Phillips v. State
Alabama Court of Appeals
Appeal from Houston Circuit Court. Heard before Hon. H. A. Pearce. William Phillips was convicted of manslaughter and he appeals.
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Appeal from Houston Circuit Court. Heard before Hon. H. A. Pearce. William Phillips was convicted of manslaughter and he appeals. The sentence in this case ivas erroneous. — Zaner v. The State, 90 Ala, 653. The court erred in admitting evidence of the statements made by the deceased, as they were hearsay, and not dying declarations.- — 6 Enc. of Evi. p. 11; Welch v. The State. 156 Ala. 112: See also 156 Ala. 11: Id. 62: 139 Ala. 125; 136 Ala. 221; 131 Ala. 603; 130 Ala. 40; 94 Ala. 55; 89 Ala. 69. Tested by the rules for the admission of dying declarations these statements were not…
1Opinion of the Court
db- GRAFFENRIED, J.
It is a well-recognized rule of law that hearsay testimony is, except in certain well-recognized exceptions to the rule, illegal and inadmissible. The reasons for the exclusion of hearsay testimony are also well known, and we will not undertake to set them out. As jurors are, under our system of jurisprudence, the sole triers of the facts, it is essential to the due administration of the law that, in each case, they shall have before them all of the legal testimony which is offered as evidence in the cause, and only such evidence.
While, in exceptional cases, an appellate…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Lawson v. OrearSupreme Court of Alabama · 1845
- Frierson v. FriersonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1852
- Thomas v. De GraffenreidSupreme Court of Alabama · 1855
- Bilberry's Adm'r v. MobleySupreme Court of Alabama · 1852
3Cited by7 opinions
- Slayton v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1937
- Thomas v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1951
- Laminack v. StateAlabama Court of Appeals · 1922
- Cotney v. StateAlabama Court of Appeals · 1945
- Johnson v. StateAlabama Court of Appeals · 1923
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