Smith v. State
Smith v. State
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. Irrespective of the bestial manner of the killing, or the strong evidence of the defendant’s guilt, he is entitled to every right conferred upon him by law. This court did not write Code § 38-1705. Nor can this court amend or repeal it. But every Justice is bound by oath to accord every person, including this defendant, the valuable right conferred by that law. It provides as follows: “The right of cross-examination, thorough and sifting, shall belong to every party as to the witnesses called against him.” To those not experienced in the trial of cases this right might not appear important, but experienced lawyers know that one of the most important parts of a trial in discovering the truth and smashing lies is an intelligent cross examination. The legislature considered it important enough to justify the enactment of Code § 38-1705 which expressly and without any qualification whatever vests in every party this right to cross examine every
Nor has this legally invested right in the remotest degree been altered by arguing that in Pinkard v. State, 30 Ga. 757; Young v. State, 65 Ga. 525; and McElhannon v. State, 99 Ga. 672, all supra, the cross examination related to a part of what had been testified by the witness on direct examination. In each of those cases because cross examination was denied, it was held that the direct testimony should be ruled out. Those cases sustain my position to the extent they held denial of cross examination required exclusion of the direct testimony of the witnesses. In none of them was it held or intimated that a denial of cross examination on any relevant matter would not require the exclusion of the direct testimony. In each of those cases the real purpose of cross examination was to test the correctness of the witness’s direct testimony which involved the credibility, the bias and interest of the witness. This was precisely the purpose of the cross examination in this case. Can this court be “side-tracked” into such frivolities while called upon to decide if one has been lawfully sent to the electric chair? Every decision I make on that question of life or death is made with fear and trembling, but I could never make such a momentous decision, knowing I had sanctioned a denial of the condemned person’s right given him by our lawmakers to thoroughly and siftingly cross examine a State’s main witness irrespective of the reason for denying this vital right.
Look at the actual condition of this case. This woman, the State’s prime witness, is shown to have been living unlawfully with the accused. She had also, without doubt, had relations with the deceased, although she admitted only to having dates with him and refused to answer when asked directly about sexual relations with him. Here she was testifying to a bestial
The lesson here for discerning and conscientious judges is that a court must offer to take some action that will preserve the right under Code § 38-1705, but when offers to thus act are rejected, the court is not required to take another action. There, strategy obviously was employed — an offer to take action that renders the accused still possessed of his full rights, under Code § 38-1705, was enough to justify denying him an alternative right, all of which would have preserved his rights under Code § 38-1705. All that one can claim under this law is the right to cross examine every witness called against him. When he is denied this right, a mistrial would protect his right. If he declines that he must be held to have waived the right. But where as here, he was not offered an alternative and asks that the testimony of the witness who testified against him on direct examination be ruled out, he was entitled as a matter of law to have the witness’s testimony excluded. “It is erroneous to abridge the right of cross-examination, and to do so is generally cause for the grant of a new trial. Barnwell v. Hannegan, 105 Ga. 396 (31 SE 116); Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Powell, 127 Ga. 805 (56 SE 1006, 9 LRA (NS) 769).” Becker v. Donaldson, 133 Ga. 864, 869 (67 SE 92). See Rabun v. Wynn, 209 Ga. 80 (5) (70 SE2d 745), to the same effect. The entire record of the Supreme Court sustains this vital rule. Bishop v. Bishop, 157 Ga. 408, cited by the majority, is not even relevant to this question. In that case, the plaintiff, as a witness for himself, refused to answer a question on cross examination, and the court dismissed his case. This court reversed. That decision did not raise the question of a denial of cross examination, but it merely
