Kidd v. State
Kidd v. State
Opinion
The State's application for rehearing is granted. The opinion issued in this cause on December 3, 1993, is withdrawn and the following substituted therefor:
Stacey Kidd, a juvenile, was certified to stand trial as an adult for the offenses of murder and attempted murder.1 The charges against Kidd were connected in their commission and were consolidated for trial. A jury convicted Kidd of manslaughter in connection with the murder charge and acquitted him on the attempted murder charge. He was sentenced to eighteen years' imprisonment on the manslaughter conviction. This appeal is from that conviction and sentence.
The indictment charged that the appellant "intentionally caus[ed] the death of . . . Lester Wilson by stabbing him with a knife." C.R. 7. The State's case consisted primarily of the testimony of persons who witnessed some portion of the events surrounding the killing. The pathologist who performed the autopsy on the deceased testified, as did the evidence technician who processed the scene of the stabbing. Although there was testimony by one of the lay witnesses that the appellant was arrested in the witness's home after his mother had called the police, none of the arresting officers testified. In fact, aside from the evidence technician, no police officers were called by the State.
The appellant testified in his own behalf and, on direct examination, admitted stabbing Wilson, but denied that he had an intent to kill when he did so. According to the appellant, he and Wilson had an altercation over a sum of money that he claimed Wilson had taken from him. The stabbing occurred while Wilson "was choking [him] over the bannister." R. 451. The appellant stated: "I ain't try to kill him. I [stabbed him] just to protect myself." R. 452. He testified that when he left the scene of the altercation, he took the knife he had used to stab Wilson with him and "put the knife under the bumper of a car" that was "down the block." R. 445. The appellant stated that he "later turned [him]self in to the police." R. 447.
During cross-examination of the appellant, the following occurred:
*Page 1306"Q. (By Mr. Stokesberry [assistant district attorney]): Did you ever tell anybody where that knife was left?
"A. Yes.
"Q. Who did you tell?
"A. Police.
"Q. When did you tell the police?
"A. I think they asked me where did I put it at when I got to the station. And then that was the only statement that I made. They asked me where was the weapon.
"Q. And that's all you told them, where it was?
"A. Yes, sir.
"Q. Some reason you put it . . . underneath the bumper?
"A. I didn't want to take it with me.
"Mr. Stokesberry: I don't have any other questions, Judge." R. 547-48 (emphasis added).
During his rebuttal closing argument, the prosecutor stated:
"I want to ask you this question. What was his testimony about the truth? What did he tell you? He said from his own mouth on the witness stand, 'I talked to the police, and all I told them was where the weapon was.' He said it. It came out of his mouth." R. 583-84.
Defense counsel objected to these comments, stating that the appellant "had a right not to talk to the police," because he had "invok[ed] his Miranda2 rights to remain silent." R. 584 (footnote added). The trial court overruled the objection as to comments "allegedly said by the defendant to the police," but "sustain[ed] in that regard." Id. When the prosecutor sought clarification of this ruling, the trial court stated: "As to anything the defendant said he told the police, I'll let you comment on that. I would sustain as to any further regard to it." R. 584-85.
Later in his rebuttal argument, the prosecutor stated: "Now, if he wanted to tell the truth, why did he wait? I'll leave that to your determination. Use your common sense and your knowledge —." R. 585. Defense counsel again objected, making reference to proceedings in juvenile court and asserting that "the regulations are different." Id. The following then occurred:
"Mr. Stokesberry: Your Honor, I would state that his testimony from this stand was, he talked to the police and he volunteered that.
"The Court: I would overrule on that basis. You may proceed.
"Mr. Stokesberry: So use that. He wants to tell the truth, why does he wait?
"Mr. Turberville [defense counsel]: Your Honor, I object . . . and I ask for a mistrial. . . . [The appellant] has a right to invoke his right to remain silent, and that cannot be commented on by the prosecution. And he has no duty to give any evidence, to give any testimony. . . . So I ask for a mistrial, and in lieu of that I ask for a curative instruction and ask that that total line be disregarded by the good jury.
"The Court: Well, I'm going to overrule the motion for a mistrial, and I'll address this matter in the Court's charge to the jury. So, I'll give a curative instruction." R. 585-87.
