Payne v. State

Having been convicted of bigamy, J. L. Payne filed his motion for a new trial, containing the general grounds, and a single special ground complaining of the following charge of the court: “ However, the defendant says that he had obtained a divorce from his first wife when he contracted the second marriage. If you believe that, and believe it beyond a reasonable doubt, then you would be authorized to acquit the defendant.” The assignment of error is that “said charge improperly deprives the defendant of his presumption of innocence, and leads the jury to believe that the burden is on him to…