Grimsley v. State
Grimsley v. State
Opinion
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The appellant, Olin Grimsley, was convicted of robbery in the first degree, a violation of §
The trial court held a Batson hearing, found no violation ofBatson, and filed a return to remand with this court.
Stokes v. State,"A defendant claiming a Batson violat ion must make a prima facie showing that the prosecution used its peremptory strikes in a discriminatory manner. Jackson v. State,
594 So.2d 1289 (Ala.Cr.App. 1991). Only when the defendant establishes facts and circumstances that raise an inference of discrimination must the state give its reasons for its peremptory strikes. Carter v. State,603 So.2d 1137 (Ala.Cr.App. 1992)."
"The Court of Appeals appears to have seized on our admonition in Batson that to rebut a prima facie case, the proponent of a strike 'must give a "clear and reasonably specific" explanation of his "legitimate reasons" for exercising the challenges,' Batson,476 U.S., at 98 , n. 20,106 S.Ct., at 1724 , n. 20 (quoting Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine,450 U.S. 248 ,258 ,101 S.Ct. 1089 ,1096 ,67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981)), and that the reason must be 'related to the particular case to be tried,'476 U.S., at 98 ,106 S.Ct., at 1724 . . . . This warning was meant to refute the notion that a prosecutor could satisfy his burden of production by merely denying that he had a discriminatory motive or by merely affirming his good faith. What it means by a 'legitimate reason' is not a reason that makes sense, but a reason that does not deny equal protection. See Hernandez [v. New York,500 U.S. 352 ] at 359, [111 S.Ct. 1859 ] at 1866, [114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991)]; cf. Burdine, supra, at 255,101 S.Ct., at 1094 ('The explanation provided must be legally sufficient to justify a judgment for the defendant')."
___ U.S. ___,
The appellant contends that the prosecution struck five black prospective jurors in violation of Batson. The prosecution contended that it struck three prospective jurors because those jurors had the same blood type as the appellant. The prosecution explained that the case involved extensive evidence concerning the blood type of the blood found on a partially smoked cigarette next to the victim's body. The prosecution also stated that all of the prospective jurors who had the same blood type as the appellant were struck. Another prospective black juror was struck because she was a nurse. The prosecutor contended that, because most of the evidence dealt with blood typing, the prosecution did not want someone trained in the medical field on the jury. Another juror was struck because she was a teacher. The prosecution explained that it did not want teachers on the jury because "someone trained as a teacher would have — would put significant importance [on] a person's IQ as to whether or not they could freely, knowingly, and voluntarily waive the Miranda [v. Arizona,
Cumbo v. State,"In reviewing a conviction based on circumstantial evidence, this court must view that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. The test to be applied is whether the jury might reasonably find the evidence excluded every reasonable hypothesis except that of guilt; not whether such evidence excludes every reasonable hypothesis of guilt, but whether a jury might reasonably so conclude."
The state's evidence tended to show that on May 22, 1990, the body of Ella Foy Riley was found in her house in Abbeville. A "Newport" brand cigarette, partially smoked, was found near the victim's body. The victim's pocketbook along with her Social Security card, a check made out to her, her checkbook, and some keys, were found on Marvin Turner Road, approximately six miles from the victim's house. The victim's neighbor, Pamela DeLoach, testified that she had seen a grey car, with two black male occupants, parked by the back door of the victim's house around 10:00 p.m. on the night of May 21. DeLoach described one of the men as having a heavy build and the other as having a medium build. The appellant matched the description of one of the men. A few minutes after she noticed them, the two black males sped away in the car. The neighbor subsequently identified codefendant Willie McNair's car as the car she saw that night parked in front of Riley's house.
Bessie Mae Sanders testified that she saw the appellant and Willie McNair together *Page 1202 after 9:30 p.m. on May 21. The appellant testified that McNair picked him up in his car around 5:00 p.m. and that they smoked crack cocaine and drank beer. He stated that McNair took him home around 9:00 p.m. Sanders testified that the appellant commonly smoked "Newport" brand cigarettes and that, on the night of May 21, he had a pack of that brand of cigarettes in his pocket. Sanders also testified that she saw the appellant the morning of May 22 and that he had blood on his shirt.
