Mathis v. State
Mathis v. State
Opinion of the Court
Brian Scott Mathis was convicted after a jury trial of unlawful distribution of cocaine, a violation of §
This court held in Turner v. State,
This court recently readdressed this issue in Owen v. State,
"Under prior decisions of this Court, the appellant does not have standing to assert, under the equal protection clause, that the State improperly used its peremptory strikes to remove black jurors from the jury panel. Pierce v. State, [
576 So.2d 236 ]; Bankhead v. State,585 So.2d 97 (Ala.Crim.App. 1989); Bui v. State,551 So.2d 1094 (Ala.Crim.App. 1988), aff'd,551 So.2d 1125 (Ala. 1989), cert. filed with United States Supreme Court (No. 89-6271, December 12, 1989)."
The present law is that a non-black may not raise aBatson violation. We note, however, that the standard articulated in Batson may be broadened at some future time. SeeBui v. State,
The facts at trial tended to show that on April 1, 1989, Michael Todd Lee, an agent with the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, met with Rex Puckett in the parking lot at the West Point Pepperell mill. Mr. Puckett was a co-employee of appellant. Agent Lee was working undercover in the area. Puckett told Lee that the appellant was going to come and talk to him (Lee) about a cocaine deal. Agent Lee waited in his car until appellant arrived and pulled his car alongside Lee's. Appellant identified himself and Lee did likewise. The two men then engaged in a conversation concerning a cocaine deal. After the conversation, appellant had Lee follow him to a place where he (appellant) made a telephone call. Then the two men waited about 10 minutes, until a blue Toyota automobile arrived. At that point, appellant went over to the Toyota and talked to the man inside, later identified as John Cade Weldon. Appellant then directed Lee to Rex Puckett's trailer, where the three men — the appellant, Weldon, and Agent Lee — went inside. Once inside Puckett's trailer, Lee set up a set of scales and Weldon produced two clear plastic bags containing a white powder. Weldon pulled the bags from his pocket; the white powder contained within the clear bags was later determined to be cocaine. A price of $400.00 for 7 grams of the cocaine was agreed upon, at which time Agent Lee placed the money on the table. Appellant then picked up the money from the table and counted it to ensure that Lee had in fact placed down the correct amount. Appellant then handed the cash to Weldon and stated that it was the correct amount. Before Agent Lee left the trailer, appellant and Weldon agreed that Lee could contact Weldon through the appellant in the future. As Weldon and appellant were leaving, they discussed Weldon's giving the appellant a special deal on some cocaine. *Page 692
This case is similar to the case of McKissick v. State,
As in McKissick, the appellant in the instant case was indicted under the broader statute which includes "sells, furnishes, gives away, manufactures, delivers or distributes." We held in Snider v. State,
Upon a complete review of the record, we find that ample evidence supported the conviction and that the trial court correctly rejected appellant's motion and submitted the case for the jury's consideration.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur, except BOWEN, J., who dissents in part and concurs in part with opinion.
Dissenting Opinion
I dissent from Part I of the majority opinion. Until the Alabama Supreme Court rules on the issue, I continue to adhere to my opinion that the Constitution and law of the State of Alabama prohibit any racial discrimination in the selection of a juror, regardless of the color of the race involved. Owen v.State,
I concur in Part II of the majority opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Brian Scott Mathis v. State.
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published