Holmes v. State

505 So. 2d 1308, 1987 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 4637
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided March 24, 1987·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

The appellant, Clarence Holmes, was found guilty of burglary in the second degree and was sentenced to life imprisonment pursuant to the Habitual Felony Offender Act.

Daisy Wilform testified that she lived alone in her apartment and that, on the night in question, she left her apartment for approximately five minutes in order to visit two elderly neighbors who were sick. She locked her door upon her return and went in the bathroom. She heard a noise coming from within her apartment, where upon she responded by saying "Yes," but no one replied. The door to the bathroom was not completely shut and she could see someone through the crack in the door; at trial she identified the appellant as that person. She testified that the appellant walked down her hall and into her bedroom. She then observed him turn the light on in the bedroom, take her purse, her watch, some gold earrings, a jewelry box, and her billfold. She testified that he was in her apartment less than five minutes before leaving through the front door. She then telephoned the police and Officer Martin came to her apartment in response to her call. She informed Officer Martin upon his arrival of what had happened.

I.
The appellant argues that the trial court erred by denying him, as an indigent, funds "for a private and more complete psychiatric evaluation"; he says this action "denied the appellant his right to assert the affirmative defense of insanity in violation of his constitutional rights." The record indicates that prior to trial the court granted the defense counsel's motion for a psychiatric examination. Dr. William M. Patterson submitted a report finding that the appellant did not appear to have any major psychiatric disorder or history of psychiatric treatment. He further found that the appellant should be able to constructively work with his defense counsel and, therefore, the trial court was satisfied that there was no sufficient grounds for granting the defense counsel's subsequent request for funds for a private psychiatric examination. The defense counsel claims that the first examination lasted for only an hour and that the report of that examination was "sketchy, vague, and obviously . . . of no value to the trial court in determining if there is any evidence to substantiate a plea of insanity." He therefore claims that under Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087,84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), he, being indigent, should be provided with funds to obtain a private examination in order to assert the affirmative defense of insanity. *Page 1310
" 'We therefore hold that when a defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offense is to be a significant factor at trial, the State must, at a minimum, assure the defendant access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense. This is not to say, of course, that the indigent defendant has a constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own. Our concern is that the indigent defendant have access to a competent psychiatrist for the purpose we have discussed, and as in the case of the provision of counsel we leave to the State the decision on how to implement this right.' Ake, 470 U.S. at [83], 105 S.Ct. at 1097, 84 L.Ed.2d 53.

"Even under Ake, the defendant's motion was properly denied, as the indigent defendant does not have a constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own. 470 U.S. at [83], 105 S.Ct. at 1097, 84 L.Ed.2d 53. See also Clark v. State, 467 So.2d 699, 702 (Fla. 1985); Tuggle v. Commonwealth, 230 Va. 99, 334 S.E.2d 838, 843 (1985); Commwealth v. Erickson, 356 Mass. 63, 248 N.E.2d 270 (1969)."

Isom v. State, 488 So.2d 12, 13 (Ala.Cr.App. 1986).

The appellant was provided with a psychiatric examination by Dr. Patterson and, thus, was accorded his rights perAke. Furthermore, "it is to be noted that Ake does not reach noncapital cases. Ake, 470 U.S. at [86], 105 S.Ct. at 1099,84 L.Ed.2d 53 (Burger, C.J., concurring)." Isom v. State, supra, at 13.

II.
The appellant contends that the psychiatric report that the trial court used for its determination of sanity was deficient because it does not state that the appellant was sane at the time of the alleged offense. Nevertheless, the appellant offered no evidence that he was presently insane or incompetent to stand trial; nor did he offer any evidence that he was insane at the time of the offense. See Gales v. State,338 So.2d 436 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 338 So.2d 438 (Ala. 1976) ("If there was any reason to believe the appellant insane, then a psychiatric examination would not have been wasteful. There is no basis in the record for such a relief."Id., at 438.)

This court has previously addressed a case in which the appellant argued that the trial court should have conducted a pre-trial determination under § 15-16-22, Code of Alabama (1975), on the issue of whether he was insane at the time of the offense. Hopkins v. State, 429 So.2d 1146 (Ala.Cr.App. 1983). The appellant in Hopkins offered as evidence a doctor's affidavit which indicated that the appellant was insane at the time of the crime. This court held that "[w]hen, as in the case before us, it affirmatively appears that the defendant is presently sane and competent to stand trial (notwithstanding the fact he may have been insane when he committed the act charged) there is no barrier to proceeding with the trial."Hopkins v. State, supra, at 1156. Because the psychiatric examination found the appellant presently sane and competent to stand trial, there was no error in its omission to indicate whether the appellant was insane at the time of the offense.

III.
The appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial based on a statement made by Officer Martin on cross-examination. The record indicates that the defense counsel made, and was granted, a motion in limine to exclude evidence of an alleged incident in which the appellant had previously entered Daisy Wilform's residence and taken money from her. The trial court on voir dire heard the testimony of Daisy Wilform concerning this prior incident and thereafter excluded any evidence either of the prior incident or regarding the prior incident. Ms. Wilform testified that her identification of the appellant as the burglar was based *Page 1311 solely upon voice identification. She testified that she was unable to view the appellant on the prior incident.

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

Holmes v. State, 505 So. 2d 1308, 1987 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 4637 (Ala. Ct. App. 1987).

505 So. 2d 1308 (Holmes v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Doster v. State
72 So. 3d 50 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2010)
Hutcherson v. State
677 So. 2d 1174 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1994)
Clark v. State
621 So. 2d 309 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1993)
Carl Milton Harrison v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992
Garrett v. State
580 So. 2d 58 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1991)
Lanza v. State
579 So. 2d 8 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1990)
McGahee v. State
554 So. 2d 454 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1989)
Sandifer v. State
535 So. 2d 203 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1988)
McCray v. State
548 So. 2d 573 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1988)
Johnson v. State
512 So. 2d 819 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1987)