Carrol v. State

391 So. 2d 1000
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 17, 1980
Docket52317
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 391 So. 2d 1000 (Carrol v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carrol v. State, 391 So. 2d 1000 (Mich. 1980).

Opinion

391 So.2d 1000 (1980)

Willie M. CARROL, Jr.
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 52317.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 17, 1980.

*1001 Rex K. Jones, Hattiesburg, for appellant.

Bill Allain, Atty. Gen. by Marvin L. White, Jr., Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before SMITH, SUGG and LEE, JJ.

SMITH, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

Willie M. Carrol, Jr. was indicted for murder in the shooting death of J.W. Hartwell. He was tried on that charge in the Circuit Court of Lawrence County, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has appealed, assigning as error requiring reversal:

(1) The trial court committed error in admitting evidence tending to show the commission of other crimes by appellant, such evidence not tending to establish identity, guilty knowledge, intent or motive.

(2) The trial court committed error in orally instructing the jury after the jury had retired for the purpose of considering its verdict.

Carrol and Hartwell were friends and neighbors in the China Lee Community of Lawrence County. On the afternoon of September 10, 1979 an argument between the two occurred on Hartwell's porch. Carrol began walking away from Hartwell in the direction of his nearby house trailer. The evidence is conflicting as to what occurred at this point. Carrol testified that Hartwell had followed him, taunting and threatening him. He said that Hartwell pulled a knife and advanced upon him. Carrol said that it was then that he had shot Hartwell and that in doing so he acted in self-defense. Hartwell died as the result of six gunshot wounds.

Carrol's claim that he had acted in self-defense was corroborated by the testimony of his daughter, who was an eyewitness to the shooting. Two other eyewitnesses disputed this testimony. They testified to the effect that they saw Carrol shoot Hartwell but did not see Hartwell advance upon Carrol with a knife.

After the shooting, Carrol asked a bystander to take him to the sheriff's office so that he might surrender. After having been driven about a mile, Carrol asked the driver to return to the scene as he was afraid that someone might remove the knife from Hartwell's body.

Afterward, when the sheriff arrived, he found Carrol at his trailer. Carrol pointed to Hartwell's body, told the sheriff that he had shot him, and gave the sheriff his gun. Hartwell was dead at the time. On examination of the body by the sheriff the only possible weapon found by him was a pocket knife "folded up" in Hartwell's back pocket.

POINT I:

The testimony which forms the basis of this assignment was elicited by the district attorney. Its purpose was to show that Carrol had carried a gun on his person prior to the killing of Hartwell.

Under questioning by the district attorney, the witness stated that he had seen Carrol carry a pistol. When the witness was asked if he had seen Carrol carry the pistol "around the house" there was an objection by defense counsel:

I object to this line of questioning, your Honor.
BY THE COURT:
I'll overrule the objection at this time.
(The district attorney continued)
Q. Where did he usually carry the pistol?
A. Well, when he would-
BY DEFENSE COUNSEL:
I object to that.
(District Attorney, Continuing)
A. -Carry it.
BY DEFENSE COUNSEL:
That has nothing to do with this case.
BY THE COURT:
*1002 All right, I'll sustain the objection unless a predicate is laid in the proximity of the time this occurred.
(The District Attorney Continuing)
During that day or maybe the day before this happened, did you ever see Willie Carrol with a pistol?
A. Oh, yeah.
Q. Right during this time?
A. Yeah. I didn't see him with it that day until he shot Hartwell.
Q. But did you see him with a pistol the day before-
DEFENSE COUNSEL:
I object to that, your Honor. That has nothing to do with it.
BY THE COURT:
I'll overrule the objection to that question.
(The District Attorney Continuing)
Q. Okay, you can answer that.
A. Well, I worked everyday. I didn't hardly see him everyday-I worked everyday.
Q. Well, within a few days right before this happened, did you ever see Willie Carrol tote a pistol around with him?
BY DEFENSE COUNSEL:
I object to that question. It's immaterial.
BY THE COURT:
I'll overrule the objection.
(The District Attorney Continuing)
A. Yes, I have seen him tote it.
Q. Do you know why he was toting it?
A. No, sir, I sure don't.
Q. Was he taking it to work with him?
A. Well, I don't know. I never did work with him. I don't know whether he was carrying it to work with him or not.
Q. But he was toting a pistol around?
A. He would tote one when he would be going off somewhere-just out riding around-
BY DEFENSE COUNSEL:
I object to that question and answer and move that the answer be striken.
BY THE COURT:
All right, I'll sustain the objection and advise the jury to disregard the answer.

It is now argued that this testimony was fatally prejudicial and that the trial court's actions with respect to it constituted reversible error. However, several aspects of the matter immediately present themselves. It is to be noted that, although objections were made from time to time, no specific grounds for such objections were assigned except that the testimony was "immaterial" or had "nothing to do" with the case. This Court has held repeatedly that where no specific ground for an objection is assigned that, ordinarily, the trial court cannot be put in error for overruling it. Stringer v. State, 279 So.2d 156, 158 (Miss. 1973). See also: Williamson v. State, 330 So.2d 272 (Miss. 1976); Pierce v. State, 289 So.2d 901 (Miss. 1974), Berry v. State, 288 So.2d 457 (Miss. 1974).

Be that as it may, at the conclusion of the examination relating to this subject, on objection of defense counsel the trial court sustained the objection and stated:

BY THE COURT:
All right, I'll sustain the objection and advise the jury to disregard the answer.

It is the well established rule in Mississippi that where a trial judge sustains an objection to testimony interposed by the defense in a criminal case and instructs the jury to disregard it, the remedial acts of the court are usually deemed sufficient to remove any prejudicial effect from the minds of the jurors. Forrest v. State, 352 So.2d 1328 (Miss. 1977), Herron v. State, 287 So.2d 759 (Miss. 1974), Myrick v. State, 290 So.2d 259 (Miss. 1974).

In Johnson v. State, 341 So.2d 660 (Miss.

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Bluebook (online)
391 So. 2d 1000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carrol-v-state-miss-1980.