People v. Douglass

Appeal—Presumption Against Error.—On appeal all intendments are in favor of the regularity of action of the trial court. Error will never be presumed, hut must affirmatively appear.

Id.—Continuance op Criminal Cause—Presumption of Consent.— When the record upon appeal'does not show that a continuance of a criminal cause was objected to by the defendant it will be presumed in favor of the action of the court below that the defendant consented to the order.

Id.—Failure to Bring Defendant to Trial Within Sixty Days—Motion to Dismiss—Error Not Appearing.—A judgment of conviction in a criminal proceeding will not he reversed upon appeal because of the failure of the prosecution to bring the defendant to trial within sixty days after the filing of the information, where the bill of exceptions is entirely silent as to the orders of the court postponing the trial and refusing to dismiss the prosecution, and there is nothing in the transcript upon appeal as to the orders, except the record entries made by the clerk of the trial court, which fail to show any objection by the defendant to the continuance, or that good cause for denying the motion to dismiss was not shown by the prosecution.

Criminal Law—Evidence—Testimony Taken at Preliminary Examination— Death of Witness — Admission.—Where it is admitted, upon the trial of a defendant charged with the commission of a crime, that one of the witnesses, whose testimony was taken upon the preliminary examination, is dead, it is proper to read in evidence bis testimony taken before the committing magistrate, which had been taken, down in shorthand, transcribed, certified, and filed, as required by section 869 of the Penal Code; and an objection thereto upon the ground “ that due diligence has not been shown to bring this witness before the court to obtain his evidence in the regular way” is properly overruled.

Id.—Instructions—Court Not Bound to Repeat Itself—Failure to Indorse Ground of Refusal—Harmless Error—The trial court may refuse to give the jury an instruction asked for by the defendant in a criminal prosecution, which is given in substance in other instructions. The court is not bound to repeat itself, and its failure to indorse upon the refused instruction the ground of refusal is not prejudicial error for which the judgment can be reversed.

Id.—Presumption of Innocence.—The refusal of the court to instruct the jury that “ where there are two presumptions, one in favor of innocence, and the other in favor of a criminal course, the one in favor of innocence must prevail ” is not errbr. The only presumption in a criminal case is of the innocence of the defendant, until guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt, and it is sufficient if the court has so charged the jury.