State v. Simmons

The issue here is whether a defendant convicted of assault with intent to commit rape had a fair trial.

Our conclusion is that he did not. The accumulation of prejudicial incidents and misconduct, in a case where the factual issue was a very close one, tipped the scale so *383heavily against the defendant that any semblance of a fair trial was lost.

At least half of the twenty assignments of error on this appeal have some merit. Some of these relate to the conduct of the deputy prosecuting attorneys, and we have from time to time regretted, but condoned, similar conduct where the proof of guilt was…