the Hon. Wm. H. Burkhart. Morrison was indicted for theft of a hog of the value of twenty dollars, the property of Ira Saunders.
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Appeal from Wharton. Tried below before the Hon. Wm. H. Burkhart. Morrison was indicted for theft of a hog of the value of twenty dollars, the property of Ira Saunders. The defendant interposed a special plea that the court had no jurisdiction to try the cause; that the charge was not in law an indictment, having been found without evidence; the witnesses before the grand jury having been sworn only by the foreman, whose authority to administer an oath is restricted by law to the oath of secrecy. The plea, on exception by the District Attorney, was stricken out. On the trial the State proved…
1Opinion of the Court
Reeves, Associate Justice.
The grounds upon which appellant seeks to reverse the judgment against him are presented in his motion for a new trial.
1. Because the court erred in striking out defendant’s special plea setting up the want of jurisdiction.
This plea sets up that at the time the indictment was found the witnesses who appeared against him testified in the grand jury room, without having the oath prescribed by law administered to them by any one authorized by law to administer oaths; that the oath was administered by the foreman of thegrand jury, and that he had no legal authority to…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Spratt v. StateSupreme Court of Missouri · 1843
3Cited by6 opinions
- Fincher v. PeopleSupreme Court of Colorado · 1899
- Johnson v. StateCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1886
- Edwards v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1914
- State v. WortmanSupreme Court of Kansas · 1908
- Ex parte SelbyCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 1960
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