EVIDENCE-RES GESTAE.-In a prosecution for rape, the defendant's appli
cation for new trial was based on an offer to show that prosecutrix's mother,
not present at trial, would testify that on coming home twenty or thirty min
utes after the alleged assault she at once closely questioned her daughter as
to the acts of the defendant toward her and prosecutrix denied that defendant
made any assault. Held, such testimony was not merely impeaching, but part
of the res gestae. Anderson v. State (Tex. I923) 255 S. W. 625.
It is said that the doctrine of res gestae is a harmful rule in the law of
evidence "because by its ambiguity it invites the confusion of one rule with an
other and thus creates uncertainty as to the limitations of both." 3
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WIGMORE ON EVIDENCE, ed. 2, ?I767. But there exist certain fundamental rules regard ing this doctrine, which if applied by the courts would tend considerably to eliminate the present state of confusion. The term' res gestae, says Professor Thayer "imported simply a fact, a transaction, an event". 15 AM. L. REV. I, 6. The utterance must serve to give legal significance to equivocal conduct in issue and further, the utterance must be so definitely contemporaneous with the transaction as to permit of no extention of time. 3 WIGMORE ON EVIDENCE, ed. 2, ?I774, I776. In the latter respect the res gestae doctrine and the doctrine of spontaneous exclamations differ. Where the act charged is once completed, post-transaction statements should find no admittance on the authority of the res gestae rule. The time element should deprive it of all claim to such classi fication. Such was the view followed in Vicksburg & M. R. Co. v. O'Brien, II9 U. S. 99, where the declarations of an engineer, as to the speed at which the train was running, made ten and thirty minutes after the accident were held inadmissible, the court saying, "his declaration after the accident had become a completed fact * * * was not explanatory of anything in which he was then engaged". And in Dompier v. Lewis, 131 Mich. 144, where a chip from a hammer struck a helper in the eye, a statement made about the hammer im mediately after the accident was held not to be part of the res gestae.
In
Norris v. Interurban Street R. Co., 90 N. Y. S. 460, where immediately after
an accident the motorman said "Let's go, Bill, I couldn't help it, I lost con
trol", the statement was held inadmissible as res gestae. Obviously, the prin
cipal case in admitting on the theory of res gestae, statements made twenty or
thirty minutes after the transaction was completed, though consistent with the
views of many courts, shows a misapplication of the rule. The testimony
offered finds more basis for admission under the principle of spontaneous ex
clamations, but even that claim would be weakened since the words uttered
were in answer to the "close questioning" of the prosecutrix's mother. See
Guild v. Pringle, 64 C. C. A. 621; Chicago West Div. R. Co. v. Becker, 128
Ill. 545; Chapman v. Express Co., 192 Mich. 654. If the objection of the
critics to the existence of the res gestae principle is to be overcome, it would
seem the courts must give more genral recognition to the basic principle
underlying the doctrine.
EVIDENCE-TESTIMONY AS TO UNCOMMUNICATED INTENT.-Defendant
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was convicted of murder and brought error on the ground, among others, that the trial court erred in sustaining an objecton to a question put to him as witness EVIDENCE-RES GESTAE.-In a prosecution for rape, the defendant's appli cation for new trial was based on an offer to show that prosecutrix's mother, not present at trial, would testify that on coming home twenty or thirty min utes after the alleged assault she at once closely questioned her daughter as to the acts of the defendant toward her and prosecutrix denied that defendant made any assault.
Held, such testimony was not merely impeaching, but part
of the res gestae. Anderson v. State (Tex. I923) 255 S. W. 625.
It is said that the doctrine of res gestae is a harmful rule in the law of
evidence "because by its ambiguity it invites the confusion of one rule with an
other and thus creates uncertainty as to the limitations of both." 3 WIGMORE
ON EVIDENCE, ed. 2, ?I767. But there exist certain fundamental rules regard
ing this doctrine, which if applied by the courts would tend considerably to
eliminate the present state of confusion. The term' res gestae, says Professor
Thayer "imported simply a fact, a transaction, an event". 15 AM. L. REV. I, 6.
The utterance must serve to give legal significance to equivocal conduct in
issue and further, the utterance must be so definitely contemporaneous with the transaction as to permit of no extention of time. 3 WIGMORE ON EVIDENCE, ed. 2, ?I774, I776. In the latter respect the res gestae doctrine and the doctrine of spontaneous exclamations differ. Where the act charged is once completed, post-transaction statements should find no admittance on the authority of the res gestae rule. The time element should deprive it of all claim to such classi fication. Such was the view followed in Vicksburg & M. R. Co. v. O'Brien, II9 U. S. 99, where the declarations of an engineer, as to the speed at which the train was running, made ten and thirty minutes after the accident
“You will surely grant and concede to me, that nothing more pernicious and fearful can happen to anyone than the loss of his soul.” (38).
Meyer v. State of Nebraska. 262 U.S. 390, 399, 43 Sct. 625, 626, 67 L.Ed. 1042. (1923)
young, and given power to prevent other doctrines from being introduced.” But on the smaller scale, the personal level, people interpret these doctrines in their own way, causing thousands, even millions of differing opinions on the same subject.
so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead
...rinciples of law that were founded outside of his or her own opinion. They are not the source of what is just or unjust, but rather they merely apply the rules already established from years of social progression and political influence. Thus, when Divine Command theorists argue that they have successfully conquered the Euthyphro Argument, they must be reminded that the opposite is true, and the age-old dilemma has actually reduced their deities to magistrates of morality.
... middle of paper ... ... A less intense example that fits into the discussion is the law of wearing a seatbelt. Not wearing a seatbelt while in a car is a good way of possibly causing harm to yourself.
... middle of paper ... ... Gonzaga Law Review 33.3 (1998): 653-668. HeinOnline.com -.
3. For declarations to be admitted as part of res gestae, the following conditions must be met: 1. The words must explain "or qualify". 2. The statement must have been made contemporaneously (simultaneous, concurrent, happening during the same period of time) with the act, i.e., made either during, or immediately before or after its occurrence, but not at such interval (gap) as to allow of fabrication, or to reduce them to mere narrative (story or tale) of a past event. 3 Res Gestae, Topic 3, law of evidence. Prepare by ikram Abdul Sattar
in my mind, is not valid simply because of what it might do to the
rules of the state and the rules of man. It is unfortunate that these two forces must be in
The precept to do whatever is the most loving thing is not a law but a
used in American law, and it is considered by most legal scholars and critics even
1.The strict supremacy of statute over judicial decisions and a tradition of literalism in statutory interpretation, 2. Where no legislation exists, the courts are bound by the doctrine of precedent in accordance with a strict hierarchy of judicial authority, 3. In the absence of a relevant precedent, the judges will be guided by legal principle and reasoning by analogy, and 4. There is clear way of distinguishing the ratio of a case…
of right and wrong buried within him. This sense guides people, culture, and even whole countries to act in certain ways. Thomas Aquinas called this innate sense the natural law. The natural law is established by God in order to make men more virtuous. When examined closely it is found that the natural law contains the precept of all law and, is at odds with certain laws that exist today, specifically abortion.
The relationship between law and morality has been argued over by legal theorists for centuries. The debate is constantly be readdressed with new cases raising important moral and legal questions. This essay will explain the nature of law and morality and how they are linked.