William H. Landrum, a forensic serologist with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, tested the saliva found on the cigarette near the victim's body. His analysis revealed that the saliva on the cigarette was consistent with the appellant's blood type, in that it was from a type "A" secretor.
There was more than sufficient evidence presented for the case to be submitted to the jury. The trial court properly denied the appellant's motion for a directed verdict and submitted this case to the jury.
The appellant also argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Having determined that this case was correctly submitted to the jury, this issue is moot. The trial court correctly denied the motion for a new trial and the motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
When the appellant first appealed his conviction for robbery he argued that the state violated the attorney-client privilege by obtaining a statement he made to an investigator for a prospective defense counsel who was never retained to represent the appellant. The facts and circumstances surrounding this statement were addressed in depth by this court inGrimsley, where we stated:
"[I]n this case, the prosecution's action is not ground for reversal because there has been no showing that the investigator fell within the umbrella of the attorney-client privilege.
"In Alabama, the attorney-client privilege 'applies to communications made by a person to an attorney with a view to retaining him even though it turns out that such person does not retain the attorney or that the attorney declines the offered retainer.' C. Gamble, McElroy's Alabama Evidence § 390.03 (4th ed. 1991). See also Ala. Code 1975, §
12-21-161 . 'Communications to the clerk of an attorney, in the belief that he is acting in such capacity, have the same privileged status as communications made to the attorney himself.' McElroy's, § 390.02. Information acquired by an attorney while acting in a nonlegal capacity, such as an investigator, is not protected by the attorney-client privilege."In this case, however, we have a communication made by the appellant to an investigator who was employed by the paralegal, who worked for the attorney and who also had his own investigating firm. Under existing Alabama law, 'both statutory and decisional, the only representative held within the scope of the privilege [is] the attorney's clerk.' Advisory Committee's Notes to Rule 502(a)(4), Proposed A.R.Evid., as published in Southern Reporter Advance Sheets, 615 So.2d, No. 2, May 13, 1993 [adopted January 1, 1996]. See Hawes v. State,
88 Ala. 37 ,68 ,7 So. 302 ,313 (1890) ('It is . . . well established law that an interpreter, intermediary, agent, or clerk of an attorney, through whom communications between attorney and client are made, stands upon the same footing as his principal, and will not be allowed to divulge any fact coming to his knowledge as the conduit of information between them. But the rule extends no further than this. . . . The privilege, in other words, is confined to communications between the attorney and his client; and extends to the necessary organs by which such communications are made, but no further.'). Here, the investigator was the agent of the paralegal, who was the agent of the attorney. There was no showing that the attorney had any knowledge that *Page 1203 his paralegal was using an investigator to make the initial contact with a potential client." 'Communications to an attorney's law clerk, in the belief that he is acting in a legal capacity, have the same privileged status as communications to the attorney himself. . . .
" '. . . .
" 'The burden of establishing the privilege rests with the client or with the party objecting to the disclosure of the communication. . . . The client also has the burden of showing that the admission of the privileged information into evidence will be prejudicial to him. . . . Whether a communication is privileged is "a matter solely within the province of the court to determine." . . . Because not every communication made by a client to an attorney is privileged, the trial court must first look at the circumstances of the case in connection with the fact disclosed and determine whether the communication was made "professionally" (i.e., whether it was made professionally is a question of fact for the trial court).'
