Callaham v. State

732 S.E.2d 88, 317 Ga. App. 513, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 2697, 2012 WL 3711511, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 750
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedAugust 29, 2012
DocketA12A1082
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 732 S.E.2d 88 (Callaham v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Callaham v. State, 732 S.E.2d 88, 317 Ga. App. 513, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 2697, 2012 WL 3711511, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 750 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Adams, Judge.

Anthony Callaham was tried and convicted of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with his shooting Kenneth Threats. He was sentenced to fifteen years to serve for aggravated assault and five years probation on the firearm charge. This Court reversed the conviction and remanded [514]*514for new trial because the trial court expressed an opinion as to the credibility of a witness in violation of OCGA § 17-8-57. See Callaham v. State, 305 Ga. App. 626, 628 (1) (700 SE2d 624) (2010). On retrial, Callaham was again convicted of aggravated assault, but the jury deadlocked on the firearm charge. The same judge again sentenced Callaham to 15 years to serve, but this time he ordered Callaham to pay the victim restitution. On appeal from the second conviction, Callaham contends the trial court erred in connection with giving the jury an Allen charge1 and erred by ordering restitution in favor of the victim when none had been ordered following the first trial.

The record shows the following procedural events. The second trial and closing argument occurred on a single day, whereupon the jury was sent home to return at 10:00 a.m. the next day for the jury charge. Neither side objected to that procedure. The next morning, the court charged the jury, following which there were no objections, and the jury began deliberations just before 10:35. At 11:10 a.m., the jury asked the court to repeat the definition of aggravated assault, to which there was no objection. Some time thereafter, the jury asked if they could read the testimony of two witnesses; the judge denied the request and, without objection, instructed the jury that they must rely on their collective memories concerning all testimony. The jury also noted that they were “hung up,” and the State asked for an Allen charge; the court declined, and the jury continued deliberations. This all occurred prior to lunch; the jury had been deliberating for about two hours at this point.

Some unknown time thereafter, the court gave an Allen charge without objection. At 3:40 p.m., the jury indicated that they had reached a verdict on Count 1 — aggravated assault — but that they were deadlocked on Count 2. The verdict of guilty on Count 1 was announced, following which the judge commented, “Never seen a jury so upset in trying to reach a verdict.”

The prosecutor then raised the issue of restitution, and she introduced evidence regarding the amount. Callaham objected on the ground that the sentence at the first trial did not include a restitution order, that the sentence likely would not include probation, and that the evidence at the two trials was essentially the same. Ultimately, the court sentenced Callaham to 15 years with a condition that he make restitution of more than $13,000; Callaham renewed his objections.

1. Callaham argues that in light of the total charge, the Allen charge as given “was so coercive as to cause a juror to abandon an [515]*515honest conviction for reasons other than those based upon the trial or argument of other jurors.” Although Callaham did not object to the content of the Allen charge or the aspects of the general charge about which he complains, he contends on appeal that the trial court’s charge amounted to plain error affecting his substantial rights, thereby invoking review under OCGA § 17-8-58 (b).2 See State v. Kelly, 290 Ga. 29, 32 (1) (718 SE2d 232) (2011) (“[Ajppellate review for plain error is required whenever an appealing party properly asserts an error in jury instructions.”).

In Kelly, our Supreme Court adopted the federal standard for determining plain error, as well as this succinct wording of the test:

“(t)he proper inquiry ... is whether the instruction .. . was erroneous, whether it was obviously so, and whether it likely affected the outcome of the proceedings.” [Cit.] If all three of these questions are answered in the affirmative, the appellate court has the discretion to reverse if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the proceedings below. [Cit.]

Id. at 33 (2) (a). Furthermore, “(t)he hurdle to establishing plain error is high. . . .” Id.

Under the first test •— whether the instructions were erroneous —“[o]ur task is to determine whether the Allen charge..., considered as a whole, was so coercive as to cause a juror to abandon an honest conviction for reasons other than those based upon the trial or the arguments of other jurors.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Humphreys v. State, 287 Ga. 63, 81 (9) (b) (694 SE2d 316) (2010).

Callaham starts by showing the court failed to give this portion of the pattern charge on the related topic of deliberations, in particular, the two emphasized parts:

You should start your deliberations with an open mind. Consult with one another and consider each other’s views. Each of you must decide this case for yourself, but you should do so only after a discussion and consideration of the case with your fellow jurors. Do not hesitate to change an opinion if you are convinced that it is wrong. However, you should [516]*516never surrender an honest opinion in order to be congenial or to reach a verdict solely because of the opinions of the other jurors.

(Emphasis supplied.) Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions, Vol. II: Criminal Cases, § 1.70.30. He then complains that the court’s version of the Allen charge did not include this language from the pattern charge, in particular, the emphasized part:

It is the law that a unanimous verdict is required. While this verdict must be the conclusion of each juror and not a mere acquiescence of the jurors in order to reach an agreement, it is nevertheless necessary for all of the jurors to examine the issues and questions submitted to them with candor and fairness and with a proper regard for and deference to the opinion of each other. A proper regard for the judgment of others will greatly aid us in forming our own judgment.

Id. § 1.70.70. Without the above emphasized language, together with the missing charge on deliberations, Callaham argues, the Allen charge actually given by the trial court was “impermissibly coercive” because it overly stressed that “Each juror should listen to the arguments of the other jurors with a disposition to be convinced by them.”3

[517]*517Our Supreme Court has found acceptable essentially the same Allen charge as given here. First, this Court had held that it was reversible error for the trial court to give an Allen

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Bluebook (online)
732 S.E.2d 88, 317 Ga. App. 513, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 2697, 2012 WL 3711511, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 750, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/callaham-v-state-gactapp-2012.