PRESTON GOOLSBY, 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.
Preston Goolsby was convicted of aiding and abetting larceny of a steer in Lake County, Florida. He appealed challenging the sufficiency of evidence and the trial court's refusal to give a specific jury instruction, but the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, finding the evidence sufficient and the requested instruction already covered in the general charge.
The conviction is affirmed because the evidence, though partly circumstantial, was sufficient to warrant the verdict. The refusal to give the requested jury instruction was not error because the substance of that instruction was fully covered in the general charge to the jury.
“Where there is any evidence to support the verdict, it will not be set aside as against such evidence unless it is made clear that the jury were improperly influenced by considerations foreign to the evidence.”
Establishes the standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence—a verdict supported by any evidence will not be overturned absent showing of improper jury influence.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePreston Goolsby was convicted in Lake County of being present, aiding and abetting Lewis Parker in the larceny of a steer belonging to George J. Griff…
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 Larceny cases and more on FLexlaw
Terrell, J.
Preston Goolsby was convicted in Lake County of being present, aiding and abetting one Lewis Parker in the larceny of a steer, the property of George J. Griffin. He was sentenced to the State prison for two years and seeks to have this judgment reversed.
The insufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict and the refusal of the court to charge the jury that the “State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the animal in question was the property of George J. Griffin and the State must show that the animal in question was the identical animal described by George J. Griffin in the testimony,” are the only errors presented for reversal.
It appears that the requested charge or such portion thereof as plaintiff in error was entitled to have given was fully covered in the general charge to the jury and the refusal of the court to repeat the same could not properly be assigned as error. Hall v. State, 78 Fla. 420, 83 South. Rep. 513.
The evidence was in part circumstantial, but we think that it warrants the verdict, and it nowhere appears that the jury was influenced by circumstances outside of the evidence adduced.
Where there is any evidence to support the verdict, it will not be set aside as against such evidence unless it is made clear that the jury were improperly influenced by considerations foreign to the evidence. Browning v. State, 41 Fla. 271, 26 South. Rep. 639; Lindsey v. State, 53 Fla. 56, 43 South. Rep. 87; Adams v. State, 56 Fla. 1, 48 South. Rep. 219; Barnhill v. State, 56 Fla. 16, 48 South. Rep. 251.
The judgment of the Circuit Court of Lake County is, therefore, affirmed.
Whitfield, P. J., and West, J., concur. Taylor, C. J., and Ellis and Browne, J. J., Concur in the Opinion.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Fouts v. State, 133 So. 81 (Fla. 1931)…ng, or that the jury were not governed by the evidence in making their finding. Driggers v. State, supra; Hancock v. State, 90 Fla. 178, 105 So. 401; May v. State,89 Fla. 78; 103 So. 115; Denmark v. State, 88 Fla. 244, 102 So. 246; Goolsby v. State, 86 Fla. 307, 98 So. 72 and numerous other Florida cases. Affirmed. WHITFIELD, ELLIS AND TERRELL, J.J., AND HUTCHISON, Circuit Judge, concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Hall v. State, 78 Fla. 420 (Fla. 1919)
- Pleas Lindsey v. State, 53 Fla. 56 (Fla. 1907)
- Miley G. Barnhill v. State, 56 Fla. 16 (Fla. 1908)
- January Adams v. State, 56 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1908)
- Browning v. State, 41 Fla. 271 (Fla. 1899)