Freeman v. State

542 S.W.2d 629, 1976 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 353
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 22, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 542 S.W.2d 629 (Freeman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Freeman v. State, 542 S.W.2d 629, 1976 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 353 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

OPINION

O’BRIEN, Judge.

The indictments against these defendants were returned in the Criminal Court for Shelby County, Tennessee. Carolyn Janie Freeman was convicted of unlawful possession of a legend drug. Her punishment was fixed at six months in the county jail, plus a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). John Virgil Hamby was found guilty on three charges, on two of which he was granted a new trial. The remaining conviction was for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. His punishment was fixed at not less than five and one-half (5V2) years nor more than eight (8) years in the penitentiary, plus a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).

On this appeal defendants say that error occurred in the trial court upon denial of a plea in abatement which was filed on the date of the trial. The plea alleged in substance that the grand jury which returned the indictment against defendants was not composed of a fair cross section of the community in that women, young people under the age of thirty, blacks, and all but middle income persons were systematically excluded. Also, that the petit jury panel was composed in an unconstitutional manner in that persons between the ages of eighteen (18) and thirty (30), blacks, and women were systematically excluded.

Defendants rely on Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522, 95 S.Ct. 692, 42 L.Ed.2d 690, which was decided by the United States Supreme Court on January 21st, 1975. Defendant Freeman was indicted on August 31st, 1973.1 Defendant Hamby was indicted on May 21st, 1974. They came to trial on March 17th, 1975. On January 27th, 1975, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Daniel v. Louisiana, 420 U.S. 31, 95 S.Ct. 704, 42 L.Ed.2d 790, in which it was held that Taylor v. Louisiana, supra, was “not to be applied retroactively, ... by juries empan-elled prior to the date of that decision.” The Taylor decision applied itself exclusively to the composition of petit juries, as well as did Daniel, supra. We make no difference between the composition of a grand jury, or a petit jury, in applying the principal of denial of retroactivity set forth in Daniel v. Louisiana, supra. We base this decision on the factors identified in Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 87 S.Ct. 1967, 18 L.Ed.2d 1199. To do otherwise would seri[632]*632ously disrupt the administration of criminal laws in this State to a degree which cannot be justified in this case. In Daniel v. Louisiana, supra, the United States Supreme Court specifically stated that the “[Taylor] decision did not rest on the premise that every criminal trial, or any particular trial, was necessarily unfair because it was not conducted in accordance with what we determined to be the requirements of the Sixth Amendment.” We note that the plea in abatement in this case came many many months after the indictments, and after defendants had previously submitted not-guilty pleas. See Yearwood v. State, 2 Tenn.Cr.App. 552, 455 S.W.2d 612. We also observe that eight women served on the jury panel which convicted defendants. With the exception of the constitutional grounds raised by the Taylor v. Louisiana decision, the grounds in defendant’s plea in abatement were well known to them for many months prior to trial. The assignment cannot be sustained.

Defendants say the trial court erred in giving an instruction to the jury concerning parole, which, at that time, was mandatory under the provisions of T.C.A. See. 40-2707 as amended by Sec. 2 of Chapter 163 of the Public Acts of 1973.

On February 16th, 1976, the Tennessee Supreme Court released its opinion in the case of Farris et al. v. State, 535 S.W.2d 608, in which it held Sec. 2, Chapter 163, Public Acts of 1973 to be unconstitutional and void. However, on March 30th, 1976, the Supreme Court released its opinion on a petition to rehear in the Farris case in which it held that in accordance with Rogers v. State, 196 Tenn. 263, 265 S.W.2d 559, the Farris procedure would not be followed in every case, and that in those cases where the prohibited charge was given after the release of the main opinion it would be considered reversible error; that the rule would be applied along with all other relevant criteria in all cases arising prior to its release. The jury instructions in this case were delivered on March 19th, 1975. As pointed out in the State’s brief, these grounds were not raised in defendant’s motion for new trial. The trial judge will not be put in error upon matters not brought to his attention for correction in the motion for new trial. Kirby v. State, 214 Tenn. 296, 379 S.W.2d 780. Under the circumstances of this case, the assignment will be overruled.

Defendant, Hamby, says the trial judge erroneously and prejudicially instructed the jury that Tuinal was an Amphetamine.

Defendant was indicted for, among other, offenses, possession of Tuinal containing amobarbital and secobarbital with intent to sell, as classified in T.C.A. Sec. 52-1417.

The State’s evidence indicated that certain pills found in a search of defendant’s residence were known by the trade-name, Tuinal. That these capsules contained amyl barbital (sic) and secobarbital.

In reference to the indictment at issue, the trial judge instructed the jury as follows:

“Indictment No. 41854 charges John Virgil Hamby with the offense of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, with Intent to sell, to-wit: Tuinal. This offense includes the lesser offense of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, to-wit: Tuinal.”
“T.C.A. Sec. 52-1417 provides as follows: (a) the controlled substances listed in this section are included in Schedule III. (c)(1) Any substance which contains any quantity of a derivative of barbituric acid, or any salt of a derivative of barbituric acid, except those substances which are specifically listed in other schedules.”
“Tuinal is classified in Schedule III as a controlled substance.”
“Tennessee Code Annotated Section 52-1432 provides as follows:
[633]*633(a) Except as authorized by Sections 52-1408 — 52-1448, it is unlawful for any person to manufacture, deliver, sell or possess with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell, a controlled substance. (1) Any person who violates this subsection with respect to: 52-1432(C) a controlled substance classified in schedule III is guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for not less than three (3) years nor more than eight (8) years and in addition thereto may be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

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Related

Holt v. State
591 S.W.2d 785 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
542 S.W.2d 629, 1976 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/freeman-v-state-tenncrimapp-1976.