Hickerson v. State

1977 OK CR 197, 565 P.2d 684
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 31, 1977
DocketF-77-69
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 1977 OK CR 197 (Hickerson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hickerson v. State, 1977 OK CR 197, 565 P.2d 684 (Okla. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

OPINION

BUSSEY, Presiding Judge:

Appellant, Carter John Hickerson, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged, tried and convicted in the District Court, Tulsa County, Case No. CRF-75-230, for the offense of Robbery with Firearms in violation of 21 O.S.1971, § 801. His punishment was fixed at ten (10) years’ imprisonment and from said judgment and sentence a timely appeal has been perfected to this Court.

At the trial, John Michael Allen testified that on January 29, 1975, he was employed at the Exodus Men’s Wear Store in Tulsa; that at approximately 10:00 a. m. three black males entered the store. They shopped for about five minutes when one of them stated that he wanted- to try on a pair of shoes. As Allen reached down to get a shoe horn, he was struck on the back of the head. He immediately turned around and observed the defendant holding a small brown gun. The defendant ordered him to “get away from that button.” Allen was taken to the back room and tied up with a necktie by the defendant and one of his companions. He remained in the back room for five minutes during which time he heard the cash drawer open and hangers being rattled. Upon returning to the front of the store he discovered that $200.00 was missing from the cash register and all the leather coats had been removed from the hangers. He testified that the néxt time he observed the defendant was in a lineup at the county jail.

On cross-examination he testified that he did not recall whether or not he included a tatoo in his description to the investigating officer.

Janyce Levine testified that she went to the Exodus Shop on the morning of January 29, 1975. Two black males greeted her and asked if they could help her. She inquired about John Allen. They stated that he had gone around the corner for some change. She became apprehensive and left the store. She subsequently observed men putting clothing into a car that was backed up to the store.

For the defense, Officer Jerald Anquoe testified that he went to the Exodus Men’s Store on the morning of January 29, 1975, in response to an armed robbery call. He obtained descriptions of three negro males from John Allen. Allen did not mention a tatoo in describing the shorter of the three subjects.

The defendant testified that he had the tatoo on his face since he was thirteen years old. He denied robbing the Exodus Store.

Ida Ruth Evans and June Oldon, defendant’s aunts, testified that the defendant had the tatoo on his face for many years.

Defendant asserts, as his first assignment of error, that the trial court committed reversible error when it permitted the prosecutor to bolster its witness’ identification by allowing evidence of a pre-trial identification. Defendant cites as authority Cothrum v. State, Okl.Cr., 379 P.2d 860 (1963); however, Cothrum was expressly overruled in Hill v. State, Okl.Cr., 500 P.2d 1075 (1972), wherein Judge Simms stated, at page 1078:

“Initially, we feel most strongly that testimony of a victim concerning a pretrial identification is not only material, but most competent for corroboration. It has been recognized that prior identification of an accused is more reliable than a later *686 courtroom identification for the reason that it is closer to the crime in point of time, thus affording less opportunity for fading or deterioration of the victim’s memory or changes in the accused’s appearance.
“Further, it cannot be said that the defendant would be precluded from showing, or proving, that the victim was unable to identify the defendant as the perpetrator at some previous trial confrontation, therefore, the state should have the same opportunity. The sword, if you will, of prior extra-judicial identification must cut both ways.
“This is not to say the entire gamut of extra-judicial identification activity is open and available to the prosecution. In our view, competent original testimony of the identifier, AFTER, and only after, the in-court identification has been made in such fashion as to satisfy the requirements of Wade [United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967)] and Thompson v. State, Okl.Cr., 438 P.2d 287, would include testimony to the effect that the identifier at a particular day, place, and time or times, had occasion to see, recognize and identify the defendant as the person who committed the crime.”

We would further observe that we have carefully examined the evidence adduced at the in camera hearing prior to trial and are of the opinion that the in-court identification of the witness Allen, sufficiently satisfied the requirements of Thompson v. State, Okl.Cr., 438 P.2d 287. We would further observe that Allen’s testimony as to a pretrial identification came after his in-court identification rather than prior thereto as contended by the defendant. We, therefore, find this assignment of error to be without merit.

The next assignment of error raised by the defendant asserts that the court erred when it “allowed the State’s expert witness to state an opinion which invaded the province of the jury.” We would first observe that the complained of evidence was adduced not from “the State’s expert witness,” but rather was elicited during the cross-examination of the defense witness, Officer Anquoe. Officer Anquoe was called by the defendant for the purpose of establishing that John Allen did not include a tatoo in his original description of the defendant. On cross-examination, the prosecuting attorney inquired of the officer as follows:

“Q. Jerry, in your experience in taking all these reports that you have taken in your seven years on the Department, is it your experience that when people go through something like an armed robbery, they will remember every detail of a description?
“MR. BURNS: I’m going to object to that as calling for a conclusion. It’s irrelevant to what we are talking about here.
“MR. MUSSEMANN: It’s very relevant.
“THE COURT: I think he can answer that. I’ll overrule the objection.
“THE WITNESS: Restate the question.
“MR. MUSSEMANN: Sir, your experiences in all the reports you’ve taken, all the armed robberies, burglaries, incidents that you have done to where descriptions of someone were given, is it your experience that everybody remembers every detail about the suspect?
“A. Not every detail.
“Q. Is it often that they can leave out a scar or a tattoo or some characteristic?
“A. Yes, sir, they can.” [Tr. 76-77]

We have consistently held that the extent of cross-examination rests in the sound discretion of the trial court and it is only in cases of clear abuse of such discretion, resulting in a manifest prejudice to the accused that this Court will reverse a case. See Delaney v. State, Okl.Cr., 507 P.2d 564 (1973).

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Bluebook (online)
1977 OK CR 197, 565 P.2d 684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hickerson-v-state-oklacrimapp-1977.