In Doyle v. Ohio,
"Silence in the wake of these [Miranda] warnings may be nothing more than the arrestee's exercise of these Miranda rights. Thus, . . . post-arrest silence [after the Miranda warnings have been given] is insolubly ambiguous because of what the State is required to advise the person arrested. . . . Moreover, while it is true that the Miranda warnings contain no express assurance that silence will carry no penalty, such assurance is implicit to any person who receives the warnings."
However, the Supreme Court has "consistently explainedDoyle as a case where the government had induced silence by implicitly assuring the defendant that his silence would not be used against him." Fletcher v. Weir,
At trial, Zonovia Weaver testified that the appellant was arrested at her house on the afternoon of May 4, 1991. While there was no testimony as to whether anyone had informed the appellant of his Miranda rights, there is a notification of rights form signed by the appellant in the record. C.R. 23. This form contains the "juvenile Miranda warnings," see Rule 11(A), A.R.Juv.P., and is dated "May 4, 1991 Time 12:10 PM." C.R. 23. We are unable to determine from the record whether the appellant was notified of his rights before or after making the statement concerning the location of the knife.
The timing of the appellant's statement is crucial because the Fifth Amendment forbids only comment upon a defendant's post-arrest, post-Miranda silence. Doyle v. Ohio, supra. There is no prohibition against comment on a defendant's pre-arrest, pre-Miranda silence. Jenkins v. Anderson,
Furthermore, Doyle only prohibits the prosecutor's making the defendant's silence the subject of comment. "[A] defendant who voluntarily speaks after receiving Miranda warnings has not been induced to remain silent." Anderson v. Charles,
We cannot determine from the record before us the sequence of or the circumstances surrounding (1) the appellant's statement about the location of the knife, (2) the appellant's notification of his Miranda rights, and (3) the appellant's decision to make no further statements. This cause is therefore remanded and the trial court is directed to conduct a hearing to determine the order in which these events occurred and the circumstances surrounding these events.
If the appellant made the statement about the knifebefore he was given his Miranda rights and then, having been warned of his right to remain silent, he invoked that right and said no more, then the prosecutor's comment falls within the holding of Doyle and may require a reversal of the appellant's conviction.3
On the other hand, if the appellant made the statement about the knife after having received his Miranda warnings, then the *Page 1308
prosecutor's comment about the appellant's failure to tell the police that the stabbing was done in self-defense falls outside the holding of Doyle and was not improper. See Anderson v.Charles,
The appellant's trial was held July 20-24, 1992, and notice of appeal was filed on October 29, 1992. On February 12, 1993, a majority of this Court expressly held that Batson applies to strikes of white veniremembers. Williams v. State,
We remand this cause to the trial court with directions that that court conduct a hearing and give the appellant an opportunity to establish a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination by the State in its use of its peremptory challenges. We note that in addressing the Batson motions made by the parties at trial, the trial court stated:
Batson prohibits "[s]election procedures that purposefully exclude . . . persons [of a particular race] from juries."Batson,"I have no idea what a prima facie case is. The appellate courts, in their infinite wisdom, has [sic] never indicated what a prima facie case is. What makes up a prima facie case to one is not to the other [sic]. I know that this is taken down and possibly read by the appellate court, and what I'm asking for is for them to give us guidance as to what a prima facie case is." R. 9.
In determining whether the challenging party has established a prima facie case of purposeful or intentional racial discrimination, the trial court "is to consider 'all relevant circumstances' which could lead to an inference of [such] discrimination." Ex parte Branch,
1. "Evidence that the 'jurors in question share[d] only this one characteristic — their membership in the group — and that in all other respects they [were] as heterogeneous as the community as a whole.' " Ex parte Branch, 526 So.2d at 622.2. "A pattern of strikes against [jurors of a certain race] on a particular venire; e.g., 4 of 6 peremptory challenges were used to strike black jurors." Id. at 623.
3. "The past conduct of the [challenged party's] attorney in using peremptory challenges to strike all [jurors of a particular race] from the jury venire." Id.
4. "The type and manner of the [challenged party's] attorney's questions and statements during voir dire, including nothing more than desultory voir dire." Id.
5. "The type and manner of questions directed to the challenged juror, including a lack of questions or a lack of meaningful questions." Id.
