BEN SMITHIE, ALIAS BENNIE SMITHIE, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEFENDANT IN ERROR
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Ben Smithie was convicted of murder in the first degree for shooting L. T. Walker and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction on writ of error, finding insufficient evidence to support the essential element of premeditated design to effect death required for first-degree murder.
The conviction must be reversed because the evidence was insufficient to establish the essential element of premeditated design to effect death. Although evidence showed Smithie fired the fatal shot, there were no substantial facts or circumstances indicating this was done with premeditated design to effect the decedent's death, therefore a new trial should have been granted.
“Premeditated design to effect death is an essential element of the crime of murder in the first degree, and where the evidence offered is insufficient to establish this element of the crime a judgment upon a verdict finding the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree will be reversed.”
Establishes the legal standard that premeditation is essential to first-degree murder and insufficient evidence thereof requires reversal
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSmithie was indicted for murder in the first degree by shooting L. T. Walker with alleged premeditated design to effect death. A jury found him guilty…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Premeditated Design To Effect Death cases and more on FLexlaw
Whitfield, J.
Upon an indictment charging murder in the first degree by shooting “from a premeditated design to effect the death of “L. T. Walker, the plaintiff in error was found “guilty of murder in the first degree with recommendation to mercy,” and under the statute was sentenced to life imprisonment. On writ of error the only question presented is the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a verdict of murder in the first degree. While the sentence is to life imprisonment, 'the conviction ¿s of murder in the first degree, to sustain which, on this record, there must be facts and circumstances adduced in the evidence from which the jury may lawfully have drawn an inference that the alleged homicide was “perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of” a human being.
Where a verdict of murder in the first degree is assailed in the appellate court on the ground of the insufficiency of the evidence, facts and circumstances from which the jury could have found all the essential elements of the crime alleged must appear from the evidence contained in the bill of exceptions and incorporated in the duly certified transcript of the record or a new trial will be granted. Baker v. State, 54 Fla. 12, 44 South, Rep. 719.
Premeditated design to effect death is an essential element of the crime of murder in the first degree, and where the evidence offered is insufficient to establish this element of the crime a judgment upon a verdict finding the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree will be reversed. Richardson v. State, 80 Fla. 634, 86 South. Rep. 619.
There is evidence that the plaintiff in error fired the fatal shot, but there are no substantial facts or circumstances indicating that it was done “from a premeditated design to effect the death of” .the decedent, therefore a new trial should have been granted.
Reversed.
Browne, C. J. and Taylor, J., concur. Ellis, J. and West, J., dissent.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Snipes v. State, 154 Fla. 262 (Fla. 1944)…y cases. We have held that the facts adduced by the State in the following cases, among many others, were insufficient and failed to establish premeditated design or intent to kill. See Richardson v. State, 80 Fla. 634; 86 So. 619; Smithie v. State, 84 Fla. 498, 94 So. 156; Forehand v. State, 126 Fla. 434, 171 So. 241; Frank v. State, 121 Fla. 53, 163 So. 223; Stephens v. State, 140 Fla. 825, 192 So. 402; Douglas v. State, supra. Section 924.34, Fla. Stats. 1941, confers upon the Supreme Court of Florida…
-
Townsend v. State, 95 Fla. 139 (Fla. 1928)…e evidence offered is insufficient to establish this element of the crime, a judgment upon a verdict finding the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree will be reversed. Richardson v. State, 80 Fla. 634, 86 South. Rep. 619; Smithie v. State, 84 Fla. 498, 94 South. Rep. 156. In a conviction for murder in the first degree, where the evidence as to the identity of the accused as being the guilty party is not satisfactory, a new trial should be granted. Nims v. State, 70 Fla. 530, 70 South. Rep. 565;…
-
Mose Douglas v. State, 152 Fla. 63 (Fla. 1942)…t two negroes were on my train, and they were dangerous and to be careful. That is the reason I did not take any chance and shot first.” The testimony offered to sustain premeditated design to effect death was before this Court in Smithie v. State, 84 Fla. 498, 94 So. 156. It was concluded that where a verdict of murder in the first decree is assailed on the ground of the insufficiency of the evidence, the facts and circumstances from which a jury could have found all the essential elements of the crime a…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Nat Richardson v. State, 80 Fla. 634 (Fla. 1920)
- Baker v. State, 54 Fla. 12 (Fla. 1907)