"Richards v. Lennox Industries, Inc.,
574 So.2d 736 ,739-40 (Ala. 1990)."
632 So.2d at 551-58. For the reasons stated above, no violation of the attorney-client privilege occurred here.
This court in Adkins v. State,
"Several factors to be evaluated when considering the propriety of a continuance are the length of the continuance, the inconvenience to witnesses, counsel, and the court, and whether the 'defendant has other competent counsel prepared to try the case, including the consideration of whether the other counsel was retained as lead or associate counsel.' United States v. Burton,
584 F.2d 485 ,490-91 (D.C. Cir. 1978), cert. denied,439 U.S. 1069 ,99 S.Ct. 837 ,59 L.Ed.2d 34 (1979)."The decision to grant or deny a motion for continuance will not be reversed unless the trial judge has abused his discretion. See Canada. v. State,
421 So.2d 140 (Ala.Cr.App. 1982); Jenkins v. State,384 So.2d 1135 (Ala.Cr.App. 1979); cert. denied,384 So.2d 1141 (Ala. 1980)."In Jenkins, supra, this court faced a similar issue where a continuance was requested because co-counsel could not participate in the trial due to a death in his family. In that case we noted that 'there was no showing that the appellant could not be adequately represented by the remaining attorney.' This court also stated that the remaining counsel adequately represented the appellant at trial."
Here, the trial court denied the motion for two reasons: (1) the availability of two other attorneys who both had been present at the appellant's first two trials and (2) no other trial date was available for several months. There was no abuse of discretion in denying the appellant's motion for a continuance.
This court in Gurley v. State,
"In contrast to the 'flat bad faith requirement' of [Arizona v.] Youngblood, [
488 U.S. 51 ,109 S.Ct. 333 ,102 L.Ed.2d 281 (1988)] some commentators and a growing minority of appellate courts have proposed that trial judges dealing with lost *Page 1204 or destroyed evidence focus not only on the culpability of the police but also on 'the materiality of the [lost] evidence . . . the type of evidence and the impact it could have had at trial.' Note, [The Role of Police Culpability in Leon and Youngblood] 76 Va.L.Rev. [1213] at 1242 [1990)]. See generally State v. Steffes,500 N.W.2d 608 (N.D. 1993), wherein the court observed:" 'Relying upon state constitutional law, some states hold that even in situations where defendants cannot show bad faith on the part of the state in failing to preserve material evidence, defendants may nonetheless be entitled to an adverse-inference instruction, dismissal, or new trial if they can make a sufficient showing of substantial prejudice. These states take authority from Justice Stevens's concurring opinion in Arizona v. Youngblood wherein he wrote: "there may well be cases in which the defendant is unable to prove that the State acted in bad faith but in which the loss or destruction of evidence is nonetheless so critical to the defense as to make a criminal trial fundamentally unfair." . . .
" 'Fairness and an aversion to prejudice have prompted these states to look to their state constitutions to build upon, further expand, or limit the Arizona v. Youngblood test to encompass an "unfair prejudice" prong — either in addition to or at the expense of the bad faith prong. These jurisdictions hold that when the state loses or destroys evidence, the state is subjected to a higher due process standard under their state constitutions than the bad faith test as stated in Arizona v. Youngblood. See, e.g., Lolly v. State,
611 A.2d 956 (Del. 1992); State v. Riggs,114 N.M. 358 ,838 P.2d 975 (1992); State v. Schmid,487 N.W.2d 539 (Minn.Ct.App. 1992); Commonwealth v. Henderson,411 Mass. 309 ,582 N.E.2d 496 (1991); State v. Matafeo,71 Haw. 183 ,787 P.2d 671 (1990); State v. Smagula,133 N.H. 600 ,578 A.2d 1215 (1990); Spaulding v. State,195 Ga. App. 420 ,394 S.E.2d 111 (1990); Thorne v. Department of Public Safety,774 P.2d 1326 (Alaska 1989); State v. Fain,116 Idaho 82 ,774 P.2d 252 (1989). See also, State v. Youngblood,173 Ariz. 502 ,844 P.2d 1152 (1993) [Feldman, C.J. concurring and dissenting]. Contra People v. Cooper,53 Cal.3d 771 ,281 Cal.Rptr. 90 ,809 P.2d 865 (1991) [adopting Arizona v. Youngblood bad faith standard as a matter of state constitutional law].'
"State v. Steffes, 500 N.W.2d at 611-12 n. 3.
