Ackley v. People
New York Supreme Court
Error to the Ontario oyer and terminer. The indictment was for burglary and larceny, and was tried at a term of the court of oyer and terminer for Ontario county, held in December, 1849. The evidence being closed, and the counsel for the prisoner and the people having summed up the cause to the jury, and after the court had charged the jury and they were about retiring to deliberate, the defendant’s counsel requested the court to charge, that inasmuch as no evidence had been…
Read the full summary
Error to the Ontario oyer and terminer. The indictment was for burglary and larceny, and was tried at a term of the court of oyer and terminer for Ontario county, held in December, 1849. The evidence being closed, and the counsel for the prisoner and the people having summed up the cause to the jury, and after the court had charged the jury and they were about retiring to deliberate, the defendant’s counsel requested the court to charge, that inasmuch as no evidence had been given of the general character of the defendant, the law would presume it of ordinary fairness,
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court, Welles, P. J.
According to the doctrine of the court in The People v. Bodine, (1 Denio, 314,) the charge to the jury in this case, in regard to the consequence of the defendant’s omission to give evidence of good character, was erroneous. If the court had simply declined charging as requested by the prisoner’s counsel, there would have been no error on that subject, as no evidence had been offered on either side, touching the defendant’s general character; and according to some of the authorities, the views contained in the charge, were sound, But the more recent cases, hold that…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- People v. BodineCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1845
3Cited by6 opinions
- Bennett v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1890
- Chase v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1872
- People v. DavisCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1905
- People v. . LingleyNew York Court of Appeals · 1913
- People v. LangleyAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1906
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.