Montgomery v. State

Eldridge and Davidson, JJ., concur in the result. Eldridge, J., filed a concurring opinion at page 96 infra, in which Davidson, J., concurs.

We are asked to decide two issues in this case: (1) whether the trial judge erred in instructing the jury that his instructions were advisory and that they could pay absolutely no attention to what he told them about the law; (2) whether the trial judge erred in refusing to define the concept of reasonable doubt to the jury.

For the purposes of our decision it is only necessary to relate the basic facts. A group of men hailed a taxicab. One of them walked…