"The balancing approach taken by the Delaware Supreme Court in Hammond v. State,
569 A.2d 81 ,87 (Del. 1989), is representative of the approach used by other courts that have rejected Youngblood's single bad faith standard. That approach is based on the premise that 'fundamental fairness, as an element of due process, requires the State's failure to preserve evidence that could be favorable to the defendant "[t]o be evaluated in the context of the entire record." ' Hammond, 569 A.2d at 87 (quoting United States v. Agurs,427 U.S. 97 ,112 ,96 S.Ct. 2392 ,2402 ,49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976)) (emphasis added)."The Delaware court noted that prior to Youngblood, it had employed a three-factor analysis to decide due process claims arising out of lost or destroyed evidence. In Hammond, 'the State argue[d] that Youngblood has now established a single bright line "good faith" test which should be applied by this Court in lieu of the . . . three-part analysis, whenever a denial of access is asserted with respect to evidence that could be favorable to the defendant.' Hammond, 569 A.2d at 87 (emphasis in original). Declining to accept the State's invitation to adopt a single bright line test, the Hammond court held:
" 'When evidence has not been preserved, the conduct of the State's agents is a relevant consideration, but it is not determinative. Equally relevant is a consideration of the importance of the missing evidence, the availability of secondary evidence, and the sufficiency of the other evidence presented at trial.'
"Hammond, 569 A.2d at 87. The court supported the foregoing statement by citing the same quote from Justice Stevens's *Page 1205 concurrence in Youngblood that was acknowledged, in State v. Steffes, supra, to be the source of authority for jurisdictions rejecting Youngblood, and that was cited by the Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Gingo[,
605 So.2d 1237 (Ala. 1992), cert. denied,506 U.S. 1049 ,113 S.Ct. 967 ,122 L.Ed.2d 123 (1993)]."The Hammond court concluded that it would continue to rely on the following three-part analysis 'pursuant to the "due process" requirements of the Delaware Constitution,' 569 A.2d at 87:
" '[I]f the duty to preserve evidence has been breached, a Delaware court must consider "(1) the degree of negligence or bad faith involved; (2) the importance of the missing evidence, considering the probative value and reliability of secondary or substitute evidence that remains available; and (3) the sufficiency of the other evidence used at trial to sustain conviction." '
"Id. (quoting Bailey v. State,
521 A.2d 1069 ,1091 (Del. 1987), and Deberry v. State,457 A.2d 744 ,752 (Del. 1983)) (footnote omitted). See also State v. Shaw,154 Vt. 648 ,577 A.2d 286 ,287 (1990) (wherein the court employed ' "a pragmatic balancing" of three factors: (1) the degree of negligence or bad faith on the part of the government; (2) the importance of the evidence lost; and (3) other evidence of guilt adduced at trial')."This three-part analysis — which weighs culpability, materiality, and prejudice — is what the Alabama Supreme Court seems to have employed in Ex parte Gingo. In that case, the court considered not only the State's accountability for destroying the evidence, but also the critical nature of the results of the tests on the allegedly hazardous waste and the defendants' inability to refute those test results. But compare United States v. White,
766 F. Supp. 873 ,884 (E.D.Wash. 1991) (a case whose facts are virtually identical to Gingo, wherein the court, without commenting on the materiality of the evidence or the prejudice to the defendant from its loss, held that the destruction of test samples on allegedly hazardous waste material did not amount to a due process violation in the absence of bad faith)."We conclude that our Supreme Court has adopted in theory, if not in name, a multi-factor balancing test similar to the one used by the Delaware court in Hammond to determine whether the State's loss or destruction of evidence constitutes a due process violation in any given case. We also conclude that the balance will necessarily be drawn differently in every case because 'fundamental fairness, as an element of due process, requires the State's failure to preserve evidence that could be favorable to the defendant "[t]o be evaluated in the context of the entire record." ' Hammond, 569 A.2d at 87 (quoting United States v. Agurs,
427 U.S. 97 ,112 ,96 S.Ct. 2392 ,2402 ,49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976)) (emphasis added). See State v. Youngblood,173 Ariz. 502 ,844 P.2d 1152 ,1161 (1993) (Feldman, C.J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) ('The answer [to the question whether the accused had a fundamentally fair trial despite the State's good faith failure to preserve evidence] is fact-intensive and depends on the quality and quantity of the other evidence, the type of evidence that was lost, its potential value for exculpatory purposes, and similar issues')."
