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Goddard v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Apr 29, 1980
268 S.E.2d 765 (Ga. Ct. App. 1980)

Opinion

59718.

SUBMITTED APRIL 9, 1980.

DECIDED APRIL 29, 1980.

Abandonment. Clarke State Court. Before Judge Pittard.

E. Phil Duderwicz, for appellant.

Ken Stula, Solicitor, for appellee.


The defendant appeals his conviction for abandonment of his minor children. Held:

1. The defendant contends that the court erroneously allowed a witness to identify him as the person who called her on the telephone.

The witness testified she had known the defendant for 3 years and was familiar with his voice. Under these circumstances, the fact that she had not previously spoken to him over the telephone would in no way render her testimony inadmissible. There being an adequate foundation for the witness' voice identification it was not error to admit her testimony. Taylor v. State, 75 Ga. App. 205; Cowans v. State, 145 Ga. App. 693, 694 (2) ( 244 S.E.2d 624); Morris v. State, 150 Ga. App. 652, 654 ( 258 S.E.2d 302); Fussell v. State, 93 Ga. 450, 455 (2) ( 21 S.E. 97); Shouse v. State, 231 Ga. 716, 718 ( 203 S.E.2d 537).

2. The trial judge's charge defining reasonable doubt, inter alia, as a "substantial" doubt was not reversible error. Hancock v. State, 196 Ga. 351, 356 (2) ( 26 S.E.2d 760); Robinson v. State, 238 Ga. 291, 292 ( 232 S.E.2d 561). See 23 CJS 585, 598, Criminal Law, § 910; 30 AmJur2d 350, 351, Evidence, § 1171.

3. The trial judge's instruction to the jury that they "were judges of both the law and of the facts" was not error. Booth v. State, 198 Ga. 648 (4) ( 32 S.E.2d 303).

4. The trial judge did not err when charging the provisions of Code Ann. § 74-9902 (Code § 74-9902, as amended through 1976, p. 1015) in using only the term "father" and omitting the further phraseology "or mother." Since the defendant was a male the omitted language was not applicable. Perini v. State, 245 Ga. 160 (3) ( 264 S.E.2d 172).

5. It was not error to take judicial notice of the period of gestation. Stephens v. State, 80 Ga. App. 823, 825 ( 57 S.E.2d 493).

6. The remaining enumerations of error are found to be without merit.

Judgment affirmed. Shulman and Carley, JJ., concur.


SUBMITTED APRIL 9, 1980 — DECIDED APRIL 29, 1980.


Summaries of

Goddard v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Apr 29, 1980
268 S.E.2d 765 (Ga. Ct. App. 1980)
Case details for

Goddard v. State

Case Details

Full title:GODDARD v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Apr 29, 1980

Citations

268 S.E.2d 765 (Ga. Ct. App. 1980)
268 S.E.2d 765