Kimmel v. People

Robert Lee Kimmel, hereinafter referred to as the defendant, and one Anthony Gene Dobbs were jointly charged, tried and convicted by a jury of burglary, grand larceny and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. By this writ of error, the defendant (but not Dobbs) seeks reversal of the judgment and sentence imposed.

The major issue to be resolved is whether the trial court erred in giving, over objection, instruction No. 17 relating to the election of the defendant not to testify. That instruction reads as follows:

“The Court instructs the jury that while a statute of this state provides that…