Baker v. State
Baker v. State
Opinion of the Court
A jury found Manuel Max Baker guilty of two counts of leaving the scene of an accident. Baker appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in denying his double jeopardy plea in bar and his motion for mistrial based on a comment by the solicitor-general during closing argument. For reasons that follow, we affirm.
1. Baker’s convictions stem from an automobile accident he had with Yolanda Stringfellow on October 8, 1999.
Upon investigating accident number one, the investigating officer discovered that the vehicle involved in that accident was the same one involved in accident number two. On November 29, 1999, the officer issued Baker a citation for leaving the scene of accident number one. A few months later, on February 22, 2000, Baker, represented by counsel, negotiated a plea with the State regarding the charges arising out of accident number two.
Baker’s argument fails for two reasons. First, the test for determining what is known by the prosecutor is whether the prosecutor had actual knowledge of the other offenses which arose from the same conduct.
Second, the several crimes did not arise from the same conduct. The offenses stem from different automobile accidents, which occurred at different times, in different locations.
2. Baker, who presented no evidence and did not testify, asserts that the trial court erred in failing to grant a mistrial when the solicitor commented on his “failure to testify in her closing argument to the jury.”
[Defense counsel] will argue, I believe, that there was no damage to Mr. Baker’s car as testified to by Officer Cox. . . . [H]e didn’t ask Officer Cox about any damage to the white van at the time he met that vehicle. So you can’t infer there was no damage. He didn’t ask the question. There is no evidence saying there wasn’t. He may ask you to infer it. [Defense counsel] could have asked that question but he didn’t.
Baker objected to the argument on the ground that it implied he had “the burden of proving his innocence,” and the court overruled his objection.
We note initially that it is questionable whether Baker preserved the asserted error for appeal.
Furthermore, even if Baker had raised the argument below, we disagree that a new trial is required on the ground that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to overrule the objection.
In this case, there is no evidence that the prosecutor’s manifest intention was to comment on Baker’s failure to testify. Instead, it
Judgment affirmed.
Baker was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident based on the accident with Stringfellow. In the first count, the State alleged that Baker violated OCGA § 40-6-270, “by failing to stop at an accident.” In the second count, the State alleged that Baker violated § 40-6-270 “by failing to immediately return to an accident.”
Both Baker and the State refer the Court to exhibits attached to their briefs as evidence of the plea agreement. These exhibits, however, are not part of the record and will, accordingly, not be considered on appeal. See Court of Appeals Rule 23 (f); Jones v. State,
Turner v. State, 238 Ga. App. 438-439 (518 SE2d 923) (1999).
(Emphasis in original.) Id. at 439. See also Honea v. State, 238 Ga. App. 135, 136 (517 SE2d 841) (1999).
The record also shows that, because Baker neglected to tell his own counsel about accident number one, counsel was also unaware of the charges arising out of that accident.
See State v. Steien, 214 Ga. App. 345, 346 (447 SE2d 701) (1994).
See id.; Turner, supra; Honea, supra.
In his argument on this enumeration of error, Baker refers to a comment purportedly made by the solicitor that he claims was “within the province of the jury.” However, Baker failed to support this assertion with any reference to the record, citation of authority, or argument. Accordingly, any claims relating to the purported statement are deemed abandoned. See Court of Appeals Rule 27 (c).
Although the State argues that Baker waived the asserted error because he merely-objected and did not move for mistrial, a timely objection is sufficient to preserve an issue for appellate review. See Bolden v. State, 272 Ga. 1 (525 SE2d 690) (2000).
See Bowen v. State, 203 Ga. App. 371, 374 (5) (417 SE2d 18) (1992) (stating that trial court’s refusal to grant a mistrial is reviewed for abuse of discretion).
(Punctuation omitted.) Lowe v. State, 253 Ga. 308, 309-310 (1) (319 SE2d 834) (1984).
See id.
Id. at 310 (1).
Id. See also Turner v. State, 199 Ga. App. 836, 838 (4) (406 SE2d 512) (1991).
See Lowe, supra.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.