Reeves v. State

PER Curiam. The trial court, sitting without a jury, found the appellant guilty of rape and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the penitentiary. On this appeal he presents three questions: (1) Did the Court abuse its discretion in failing to require the production of the bottle neck and fragments as required by a subpoena duces tecum when the same were essential to the State’s case, thereby making a complete consideration of a motion for new trial impossible; (2) was the Court sitting as a trier of the facts misled by the inaccurate statement of material facts by the State and its witnesses so that the appellant was precluded from receiving a trial free from prejudicial error; and (3) did the appellant receive an adequate defense as required by due process under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution? As to the first question, the appellant contends that the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, in hearing the motion for ⁴³⁸ new trial, abused its discretion in not considering and viewing the fragments of the broken pint Vodka bottle which was the weapon employed to intimidate the victim and to cause her submission.

The record does not affirmatively show that the broken bottle fragments were introduced at the trial but their size and condition were described and the fact that no fingerprints were found on them or anywhere in the victim’s apartment was revealed. At that time it was reported that the fragments had been lost, but it later developed that the police had the fragments and