Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 April 1917 — BLOODHOUND RULING [ARTICLE]

BLOODHOUND RULING

Supreme -Court Holds Trailing Evidence Is "Not Admissible. The sum erne court has held that evidence that a bloodhound followed a trail from, the scene of a crime to .an accused person is not admissable as evidefcce' against the accused. The opinion is by three members" of the court', : while the. chief justice and another justice dissent on the ground that the arguments urged against the introduction of the evidence "is only against its weight and that the jury is only the judge of that matter, and the evidence should not be excluded from the jury as incompetent. - The ruling was made in reversing the Howard circuit court finding convicting Thomas A. Ruse of the crime pf poisoning animals, and is presented on the “that sufficient matter was brought before the jury, that it was informed of the facts that the bloodhound went from the scene of the crime to th& house of Ruse, and the court refused a requested instruction that thp jury was not to consider such matter as any evidence that Ruse was the one who committed the crime and the one trailed by the dog. The opinion goes into the matter at length, giving the arguments for and against such evidence, but holds that it is not of such nature as to be admissible against a possible innocent citizen to convict him. , r ,