Riley v. State
Riley v. State
Opinion of the Court
This is the second appearance of this case before this Court. In Riley v. State,
Riley and co-defendant, Savin Dix, attempted to rob a convenience store at closing time.
Three days after the failed robbery, Antonio Martin and three other men were brought in for questioning about the shooting at the convenience store. Detective M. Walker, the lead investigator, interviewed Martin whom he initially considered a suspect because Martin seemed to fit the description of Dix. After advising Martin of his rights, Walker took a statement from Martin who then signed it. In that statement, Martin said that he overheard an argument in which Dix was accusing Riley of not doing his part in the aborted robbery. According to the statement, Martin heard Dix argue, “after I shot, you were supposed to have busted [sic] the window and got the money out [sic] the car.” Martin told the detective that he overheard Dix say that he fired three shots from his gun. Ultimately, information obtained from Martin, the victim’s wife, the store employee, and the neighbor resulted in the arrest of Riley and Dix.
Martin and Detective Walker disagreed on whether Martin had been placed under arrest for the shooting incident at the convenience store. Although Martin testified, “I was arrested because they thought I was Savin Dix,” Detective Walker testified that Martin had merely been a suspect brought in for questioning and denied that Martin was ever arrested for the crimes involved here. According to Walker, because investigators thought that Martin fit the description of one suspect, Martin had been questioned but “he was not under arrest.”
Before trial, Riley filed a written request for an in camera inspection of the prosecution’s entire file, specifically seeking review of Detective Walker’s investigative file for any exculpatory evidence, including witness statements.
*66 On remand, the trial court found:
In the context of the foregoing facts [evidence as to whether Martin a/k/a Rooks was under arrest when he made the statement to Detective Walker], . . . [t]he Court has conducted a review of the State’s entire file, and finds nothing in the file in further support of Defendant’s contention that Mr. Rooks was under arrest when he made the statement to Detective Walker implicating Defendant.
With that finding, the trial court refused to order a new trial. Riley then filed a motion seeking clarification as to what files had been actually reviewed by the trial court. No ruling was forthcoming on that motion.
1. Riley contends that the trial court erred by failing to follow this Court’s order to conduct an in camera inspection of the files of Detective Walker. He claims that the trial court reviewed only the prosecutor’s file and not Detective Walker’s file. Riley’s sole support for this allegation is an affidavit filed by his lawyer. In that affidavit, Riley’s counsel testified that he “left a message for Mr. Owens [the court’s case manager] concerning the order of the court, inquiring whether the Judge had examined in camera Detective Walker’s case file, as it was not evident on the face of the order whether this had been done.” Counsel testified that he “received a call from Mr. Owens who informed him that it was the position of the court that Detective Walker’s case file was not required to be reviewed in camera.”
Riley v. State made explicitly clear that “[the detective’s] files are considered within the possession of the State for purposes of Brady.”
2. Riley contends that the trial court erred in concluding that the prosecutor’s file contained no evidence that would authorize a new trial. We disagree.
A Brady motion imposes an affirmative duty upon the prosecution to produce anything that is exculpatory or useful for impeachment.
Judgment affirmed.
242 Ga. App. 720, 722 (2) (531 SE2d 138) (2000).
373 U. S. 83 (83 SC 1194, 10 LE2d 215) (1963).
Dix v. State, 246 Ga. App. 338 (540 SE2d 294) (2000).
See id.
McNeal v. State, 263 Ga. 397, 398 (4) (435 SE2d 47) (1993).
Tribble v. State, 248 Ga. 274, 276 (3) (280 SE2d 352) (1981).
Riley, supra, 242 Ga. App. at 722 (2).
See Wright v. State, 211 Ga. App. 474, 475 (1) (440 SE2d 27) (1993).
The trial court granted Riley’s motion for the record to be copied and sealed and directed the inclusion of the State’s file in its entirety except for the victim’s extensive medical records. It contains, inter alia, paperwork from the Atlanta Police Department, the City of Atlanta Department of Police, as well as a package prepared by Detective Walker on Form 105 of the Atlanta Bureau of Police Services.
Bailey v. State, 229 Ga. App. 869, 873 (3) (494 SE2d 672) (1997).
Burgeson v. State, 267 Ga. 102, 104 (2) (475 SE2d 580) (1996); Bailey, supra, 229 Ga. App. at 874 (3).
See Bacon v. State, 207 Ga. App. 39, 40 (427 SE2d 32) (1993) (physical precedent only).
See Burgeson, supra, 267 Ga. at 104 (2).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- RILEY v. State
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published