Any experienced lawyer knows that the cross examination tended to discredit the witness and might well have led to an exposure of her own guilt because of jealousy of the murdered. Hell has no “fury like a woman scorned.” “The state of the witness’s feeling to the parties, and his relationship, may always be proved for the consideration of the jury.” Code § 38-1712. Particularly is this true when the witness is the defendant’s paramour. Perdue v. State, 126 Ga. 112 (54 SE 820); Lundy v. State, 144 Ga. 833 (1) (88 SE 209). Financial or blood relationship may affect the testimony of the witness and evidence thereof is admissible when relevant to the credibility of the witness. Futch v. State, 90 Ga. 472 (16 SE 102); Myers v. State, 97 Ga. 76 (25 SE 252). How could anyone dare say the relationship of this woman with the slain man was irrelevant to her credibility? Had she had intercourse with him? Was it because of love, and was she disappointed to learn he did not care for her but intended to marry another? All this was potentially revealable had the cross examination been permitted to continue, “thorough and sifting,” as Code § 38-1705 gave the accused the right to do. What kind of warped scales of justice would allow her testimony in chief to remain against this accused while, sheltered by the Fifth Amendment, she refused to answer questions on cross examination that tended to and might well have exposed her entire testimony as the pratings of a disappointed lover, and even a murderess? Her direct testimony put her bias and credibility on the line. I dare say the questions she refused to answer will by the majority be conceded to have been relevant to this subject. If she could be shown to be unworthy of belief, this touched all of her testimony, and the jury might well have disbelieved her. But when she took refuge behind the Fifth Amendment, which she had the right to do, the door was closed insofar as putting her testimony to the test of the white light of truth. Even a layman, and almost any child, would know this effectively shielded her testi
The sentence this defendant faces, if carried out, means he must die in the electric chair mainly because of the testimony of this witness who by resort to the Fifth Amendment privilege, failed and refused to give answers to all these questions. I would never consent to such. The probing cross examination pointed to the very “guts” of this case, and a defendant cannot under Code § 38-1705, be denied this valuable right. If he dies let it be legal.
In light of the foregoing, I have no alternative but to dissent from the judgment of affirmance.
Opinion of the Court
The accused was indicted, tried and convicted of the crime of murder. He thereafter filed a motion for a new trial which was subsequently amended, and after a hearing denied. The appeal is from the conviction and sentence of death, with error enumerated in nineteen separate complaints on the allowance of evidence, charge of the court,
1. Even though the jury box contained the names of persons 65 years or older, who had not requested in writing to serve on the jury, this was not ground for the defendant to object since this fact alone would not work the disqualification of a juror. See Code Ann. Ch. 59-1 (Ga. L. 1953, Nov. Sess., pp. 284, 286; 1953, Nov. Sess., p. 328; 1967, p. 725; and 1968, p. 533). Code Ann. § 59-112, as amended (see above) not only does not disqualify the classes there mentioned, but merely grants them the privilege of being left out of the jury box unless they signify a willingness to serve. This provision is solely for the benefit of those in the classes but allows them to express a willingness to serve. Thus they are not ineligible to serve, and litigants must accept them as jurors if they decide to serve, unless they are excused or rejected on one or more of the grounds provided by law. There is no merit in this complaint; hence neither the motion to dismiss and quash the indictment nor the challenge to the array of traverse jurors has substance. See also Cash v. State, 224 Ga. 798 (164 SE2d 558).
2. The various items recited in support of the motion for a change of venue did not show an inability of the defendant to get a fair trial. The examples of publicity presented in this case do not show a prejudice of the minds of all the people and jurors, and we hold that it did not violate any of the defendant’s rights. No grounds for sending the case to another county appear. Rawlins v. State, 124 Ga. 31, 40 (2) (52 SE 1); Anderson v. State, 222 Ga. 561 (2) (150 SE2d 638). Nor was there error in not giving defendant’s counsel more time to question a State’s witness. The court was liberal beyond legal requirements in allowing the interview made.
3. The order of the court directing the clerk not to file the notice of appeal from the overruling of appellant’s motion for a change of venue was erroneous since the court has no such authority. The motion for a change of venue was based solely on the ground that a fair and impartial jury could not be obtained in the county in which the indictment was returned. Under the rulings of this court in Coleman v. George, 140 Ga. 619 (2) (79 SE 543) and Anderson v. State, 190 Ga. 455, 457 (9 SE2d 642), the overruling of such a motion did not constitute an appealable judgment. Therefore, any appeal
4. There being evidence to support the jury verdict, the general grounds of the motion for a new trial are without merit. Curtis v. State, 224 Ga. 870, 875 (165 SE2d 150).
5. The court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow the examination of prospective jurors one at a time out of the presence of each other.
6. There was no showing that the bailiffs having charge of the jury were not sworn, and there is no merit in this complaint.
