Willis v. State
Willis v. State
Opinion
The appellant was convicted of assault in the first degree and sentenced to life in the penitentiary as a habitual felony offender with one prior felony conviction.
Sherrill Koontz and Yvonne McCreary were nurses at the hospital. Two men with stockings over their faces got off the elevator around 1:00 a.m. and told them to lie on the floor. One man stayed with them and the other went in the direction of Franklin's room. After the two men left, Franklin walked up to the nurses station and asked for help because he had been stabbed. One of the two men had the same *Page 1260 physical characteristics as the appellant, according to Koontz.
Barbara Eadman was also a nurse on duty. She encountered the appellant and two other men in the elevator about 1:15 a.m. She later identified the appellant from a photograph in a "mug book" at the police department.
The appellant testified he was at the "Shell Club" when the incident occurred. He denied committing the crime and denied being at the hospital. Further, he denied shooting the victim.
Donald G. Shaner of the Montgomery Police Department, was called as a rebuttal witness by the state. He confirmed that Eadman had selected the defendant's photograph from a large number of photographs shown to her in the "mug books."
The issue is whether the evidence of the prior offense is relevant to an issue in this case. Generally, collateral offenses cannot be used as substantive evidence to establish guilt of the accused as to the crime for which he stands charged in the indictment.
However, this well-established principle is subject to several equally well-established exceptions. Mason v. State,
The victim's testimony as to the August 3rd shooting was relevant to show the appellant's intent to inflict serious bodily harm on Franklin and his motive to keep Franklin from pressing charges against him. Therefore, the court's rulings were correct.
Eadman was called by the state for the purpose, among other things, of identifying the appellant as the man she saw in the hospital elevator on August 23rd, about 1:20 a.m. During cross-examination, she was strenuously examined concerning her identification of the appellant based upon their brief encounter as she entered the elevator and he got off. On redirect examination, Eadman was questioned about going to the police station and identifying the appellant from his picture in a mug book.
The party who calls a witness generally must elicit on direct examination all that he wishes to prove by that witness. The object of redirect examination is to answer matters brought out on the cross-examination of the witness. It is within the discretion of the court, however, to allow on redirect examination matters which may have properly been brought out on direct examination. C. Gamble, McElroy's Alabama Evidence, 3rd ed., § 439.01. Gautney v. State,
"Q: Isn't it a fact, David, that in 1977 you were carrying a gun and you were caught and were charged with carrying a pistol without having had it registered?
"A: I was charged . . .
"MR. WALDEN: Now Judge, we're going to object to that.
"THE COURT: Overruled.
"Q: Go ahead.
"A: I was charged with firing a firearm. I wasn't caught with a gun.
"Q: Oh, they didn't catch you with a gun?
"A: Yes."
C. Gamble, McElroy's Alabama Evidence, 3rd ed., § 155.02 (3), states "An act of a witness which is inconsistent with his present testimony about a material matter is self-contradiction and, as such, is provable for purposes of impeachment." Whether or not the appellant carried a gun had probative value and was relevant, since there was testimony that he was the victim's assailant in a shooting on August 3.
Appellant allowed to be put in evidence the claim that he was not involved in the earlier shooting of the victim and that he never carried a gun. The state was then properly allowed to question the appellant concerning his prior involvement with a firearm. Bickerstaff v. State,
As to appellant's contentions in his briefs synopsized above as (1), (2), (3), (6), and (7), there were no objections at trial to preserve any error for appeal. Bonner v. State,
As to contention (5), the appellant did testify at trial and did state that he had an alibi witness who had to leave because of the death of a family member in New York. The record reflects no motion for a continuance. Thus, there is no error preserved for appeal.
Eadman was the only witness who identified the appellant, other than the victim, who had previously known him. Koontz testified that the defendant was of the same general physical size as the person she saw. Sufficient evidence was presented as to the defendant's presence in the hospital and as to his committing the offense to present a question for the jury.
Eadman was shown two books containing between fifty and seventy five photographs. *Page 1262
The officer who showed her the photographs asked her to look at them and see if any were of the man she saw on the elevator. The photographs had no inscriptions on them other than numbers. She picked the photograph of the appellant. It was not shown that the identification procedure was improper or that it in any way tainted Eadman's identification. Lewis v. State,
A search of the record shows appellant's attorney thoroughly cross-examined the witnesses and made numerous objections. In no way did he allow the trial to be or become a mockery.Williams v. Beto,
"In reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, Alabama appellate courts leave much to the discretion of defense counsel regarding matters of trial strategy. Robinson v. State, Ala.Cr.App.,
361 So.2d 1172 (1978); Huff v. State,267 Ala. 282 ,100 So.2d 769 (1958). This is so because defense counsel are obviously in the best position to analyze the many objective and subjective components making up the case for and against their clients."Moreover, even assuming counsel should have objected to Larry Hall's testimony, an adequate defense in the context of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not mean that defense counsel must be error free in his handling of trial tactics. Summers v. State, Ala.Crim.App.,
366 So.2d 336 (1978); Tillis v. State,292 Ala. 521 ,296 So.2d 892 (1974)."
The record shows he thoroughly represented the rights of the defendant. Appellant's contention concerning ineffective assistance of counsel is without merit. As stated in Trammel v.State,
"Not only has the appellant failed to establish that the conduct of his counsel reduced the original trial proceeding to a farce, sham or mockery, Robinson v. State,
361 So.2d 1172 (Ala.Cr.App. 1978) but also the appellant has fallen far short of establishing that he was denied the `reasonably effective' assistance of counsel standard set forth in Harris v. Oliver,645 F.2d 327 (5th Cir. 1981). See also Mitchum v. State,414 So.2d 168 (Ala.Cr.App. 1982)."
Appellant's eighth synopsized contention is therefore without merit.
Appellant filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in which he maintains the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial. The grounds for appellant's motion for new trial and its amendments are basically the same as those raised on appeal in the briefs of the appellant and his attorney. A petition for a writ of mandamus is not a substitute for an appeal. Further, it is not to be granted unless the actions complained of were arbitrary and capricious. For the reasons noted above, this is not the case. Further, the same contentions have been raised on appeal. The petition is therefore due to be denied. Ex ParteNice,
From the examination of the issues raised on appeal we conclude there was no error. The petition for writ of mandamus is due to be denied and the case affirmed.
The foregoing opinion was prepared by Hon. JOSEPH J. JASPER, Circuit Judge, temporarily on duty on the court pursuant to the authority contained in the provisions of §
AFFIRMED; PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS DENIED.
All the Judges concur. *Page 1263
Reference
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- David Willis v. State.
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