6. "Disparate treatment of members of the jury venire with the same characteristics, or who answer a question in the same or similar manner." Id.
7. "Disparate examination of members of the venire," such as asking only jurors of a particular race "a question designed to provoke a certain response" likely to disqualify those jurors. Id.
8. "Circumstantial evidence of intent may be proven by disparate impact where all or most of the challenges were used to strike [members of a particular race] from the jury." Id.
9. "The [challenged party] used peremptory challenges to dismiss all or most [jurors of a particular race]." Id.
The Branch factors have been repeated in a number of cases. See, e.g., Ex parte Bird,
With regard to the second, eighth, and ninth Branch factors, it should be noted that "[m]erely showing that the challenged party struck one or more members of a particular race is not sufficient to establish a prima facie case." Edwards v. State,
"As [the Alabama Supreme Court] explained in Harrell [v. State,Harrell v. State,555 So.2d 263 (Ala. 1989)], a [challenging party] cannot *Page 1310 prove a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination solely from the fact that the [challenged party] struck one or more [members of a particular race] from [the] jury. A [challenging party] must offer some evidence in addition to the striking of [members of one race] that would raise an inference of discrimination."
Statistical evidence may be used to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. In both Ex parte Bird,
Statistical evidence may also be used to show the absence of discriminatory intent. In Harrell v. State, 571 So.2d at 1271, the venire was 35.7% black. The State used 5 of its 8 peremptory strikes to remove blacks, leaving a jury that was 41.7% black. With regard to these numbers, the Alabama Supreme Court stated "[w]hen the evidence shows only that blacks were struck and that a greater percentage of blacks sat on the jury than sat on the lawfully established venire, an inference of discrimination has not been created." Id. (There were, however, other factors in Harrell that were sufficient to establish a prima facie case of discrimination.) See also, e.g., Ex parteMcWilliams,
Obviously, the best way for the challenging party to establish a prima facie case is to make a showing on several of the Ex parte Branch factors. See Ex parte Bird, 594 So.2d at 680 ("the strength of [the challenging party's] prima facie case depends, in large part, on the number of these factors present"). For example, in Harrell v. State, 571 So.2d at 1272, the Court observed that *Page 1311
"[t]he fact that the blacks struck include both men and women and that they were of a variety of ages, occupations, and social or economic conditions, indicates that race may have been the deciding factor." In addition, the prosecutor engaged in only limited voir dire and there was a prior case where that particular district attorney's office failed to rebut a prima facie case of discrimination. Id. See also, e.g., Ex parteBankhead,
The facts and circumstances necessary to establish a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination in the jury selection process will, of course, vary from case to case, depending on the particular facts and circumstances involved. In this regard, a trial court's determination of whether the challenging party has established a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination is not substantially different from its determination, when a motion for a judgment of acquittal is made, of whether the State has established a prima facie case that the defendant committed the particular crime charged. In the Batson context, the trial court need only determine whether the facts and circumstances advanced by the challenging party reasonably raise an inference that the challenged party engaged in purposeful discrimination in the exercise of its peremptory strikes. Cf. Morrison v. Booth,
Appellate counsel has raised the issue of "[w]hether [the appellant] was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial." Appellant's *Page 1312
brief at 19. However, appellate counsel still fails to identify any specific acts or omissions by trial counsel alleged to constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. In fact, appellate counsel states that, in his opinion, trial counsel "more than met th[e] standard" of objective reasonableness defined in Strickland v. Washington,
Except in cases where the death penalty has been imposed, see Rule 45A, A.R.App.P., "[t]his court is not required to search the record for error. See Rule 45B, A.R.A[pp].P." Kirby v.State,
Furthermore, "[u]nder Strickland v. Washington,
For the reasons stated in Parts I and II of this opinion, this cause is remanded with directions for the trial court to hold a hearing on the Doyle and Batson issues, to make findings of fact and conclusions of law relating to both issues, and to submit a return to this Court within 60 days of the release of this opinion.
APPLICATION FOR REHEARING GRANTED; MOTION DENIED; ORIGINAL OPINION WITHDRAWN; OPINION SUBSTITUTED; REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.**
All Judges concur.
Reference
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- Stacey Kidd v. State.
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