Dowdell v. State
Court of Appeals of Georgia
Accusation of larceny; from city court of Oglethorpe—Judge Greer. September 29, 1919. Jim Dowdell was charged with the larceny of seed-cotton, alleged to have been stolen from the gin-house of R. H. Stubbs. On the trial Stubbs testified: “In this gin-house I had stored several bales of loose seed-cotton; it was packed in stalls. The cotton in some of these stalls was picked the first of the cotton season, and remained there without being ginned.
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Accusation of larceny; from city court of Oglethorpe—Judge Greer. September 29, 1919. Jim Dowdell was charged with the larceny of seed-cotton, alleged to have been stolen from the gin-house of R. H. Stubbs. On the trial Stubbs testified: “In this gin-house I had stored several bales of loose seed-cotton; it was packed in stalls. The cotton in some of these stalls was picked the first of the cotton season, and remained there without being ginned. It was clean and not discolored. . . On the morning of the 16th of December, 1918, I noticed cotton scattered about in front of the gin-house and…
1Opinion of the Court
Broyles, O. J.
1. The evidence connecting the defendant with the larceny charged was entirely circumstantial in its character, and under all the facts of the case—especially the abundant unimpeaehed testimony supporting the theory of his innocence—was not sufficient to exclude every reasonable hypothesis save that of his guilt. The court, therefore, erred in overruling the motion for a new trial.
Judgment reversed,.
Luhe and Bloodworih, J.J., concur. The sheriff’s testimony as to what occurred after he took his dogs to the gin-house was substantially the same as that of Stubbs. He testified that…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Cox v. StateCourt of Appeals of Georgia · 1908
- Sandlin v. StateCourt of Appeals of Georgia · 1918