Dickerson v. State
Dickerson v. State
Opinion
The appellant, Howard Luther Dickerson, was found guilty of owning, or having in his possession, or under his control, a pistol, after having been convicted of a violent crime, in violation of §
The Anniston Police Department undertook a surveillance of the appellant. Officer Doggrell testified that, twelve days prior to the appellant's arrest, he observed the appellant walk up to a white Chrysler and pull out a pistol that was in a shoulder holster and put it inside the vehicle and speed away. On the day of the arrest, Officer Doggrell and other officers observed the appellant and his wife drive to the same location in the same vehicle. The appellant got out on the driver's side and was approached by the officers. He looked back toward the car door, which was open, made a move toward it, and stopped. Officer Doggrell then observed a pistol butt sticking up between the front seats, and the appellant was placed under arrest.
"[U]nder Alabama law, circumstantial evidence is considered proper evidence. This court has repeatedly stated that the test which must be applied is not whether the circumstantial evidence excludes every reasonable hypothesis [except that] of guilt, but rather, where a jury might reasonably find that the evidence excluded every reasonable hypothesis except that of guilt. [Citations omitted.] Additionally, circumstantial evidence will support a conviction as strongly as direct evidence, provided that the circumstantial evidence points to the guilt of the accused." Moore v. State,
474 So.2d 190 ,194-95 (Ala.Cr.App. 1985).
Also, this court has written:
"Further, '[a] verdict of conviction will not be set aside on the ground of insufficiency of the evidence, unless, allowing all reasonable presumptions for its correctness, the preponderance of the evidence against the verdict is so decided as to clearly convince this [c]ourt that it was wrong and unjust.' " Scanland v. State,
473 So.2d 1182 ,1185 (Ala.Cr.App. 1985).
In a case similar to the case sub judice, this court has stated:
"On testing the sufficiency of the state's evidence to sustain the court's judgment, this Court must consider it favorable to the state. When there is evidence before the judge to sustain a conviction, this Court has no right to disturb the judgment." Bristow v. State,
418 So.2d 927 ,931 (Ala.Cr.App. 1983).
Further, possession of the weapon may be constructive. "The issue of possession or control, either active or constructive, of a pistol by appellant was a question of fact for the jury to resolve, and the evidence was in conflict." Wigley v. State,
Furthermore, the Commentary to §
"Unquestionably the legislature had full authority to deal with the subject here involved. It is uniformly recognized that the constitutional guarantee of the right of a citizen to bear arms, in defense of himself and the state, Const. 1901, art. I, § 26, is subject to reasonable regulation by the state under its police power. Jackson v. State,
37 Ala. App. 335 ,68 So.2d 850 , cert. denied,260 Ala. 698 ,68 So.2d 853 [1953]."The provisions of this section, prohibiting a person who has been convicted of a crime of violence from owning or possessing a pistol, evinces a clear intention on the part of the legislature to protect the citizens of this state from the actions of that class of persons, who by their past acts have shown themselves unsuitable and unfit to own and possess pistols. The classification is warranted, and the provision clearly a reasonable exercise of police power. Mason v. State,
39 Ala. App. 1 ,103 So.2d 337 (1956), aff'd,267 Ala. 507 ,103 So.2d 341 (1958), cert. denied,358 U.S. 934 ,79 S.Ct. 323 ,3 L.Ed.2d 306 (1959)." See also Bristow v. State,418 So.2d 927 (Ala.Cr.App. 1982).
Thus, neither is the statute unconstitutional nor was it unconstitutionally applied.
"The evidence suppressed must have been material, probative, vital and exculpatory to the accused. A new trial is required only if the evidence undisclosed could, in any reasonable likelihood, have affected the judgment of the jury. In United States v. Agurs, [
427 U.S. 97 ,96 S.Ct. 2392 ,40 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976)], the United States Supreme Court stated that the correct rule is that a constitutional error has occurred if the omitted evidence creates a reasonable doubt that did not otherwise exist and that the omission must be evaluated in the context of the entire record." (Footnotes omitted.)
C. Gamble, McElroy's Alabama Evidence, § 290.05(2) (3d ed. 1977).
Knight v. State," 'If there is no reasonable doubt about guilt whether or not the additional evidence is considered, there is no justification for a new trial. On the other hand, if the verdict is already of questionable validity, additional evidence of relatively minor importance might be sufficient to create a reasonable doubt.' "
Knight v. State, supra, at 336, quoting United States v.Bagley," '. . . The reviewing court should assess the possibility that such effect might have occurred in light of the totality of the circumstances and with an awareness of the difficulty of reconstructing in a *Page 628 post-trial proceeding the course that the defense and the trial would have taken had the defense not been misled by the prosecutor's uncomplete response.' "
" '(1) The prosecution's suppression of evidence; (2) the favorable character of the suppressed evidence for the defense; (3) the materiality of the suppressed evidence.' " Geeslin v. State,
505 So.2d 1242 (Ala.Cr.App. 1986).
The element which is at issue in the case at hand is the favorable character of the evidence. Thus, where it is clearly demonstrated that the evidence was exculpatory, the defendant did not receive a fair trial and his rights were clearly violated. Simpson v. State,
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Howard Luther Dickerson v. State.
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- 6 cases
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- Published