Bobbitt v. State
Bobbitt v. State
Opinion of the Court
John Bobbitt appeals his burglary conviction; he was tried jointly with co-defendant Phillip W. Reeves. Held:
Appellant’s sole enumeration is that the trial court erred by allowing the co-defendant to give testimony regarding the substance of appellant’s prior testimony at a probation revocation hearing after appellant elected not to take the stand in his behalf. Appellant does not contend that error occurred by failing to sever his case from that of co-defendant or that his testimony at the probation hearing was not voluntary, thus these issues are not before us on appeal. Rather, appellant asserts that introduction of his prior testimony in evidence in view of his election not to testify at trial violated his privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and under the Georgia Constitution of 1983, and that the introduction of this testimony compelled him to give evidence in violation of OCGA § 24-9-20 (a).
The record reveals that it was co-defendant’s counsel who first stated on the record that co-defendant desired to place in evidence appellant’s prior testimony. Appellant did not object initially, but made a general observation that “it’s almost like a reverse Bruton problem. It’s not an inculpatory statement, but its going to be used in that fashion. I mean, the statement would deny all knowledge.” Later,
Appellant’s claim of error under OCGA § 24-9-20 (a) is not before us on appeal, as appellant failed to object on this particular ground at trial. Norman v. State, 197 Ga. App. 333, 334 (2) (398 SE2d 395). Assuming arguendo appellant has adequately preserved on appeal the issue whether the testimony in question violated his privilege against self-incrimination under both the United States and the Georgia Constitutions, we nonetheless find his contentions are without merit. In Edison v. State, 256 Ga. 67, 69 (3) (344 SE2d 231), the defendant elected not to testify at his second trial and the State introduced his previous testimony in evidence to set out conflicts between his version of the events surrounding the murder and the versions of the State’s witnesses; the Supreme Court found no error opining that “[a] defendant who testifies on his behalf waives his privilege against self-incrimination to the extent of that testimony.” Id.; accord Carter v. State, 263 Ga. 401, 402 (2) (435 SE2d 42); Wright v. State, 207 Ga. App. 685, 686 (2) (428 SE2d 691). We conclude appellant waived his privilege against self-incrimination by testifying voluntarily on his behalf at the probation revocation hearing to the extent of that testimony. See Edison, supra; Carter, supra; Wright, supra.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.