Opinion
[No. 12, October Term, 1949.]
Decided November 10, 1949.
Criminal Law — Evidence — Sufficiency — Court without Jury Sole and Final Judge — Question Raised by Motion for New Trial — Accomplices — Uncorroborated Testimony of — Trial Court Should Upset Conviction So Based — Appeal — No Ruling Objected to by Appellant in Record — Will Be Dismissed.
A court sitting without a jury is, by analogy, in the same position as a jury with respect to the facts in a criminal case. The trial court is the sole and final judge of the sufficiency of the evidence, and its determination on this question cannot be reviewed by this Court. pp. 563-564
The proper method and the final method of raising the question of the sufficiency of the evidence in criminal cases is by a motion for a new trial. The ruling of trial court on such a motion is not reviewable here. p. 564
Where the record on appeal presents no ruling by the trial court objected to by appellant, there is nothing before this Court, and the appeal will be dismissed. p. 564
It is to be presumed that on a motion for a new trial the court hearing the motion will not permit a conviction on the uncorroborated testimony of accomplices to stand, but this Court has no authority to go into that question here. p. 564
In the case at bar, appellants were convicted by the trial court sitting as a jury, on three counts of an information charging them, under the provisions of Code (1939), Art. 27, secs. 34 and 35, with breaking in a garage to commit a felony, with feloniously stealing a safe, truck and some money, and with breaking in a garage and stealing the same articles. No objections were made to admission of any evidence, nor any rulings of the court on such objections. Appellants contended conviction was based upon the uncorroborated testimony of two accomplices. Relying upon Swann v. State, 192 Md. 9, 63 A.2d 324, this Court dismissed their appeal. pp. 563-564
M.C.P., Jr.
Decided November 10, 1949.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Howard County (CLARK, J.).
John Ronald Juratovac and Ernest W. Appitito were convicted by the court sitting without a jury on three counts of an information which in substance charged them with breaking in a garage and stealing a safe, truck and some money. From judgment of conviction, they appeal.
Appeal dismissed.
The cause was argued before MARBURY, C.J., DELAPLAINE, COLLINS, GRASON, HENDERSON, and MARKELL, JJ.
Joel L. Hochman, with whom were Jerome A. Loughran and Ruben Shiling on the brief for the appellants.
The Court declined to hear argument for the appellee. Hall Hammond, Attorney General, Kenneth C. Proctor, Assistant Attorney General, and Daniel M. Murray, Jr., State's Attorney for Howard County, were on the brief for the appellee.
Appellants were found guilty by the Circuit Court for Howard County sitting as a jury, on three counts of an information in which they were charged with breaking in a garage to commit a felony, with feloniously stealing a safe, truck and some money, and with breaking in a garage and stealing the same articles. The charges were made under the provisions of Sections 34 and 35 of Article 27 of the Code. Each of the appellants was sentenced to ten years in the Maryland Penitentiary.
The sole contention made by the appellants is that the conviction was based upon the uncorroborated testimony of two accomplices. The State contends that there is some corroboration, particularly with respect to the appellant Juratovac. Apart from this, the State says that this Court has no authority to look into the question of the sufficiency of the evidence because, there was no objection to the admission of any of it, nor any ruling of the trial court on such an objection, and the appeal is simply from the verdict and judgment. It has been held in a long line of cases beginning with League v. State, 36 Md. 257, and running through Swann v. State, 192 Md. 9, 63 A.2d 324 and Slansky v. State, 192 Md. 94, 63 A.2d 599, that a court sitting without a jury is, by analogy, in the same position as a jury with respect to the facts in a criminal case. The trial court is the sole and final judge of the sufficiency of the evidence, and its determination on this question cannot be reviewed by this Court. It is true that we said in the case of Lanasa v. State, 109 Md. 602, 71 A. 1058, that upon the uncorroborated evidence of accomplices the rule does not permit a conviction to stand, and this has also been reiterated in other cases such as Wolf v. State, 143 Md. 489, 122 A. 641, Folb v. State, 169 Md. 209, 181 A. 225 and Meyerson v. State, 181 Md. 105, 28 A.2d 833. However, in the Swann case, supra, the same question was raised as here, namely, that the appellant had been convicted on the uncorroborated testimony of two accomplices. We said that no ruling of the lower court, whether reviewable on appeal or not, was even presented for review in that case, and since the record presented no ruling by the court, objected to by the appellant, there was nothing before us and the appeal was dismissed for that reason.
There is no substantial difference between the Swann case and the case before us. The proper method and the final method of raising the question of the sufficiency of the evidence in criminal cases is by a motion for a new trial. We cannot review the ruling of the trial court on such a motion. It is to be presumed that on a motion for a new trial, the court hearing the motion will not permit a conviction on the uncorroborated testimony of accomplices to stand, but we have no authority to go into that question here.
The appeal will be dismissed.
Appeal dismissed with costs.