Murphy v. State

Appellant was found guilty of the larceny of a motor vehicle by a jury in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Judge James H. Pugh presiding, and was sentenced to five years under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction. On appeal, appellant contends that the trial judge erred when he permitted the introduction in evidence of his confession without first having made a preliminary decision out of the jury’s presence with respect to the voluntariness of the statement.

The record discloses that appellant was arrested at approximately 9:20 p.m. on August 30, 1968 for automobile…