639 So.2d at 566-67. See also Grissom v. State,
The appellant specifically contends that the court erred in denying his motions when the original cash register receipt from Brown's IGA grocery store, where the appellant purchased some cigarettes on the day of the robbery-murder, was lost. The receipt allegedly showed that the appellant had purchased a certain brand of cigarettes, the same brand of the cigarette found near the victim's body. The prosecutor, in arguing this point, stated:
*Page 1206"By Mr. Valeska: Just, as I recall the testimony, what she said was that she rang it up, I believe they were a $1.48 each, $2.96 was the total. Then she testified from the stand as I recall what type cigarettes, whether they were generic or subgeneric, differences in price, but I still say we can go ahead.
"Secondly, there was a statement introduced by the State that defended the statement, where the defendant admitted that he purchased cigarettes.
". . . .
"By the Court: I really don't believe those things that you claim missing are material enough in light of other evidence that is available on the same topic, for impeachment and direct also, and I'll deny the motion to dismiss and the motion to continue."
For this court to find a violation of due process because evidence has been lost, we must consider (1) the culpability of the prosecution, (2) the materiality of the lost evidence, and the (3) sufficiency of the other evidence. Gurley, supra.
Here, a copy of the cash register receipt was received into evidence and the clerk testified that the appellant had purchased cigarettes on the day of the murder and that the brand he purchased was the same as the cigarette found near the victim's body. Further, another witness testified that the appellant smoked a certain brand of cigarettes, which was the same as the brand of the cigarette found near the victim's body. Moreover, the serologist testified that the saliva found on the partially smoked cigarette matched the appellant's blood type. There was no violation of due process here and the court did not err in denying the appellant's motions.
This issue has been addressed in depth by this court inFree v. State,
"Defense counsel . . . objected to the State's reference to appellant's previous trial, and moved for a mistrial. We note that the reference was made to 'a previous trial' and not 'appellant's previous trial.' Appellant's motion for a mistrial was denied. Counsel, outside the presence of the jury, moved that the jury be instructed to disregard any mention of a previous trial, and the motion was granted. However, when the jury returned, the court asked the jury if they remembered the last question asked by the State, to which no juror responded. The court then refused to follow up with an instruction as requested. Appellant contends that because the trial court failed to instruct the jury to disregard the question and answer, the prejudice resulting from the statement was not eradicated and therefore constituted reversible error.Free, 495 So.2d at 1157."We find appellant's argument to be without merit. Under the circumstances, we do not believe that the question and answer concerning the previous trial were of such significance as to be prejudicial to appellant. It could be argued that defense counsel opened the door to the subject by the question he asked about Helton's previous testimony. Moreover, apparently, the question concerning 'a previous trial' made no impression on the jury, for a few minutes after the question was asked, no juror could remember it.
"The granting of a mistrial is an extreme measure and should be exercised only when manifestly necessary or when the ends of justice would otherwise be defeated. Nix v. State,
370 So.2d 1115 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied,370 So.2d 1119 (Ala. 1979); §12-16-233 , Code of Alabama 1975. The granting of a mistrial is addressed to the broad discretion of the trial judge, and his ruling will not be revised on appeal unless it clearly appears that such discretion has been abused. Chillous v. State,405 So.2d 58 (Ala.Cr.App. 1981). In the case before us, the trial judge was in the better position to weigh the matter and determine whether the question had so prejudiced the jury that the ends of justice required the granting of a mistrial. We find no abuse of the trial judge's discretion here. In the light of the record here presented, we are of the opinion that the *Page 1207 mistrial motion was properly denied. See Phillips v. State,447 So.2d 1312 (Ala.Cr.App. 1984)."