7. In this case, the witness, Carol Jean Cone Smith, and the defendant appear to have been living together as man and wife. She had also been indicted for the same offense for which the defendant was on trial. She voluntarily testified against him. Her testimony was in part to the effect that the defendant had her call the deceased on the telephone and arrange for the deceased to meet her at some place; that she did this “because he threatened me”; that she drove her automobile and met the deceased who was driving his automobile pursuant to that arrangement; that the defendant was lying down in the back seat of her car and had a gun, a .32 automatic; that after meeting the deceased they drove their respective automobiles to another and more isolated location, and the deceased got out of his automobile and came back to her automobile, whereupon the defendant got out of the automobile with the pistol in his possession and compelled the deceased to removed the spare tire from his automobile and place it in her automobile; and that after taking the deceased to another location the defendant tied the deceased’s hands and feet while the witness held the gun, and after taking his billfold, the defendant shot the deceased. She testified that the only reason that the defendant gave her for having her call the deceased to meet her was that they needed a tire. No testimony had been elicited from her on direct examination concerning her relationship with or knowledge of the deceased, either prior to or subsequent to her marriage to the defendant, nor was any such testimony elicited from her on direct examination concerning her relations with or knowledge
Cited in support of the position of the appellant on this enumeration of error are the cases of Pinkard v. State, 30 Ga. 757; Young v. State, 65 Ga. 525; McElhannon v. State, 99 Ga. 672 (26 SE 501); Hays v. State, 16 Ga. App. 20, 21 (84 SE 497), and Pilcher v. State, 93 Ga. App. 605, 608 (92 SE2d 318). None of these cases supports this contention. The true rule is that when a witness declines to answer on cross examination certain pertinent quetions relevant to a matter testified about by the witness on direct examination, all of the witness’ testimony on the same subject matter should be stricken. Hays v. State, supra, and Boyett v. State, 16 Ga. App. 150 (84 SE 613). The witness’ claim of privilege against self-incrimination in this case was with respect to matters sought to be elicited on cross examination which were wholly collateral to and unrelated to her testimony in chief, and was with respect to separate transactions, in no way shown by her testimony to be connected with the crime with which the defendant here was charged. In Pinkard v. State, 30 Ga. 757 (2), supra, the ruling was merely that the court should have ruled out the testimony as to the whole of the conversation in which the witness had participated when he refused to testify on cross examination as to all he had to do with the transaction involved. In Young v. State, 65 Ga. 525, 527,
No Georgia case has been found which clearly and explicitly lays down the rule which we deem to be the correct rule on this issue. However, there are a number of decisions by circuit courts of appeals which clearly recognize and enunciate the rule which we deem to be implicit in the cases decided in this State. In United States v. Cardillo, 316 E2d 606, the court said: “Since the right to cross-examine
Furthermore, there was nothing brought out in this witness’ testimony on direct or cross examination which would indicate that the questions propounded or any possible answers thereto would have been relevant to the issue being tried. Hyde v. State, 70 Ga. App. 823 (1) (29 SE2d 820).
8. In his order overruling the appellant’s motion for a new trial
9. Having advised counsel that if he desired to submit some of the contents of a certain letter in evidence, he would authorize its entire contents, the court did not err in restricting counsel in his cross examination of the witness as to the letter and some of its contents, since the letter was the highest and best evidence of its contents and counsel for appellant was strongly insisting that he did not desire to offer evidence in order to avoid losing the right to the final argument. Clifton v. State, 187 Ga. 502, 508 (2 SE2d 102); Sullivan v. State, 222 Ga. 691, 692 (152 SE2d 382).
10. Several grounds of enumerated error relate to the charge of the court submitting to the jury the defense of alibi, and to statements made by the court in withdrawing that charge. In his order overruling the motion for a new trial, and with respect to these contentions, the trial judge said: “Every single word that was said to the jury with reference to withdrawing the charge was requested by Mr. Reuben A. Garland,” who,
11. The evidence amply authorized the verdict of guilty. The evidence of the accomplice, which was the only eyewitness testimony respecting the actual commission of the crime, was corroborated in several respects. None of the other grounds of enumerated error which have been argued and insisted upon by counsel for the appellant show cause for reversal.
Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part with direction.
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