Day v. State

374 S.E.2d 87, 188 Ga. App. 648, 1988 Ga. App. LEXIS 1161
Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided September 6, 1988·No. 76912·Published·Cited by 26 cases

Opinions

Carley, Judge.

Appellant was tried before a jury on an indictment which charged him with three counts of aggravated assault. The jury returned guilty verdicts as to two of the three counts. The trial court entered judgments of conviction and sentences on the guilty verdicts. Appellant appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial.

1. The general grounds are raised in several of appellant’s enumerations of error. “The weight of the evidence and credibility of witnesses are questions for the triers of fact, and this court passes on the sufficiency of the evidence, not its weight. [Cit.] We find that a rational trier of fact could find from the evidence adduced at trial proof of appellant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).” Thompson v. State, 166 Ga. App. 850, 851 (1) (305 SE2d 662) (1983).

2. Appellant filed a pretrial demurrer to the indictment, assert-

[649] ing that it was “defective and insufficient as it fails to set out a specific or valid violation of the laws of Georgia.” The trial court’s overruling of the demurrer is enumerated as error. The indictment upon which appellant was tried sufficiently tracks the applicable language of OCGA § 16-5-21 (a) (2). Accordingly, the trial court did not err in overruling the demurrer. See OCGA § 17-7-54; Rushin v. State, 180 Ga. App. 276 (1) (348 SE2d 910) (1986).

3. The trial court did not err when it delegated to the assistant district attorney the responsibility for propounding to the jury the statutory questions provided in OCGA § 15-12-164. See Hicks v. State, 232 Ga. 393, 399-400 (207 SE2d 30) (1974).

4. The denial of appellant’s motion that a prospective juror be stricken from the jury panel for cause is enumerated as error. We note at the outset that, although the State urges that appellant’s failure to have exhausted his peremptory strikes is dispositive of this enumeration, it is clear that this will no longer serve to “render the error[, if any,] harmless.” Harris v. State, 255 Ga. 464, 465 (2) (339 SE2d 712) (1986). Accordingly, the merits of this enumeration must be addressed.

The prospective juror was challenged on the ground that he was related to one of the victims within the prohibited degree. See OCGA § 15-12-163 (b) (4). The prospective juror’s brother was the step-father of the victim and, thus, the prospective juror was the step-uncle of the victim. Accordingly, the victim and the brother of the prospective juror were certainly related but the victim and the prospective juror himself were not related within any degree. See generally Central R. & Banking Co. v. Roberts, 91 Ga. 513, 516 (1) (18 SE 315) (1893); Daniel, Ga. Crim. Trial Prac., § 18-18 (1987 ed.). Although the prospective juror did indicate that he had “heard” about the incident, he affirmed that this would not cause him “to lean toward one side of the case or the other” and that he would render “a decision based on the evidence.” The trial court did not err in refusing to grant appellant’s motion that the prospective juror be stricken from the jury panel for cause. See generally Smith v. State, 148 Ga. App. 1 (2) (251 SE2d 13) (1978); Todd v. State, 143 Ga. App. 619 (1) (239 SE2d 188) (1977).

5. After the rule of sequestration had been invoked, the investigating officer was allowed, over appellant’s objection, to remain in the courtroom but was not required to testify first. There was no error. See Davis v. State, 242 Ga. 901, 903 (3) (252 SE2d 443) (1979).

6. During the cross-examination of a witness for the State, appellant introduced an exhibit into evidence. At the conclusion of the State’s case, appellant rested without calling any witnesses or introducing any evidence in his own behalf. The trial court correctly held that, under these circumstances, the State had the right to open and [650] to conclude the argument to the jury. See Mitchell v. State, 169 Ga. App. 630, 632 (3) (314 SE2d 468) (1984).

7. Several of appellant’s enumerations of error concern the trial court’s jury charge.

The refusal to give appellant’s requested charge on reckless conduct as a lesser included offense is enumerated as error. There is, however, no construction of the evidence which would authorize a finding that appellant, in stabbing the victims, had committed the crime of reckless conduct. Compare Bowers v. State, 177 Ga. App. 36, 39 (2) (338 SE2d 457) (1985). Under the evidence, appellant was guilty of aggravated assault or was not guilty of any crime. Accordingly, it was not error to refuse to give the requested charge on reckless conduct as a lesser included offense. See Riley v. State, 181 Ga. App. 667, 669 (3) (353 SE2d 598) (1987).

Likewise, it was not error to refuse to give the following requested charge: “Mere presence at the scene of the crime, even when coupled with flight from authority, without more, is not sufficient for conviction.” See Lofton v. State, 157 Ga. App. 447 (1) (278 SE2d 94) (1981).

Since the trial court’s charge did include a correct instruction on the credibility and impeachment of witnesses, it was not error to refuse to give the charge that appellant had requested on that issue. See generally Williams v. State, 149 Ga. App. 34 (3) (253 SE2d 432) (1979).

Based upon an asserted “gap in time” between the trial court’s giving of a general charge on intent and its giving of a charge on aggravated assault, appellant urges that the jury may have erroneously inferred that his mere act of causing injury to the victims, regardless of his intent, was sufficient to find him guilty. As against this assertion, Cade v. State, 180 Ga. App. 314, 316 (4) (348 SE2d 769) (1986) is not, as appellant contends, distinguishable and the holding therein is controlling in this case.

8. Several of appellant’s enumerations of error relate to the trial court’s consideration, during the sentencing hearing, of a prior conviction of appellant.

Receipt by appellant’s counsel, prior to jury selection, of notice of the State’s intent to use the prior conviction in aggravation of any sentences imposed in this case was timely notice pursuant to OCGA § 17-10-2. See generally Cobb v. State, 244 Ga. 344, 354 (20a) (260 SE2d 60) (1979); Morrison v. State, 155 Ga. App. 234 (3) (270 SE2d 397) (1980). Although a certified copy of appellant’s prior conviction may not have been attached to the pretrial notice, this would not serve to render inadmissible the certified copy that was subsequently tendered at the sentencing hearing. See Fox v. State, 163 Ga. App. 601, 602 (2) (295 SE2d 563) (1982). The failure to move for a continu-

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Day v. State, 374 S.E.2d 87, 188 Ga. App. 648, 1988 Ga. App. LEXIS 1161 (Ga. Ct. App. 1988).

374 S.E.2d 87 (Day v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Willis v. State
304 Ga. 686 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018)
Ivey v. State
629 S.E.2d 127 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2006)
Shields v. State
590 S.E.2d 217 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2003)
Hill v. State
554 S.E.2d 579 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2001)
Cannon v. State
552 S.E.2d 922 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2001)
Davis v. State
542 S.E.2d 626 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2000)
Dickerson v. State
526 S.E.2d 443 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2000)
Jenkins v. State
510 S.E.2d 87 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)
Howard v. State
506 S.E.2d 648 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)
Godfrey v. State
489 S.E.2d 364 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Perryman v. State
431 S.E.2d 742 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1993)
Wainwright v. State
432 S.E.2d 555 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1993)
Watkins v. State
430 S.E.2d 105 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1993)
Manning v. State
427 S.E.2d 521 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1993)
Burns v. State
397 S.E.2d 19 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1990)
Johnson v. State
394 S.E.2d 591 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1990)
Eason v. State
391 S.E.2d 427 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1990)
Barrett v. State
385 S.E.2d 785 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1989)
Bonner v. State
386 S.E.2d 379 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1989)
Day v. State
374 S.E.2d 87 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1988)