In Renfroe, this court stated:
"Appellant asserts error in the trial court's failure to grant a mistrial when on two separate occasions Luther D. Brewer, former sheriff of Talladega County, made reference to a previous trial. The initial reference mentioned by the appellant in brief was not objected to nor was there a motion for a mistrial. Furthermore, the reference was so slight as to present no threat of prejudicial effect."The second reference was as follows: 'I told the Court that in that other trial.' Extensive discussion was reflected in the record out of the jury's presence as to whether the trial court should give an instruction to the jury to disregard any statement by the witness about another trial. At the request of defense counsel, the trial court did not give a jury instruction. In a private notation to the record, the trial court stated:
" 'The Court did not poll the jury and did not instruct the jury after the defense requested it not to. The Court felt that it was wiser not to instruct them since the Defendant requested it, because to do so would simply educate them on what had gone on about a previous trial and that it was of some importance. As it is now the jury really doesn't know whether they were talking about some other trial not connected with Mr. Renfroe or talking about a preliminary hearing.
" 'So, I felt that it was better not to go into detail about it since the Defendant requested me not to. Or the jury could have thought it was a pure mistrial and no more than that. But for me to have remarked on it would have educated them to the fact that there was a previous trial.'
"In Shadle v. State,
280 Ala. 379 ,194 So.2d 538 (1967), we find:" '. . . the granting of a mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial court, for he, being present, is in a much better position to determine what effect, if any, some occurrence may have upon the jury's ability to decide the defendant's fate fairly and justly. And we will not interfere with the trial judge unless there had been a clear abuse of discretion. . . .' "
"The trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling the motion for a mistrial."
382 So.2d at 631-32. The references to "a previous trial" were so brief that no prejudice could have possibly occurred. The trial court did not err in denying the appellant's motion for a mistrial.
A jury's failure to reach a verdict does not bar retrial.Arizona v. Washington,
"A party who suffers an adverse ruling on a motion in limine can preserve the ruling for post-judgment and appellate review only by objecting to the introduction of the proffered evidence and assigning specific grounds at the time of trial, unless he or she obtains the express acquiescence of the trial judge that a subsequent objection and assignment of grounds are not necessary."Miles v. State,
" 'In Alabama, there is no requirement that a defendant be allowed to question each prospective juror individually during voir dire examination. This rule applies to capital cases, and the granting of a request for individual voir dire is discretionary with the trial court.' Coral v. State,628 So.2d 954 ,968 (Ala.Cr.App. 1992). 'The fact that the appellant's case involved capital murder is not alone reason to require individual voir dire. . . . A trial court's decision in denying individual voir dire examination of a jury panel will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of that discretion.' Smith v. State,588 So.2d 561 ,579 (Ala.Cr.App. 1991). See also Henderson v. State,583 So.2d 276 ,283 (Ala.Cr.App. 1990), affirmed,583 So.2d 305 (Ala. 1991), cert. denied,503 U.S. 908 ,112 S.Ct. 1268 [117 L.Ed.2d 496 ] (1992)."
666 So.2d at 66. Because there is no qualified right to individual voir dire, even in capital cases, no error occurred here.
The record reflects that there were no objections made to the alleged remarks. An objection was made after opening statements were completed but the objection was too late. An objection must be made at the time of the objectionable remark to preserve error for appellate review. Nation, supra.
"Kolmetz contends that the trial court abused its discretion in limiting closing arguments to 30 minutes per side."The trial court is allowed much discretion with respect to limiting arguments of counsel, and in the absence of some abuse of that discretion, no error exists. Smith v. State,
364 So.2d 1 (Ala.Cr.App. 1978)."In the case sub judice, although the offenses charged were of a serious nature, the State does not agree that the issues were complex or that the length of the trial dictated that the attorneys should have been allowed a longer closing argument. The State, moreover, had the burden of proving the charges and appeared to be perfectly satisfied with the court's time limitation. Most importantly, Kolmetz does not state how he was prejudiced by the time constraints, and he has, therefore, failed to meet his burden of establishing an abuse of the trial court's discretion in limiting closing arguments."
The appellant has shown no way that he was prejudiced by the time limitations. No abuse of discretion occurred here.
"The test for determining whether a strike rises to the level of a challenge for cause is 'whether a juror can set aside their opinions and try the case fairly and impartially, according to the law and the evidence.' Marshall v. State,
For the foregoing reasons, this case is due to be, and it is hereby, affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
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- Olin Grimsley v. State.
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