Hall v. State
Hall v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant Neal Allen Hall
The facts of this appeal are straightforward. On April 9, 2013, Hall was at the Goodwill store in Hot Springs, Arkansas. E.M., an eight-year-old female, was shopping with her family at the store. E.M. claimed that Hall approached her, said that he wanted to "f---" her, and inappropriately touched her on her bottom. When she screamed and ran to her mother, Hall fled the store.
After the State presented these facts, Hall testified on his own behalf. Hall admitted approaching and speaking to E.M. He stated that he was only trying to console her after she had been admonished by her father for riding a bike in the store. He stated that he had been a victim of physical and sexual abuse and that he felt the need to console E.M. after she had been disciplined. He only wanted to let E.M. know that her father did not have to talk to her that way. Hall admitted patting E.M. on the back while speaking with her, but he denied touching her inappropriately.
Concerning his fleeing the store, Hall claimed that he fled the store, not because he had done anything inappropriate, but because the other patrons threatened to beat him. He stressed that, after having initially fled, he returned to talk with the officers. It is this testimony that raises the point of controversy on appeal.
In response to Hall's testimony concerning his having fled the store, the prosecutor made the following remarks on cross-examination:
So you admit from [sic] fleeing from the store but you had a change of heart and decided to come back. So let's talk about when you fled from your jury trial. It was a condition of your bond, wasn't it, to have an ankle monitor?
Defense counsel objected on two bases: (1) the State had not given notice that it intended to introduce this as 404(b) evidence; and (2) this evidence was significantly more prejudicial than it was probative. The State responded that it was trying to introduce evidence of his having fled as evidence of his consciousness of guilt. The court sustained the objection without specifying on which basis it was relying. Defense counsel asked for a mistrial. The court denied the mistrial and issued a curative instruction to the jury: "All right, Ladies and Gentlemen, you will disregard that last question of the Prosecuting Attorney."
Hall argues one issue on appeal: that the trial court erred in denying his motion *335for a mistrial.
Our supreme court has set forth the law regarding mistrials. A mistrial is an extreme and drastic remedy to be resorted to only when there has been an error so prejudicial that justice cannot be served by continuing the trial. Russell v. State ,
We conclude that the prosecutor's statement during cross-examination was obviously designed to induce a prejudicial response. During cross-examination, the prosecutor asked the question, "It was a condition of your bond, wasn't it, to have an ankle monitor?" Before this question was asked, however, the prosecutor made two statements: (1) "So you admit from [sic] fleeing from the store but you had a change of heart and decided to come back"; and (2) "So let's talk about when you fled from your jury trial." It is apparent from the record that these prosecutorial statements were not calculated to elicit testimony from Hall; instead, they were clear statements of fact by the prosecutor amounting to testimony under the guise of cross-examination. When the prosecution utilizes clear statements of fact amounting to testimony under the guise of cross-examination for the purpose of inducing a prejudicial response, this constitutes a flagrant violation that cannot be cured with an admonishment to the jury. See Dean v. State ,
To compound this error, the prosecutor's statement to the jury was deliberately misleading for a couple of reasons. First, the prosecutor's statement is factually incorrect. The prosecutor informed the jury that Hall had "fled" from his jury trial. Hall did not "flee" from a jury trial; he failed to appear at a previously scheduled jury trial, resulting in a warrant for his arrest, with no formal failure-to-appear charge. The difference in imagery surrounding the two phrases "fleeing" and "failure to appear," especially for a lay jury, is substantial. Second, the prosecutor's statement that Hall had fled from his jury trial was misleading to the jury and called on it to engage in speculation. The prosecutor did not make it clear to the jury that Hall had failed to appear in a previously scheduled jury trial in this case , leaving the jury to speculate as to how many jury trials or crimes in which Hall had been involved, insinuating that Hall was a bad person.
We do not find the prosecutor's phrasing in this manner to be inadvertent. Simply put, the prosecutor uttered a deliberately *336misleading statement to the jury based on "facts" not in evidence. Our supreme court has long held that a prosecuting attorney should not be tempted to appeal to prejudices, pervert testimony, or make statements to the jury which, whether true or not, have not been proved. Timmons v. State ,
Finally, the timing of the revelation is important. See Honey v. State ,
Reversed and remanded.
Gruber, C.J., and Brown, J., agree.
His name is also noted as "Neil Allen Hall" in the record.
The State argues that the court did not err in denying the request for a mistrial because the question asked by the prosecutor was not improper and was admissible under Rule 404(b). The court's admissibility decision is not the issue on appeal. The only issue on appeal is the denial of the mistrial.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Neal Allen HALL v. STATE of Arkansas
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published