State v. McGinnis

Upon the trial in the court below, the defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to the extreme penalty of the law, from which he has appealed to this court, but his attorney failed to file a brief in the cause or to appear upon the hearing. Under such circumstances, the rule of practice in this court is to affirm the judgment without looking into the transcript. (Tucker v. Constable, 16 Or. 239.) But inasmuch as this is a capital case, we have felt it to be our duty to examine the record to ascertain if there was any ground whatever for the appeal, or any error…