People v. Smith

The defendant was prosecuted for murder, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison. Upon the trial the killing was admitted, but defendant attempted to justify it on the ground of self-defense.

The only ground for reversal presented by defendant on appeal is that the court committed prejudicial error in excluding certain testimony relative to the bad reputation of decedent, his reputation of carrying a gun, and defendant's knowledge thereof. This evidence was offered by defendant for the purpose of showing the state of mind of defendant at the time he shot decedent and that he was justified in believing that he was in imminent danger from a criminal assault by decedent.

Defendant shot and billed James Branum following a brief altercation over the amount of money won by decedent in a card game which the two were playing. The evidence is that decedent met defendant and. one Brooks, a mutual acquaintance, in a saloon and invited them to his house to play cards. Defendant had known decedent about three months. At the time of the shooting defendant and decedent were playing and Brooks was watching the game. Defendant testified that the first…