Cummings v. Commonwealth

560 S.W.3d 844
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 16, 2018
Docket2017-SC-000448-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 560 S.W.3d 844 (Cummings v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cummings v. Commonwealth, 560 S.W.3d 844 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE CUNNINGHAM

During the early morning hours of August 23, 2015, three sisters-Sherrie, Melissa, and Jennifer Snader-were walking to their hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, after celebrating Sherrie's bachelorette *845party. They went to a Papa John's restaurant located near their hotel to get some food around 2:00 A.M., only to find that the restaurant was closed. While there, they were approached by an unknown man riding a bicycle. The man was later identified as Appellant, Kalief Cummings. The sisters found his presence and interaction with them to be unsettling. So, Sherrie and Melissa continued their walk to find something to eat. Jennifer returned to the hotel.

Approximately ten to fifteen minutes later, Sherrie and Melissa saw Appellant riding his bike across the street in a zig-zag pattern. They crossed the street in order to avoid him. However, Appellant quickly approached the women and stabbed Sherrie and Melissa with a knife before fleeing the scene. They sustained serious stab wounds which required extensive hospitalization.

Sherrie positively identified Appellant from a police photobook. Sherrie and Melissa identified the person on the Papa John's surveillance camera footage as the person who stabbed them. Based on the Louisville Metro Police Department's investigation, Appellant was arrested, indicted, and tried.

A Jefferson County Circuit Court jury convicted Appellant of two counts of first-degree assault and for being a first-degree persistent felony offender. He received a total sentence of thirty-five years' imprisonment. Appellant now appeals his judgment and sentence as a matter of right pursuant to § 110(2)(b) of the Kentucky Constitution. Two issues are raised and addressed as follows.

Juror Selection

Appellant argues that the trial court erred by failing to excuse Juror #25 and that reversal of his conviction is required. Juror #25 served as a member of the jury, even though that juror was peremptorily struck by Appellant. It appears that no one, including the defense, realized Juror #25 was sitting on the jury during the trial. Because this issue was raised for the first time on appeal, we will review for palpable error. See RCr 10.26 ; McCleery v. Commonwealth, 410 S.W.3d 597, 606 (Ky. 2013) (we will not reverse unless "it can be determined that manifest injustice, i.e., a repugnant and intolerable outcome, resulted from that error.").

In McQueen v. Commonwealth, 339 S.W.3d 441, 446 (Ky. 2011), we addressed a similar issue as follows:

[I]n extrapolating from some of our early and mid-20th Century opinions, the Court of Appeals cogently noted that a jury selection challenge is not waived if counsel "neither knew nor by the exercise of reasonable diligence could have known of the grounds for challenge before the jury was accepted." Bartley v. Loyall, 648 S.W.2d 873, 876 (Ky. App. 1982) (discussing cases).
...
Through the exercise of reasonable diligence, McQueen's counsel could have discovered the disqualification of Juror S.S. prior to examining the jurors.
...
As such, we hold that McQueen waived his jury selection argument.

Id.

Although the issue in McQueen involved the erroneous exclusion of a juror at an early stage of juror selection, the Court's reasoning in McQueen is nonetheless applicable to the present case.

Like McQueen, Appellant's trial counsel had ample opportunity to bring the error to the court's attention. In fact, defense counsel became aware that another juror, Juror #22, was erroneously empaneled *846and appropriately brought that issue to the court's attention prior to trial. As a result, the court designated Juror #22 as an alternate and then added another juror. Thus, there is no indication in the record that the defense should not have been similarly aware of the erroneous presence of Juror #25.

Moreover, Appellant has failed to allege that Juror #25 was biased. Of course, the use of a peremptory strike implies some indication that Juror #25 would not be sympathetic to the defense. However, that is something quite different than what justifies a strike for cause or some other clearly articulable evidence of a juror's bias. In any event, we cannot say that the erroneous inclusion of Juror #25 constitutes palpable error.

Improper Evidence

For his next and final argument, Appellant contends that the trial court erred by admitting recorded portions of his police interrogation. Appellant specifically argues that this evidence was improperly admitted under KRE 404(b). We disagree.

KRE 404(b) prohibits the introduction of "[e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts" used "to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith." We review this evidentiary issue for an abuse of discretion. Stansbury v. Commonwealth, 454 S.W.3d 293, 297 (Ky. 2015).

Prior to trial, Appellant filed a motion in limine to exclude certain portions of his statement to Louisville Metro Police Detective Matt Ditch. The Commonwealth did not object to the motion. Prior to Detective Ditch's trial testimony, the Commonwealth successfully sought to introduce a particular portion of Appellant's police interview where Appellant stated the following to Detective Ditch:

I don't tote no knife on me all day, every day. You know what I'm saying? I just seen other guys wearing them. Hell, I better put something on me too ... I'm gonna keep something on me sometime.

Appellant objected to the introduction of this statement as improper under KRE 404(b). The contested statement was not included in Appellant's motion in limine. Unlike the hearsay statements successfully excluded by Appellant in his motion in limine, the statement at issue here was Appellant's own statement.

We agree with the Commonwealth that this brief portion of Appellant's police interview does not qualify as "[e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts" and, thus, is not covered by KRE 404(b). Carrying a knife is not a crime. And nothing in the statement at issue implies violence or use of a knife for criminal or otherwise wrongful purposes.

This statement was relevant and probative in that it indicated that Appellant, by his own admission, possessed a knife, or at least intended to possess a knife. KRE 401. As previously noted, the weapon used to assault the victims was a knife. Moreover, Appellant's statement to Detective Ditch was certainly not unduly prejudicial. See KRE 403 ;

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
560 S.W.3d 844, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cummings-v-commonwealth-moctapp-2018.