Lipsey v. State

316 S.E.2d 774, 170 Ga. App. 212, 1984 Ga. App. LEXIS 1851

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 14, 1984
• Docket: 68072
• Status: Published

Opinions

Banke, Judge.

Pending appeal of his conviction of child molestation, the appellant seeks the reversal of an order denying his motion for an appeal bond. The appellant was indicted for three counts of child molestation, each involving his 12-year-old stepdaughter. The first count was based on alleged sexual intercourse, the second on alleged sodomy, and the third on alleged fondling. A jury found him not guilty as to the sexual intercourse count and guilty as to the sodomy and fondling counts. The court imposed a 20-year sentence on each of the convictions, to be served consecutively.

At the hearing on the motion for appeal bond, the appellant’s wife testified that she and the appellant had lived together in the Atlanta area for nine years and that the appellant’s mother, his daughters by a previous marriage, and his grandchildren also resided in the area. A former employer testified that he was willing to offer the appellant his old job back in the event bond were granted. It appears that the appellant has no prior criminal record and that during the year before trial he was free on $500 bond, without incident. After hearing this evidence, the court announced: “I’m not going to grant an appeal bond in this case. The court in its discretion finds there is substantial likelihood that he would flee the jurisdiction since he is now facing a 40-year sentence, has been sentenced to 40 years. The court also finds that he has — there is substantial likelihood of interference with witnesses in the case based upon the evidence heard at the trial.” A written order to this effect was filed several days later. The appellant was subsequently granted a new trial as to Count 3 of the indictment due to improper venue. Thus, his sentence presently stands at 20 years rather than 40 years. Held:

“The mandate of Birge v. State, [238 Ga. 88, 89 (230 SE2d 895) (1976)], requires the trial court to address four questions when determining whether to allow an appeal bond: (1) Is there a substantial risk the applicant will flee? (2) Is there a substantial risk the applicant will pose a danger to others or to the community? (3) Is there a substantial risk the applicant will intimidate witnesses or otherwise interfere with the administration of justice? (4) Does it appear the appeal was frivolous or was taken only for purposes of delay? An affirmative answer to any of these questions will support denial of an appeal bond.” White v. State, 146 Ga. App. 147 (245 SE2d 870) (1978); Moore v. State, 151 Ga. App. 413, 414-415 (260 SE2d 350) (1979).

There is no evidence in either the transcript of the bond hearing or the transcript of the trial to suggest the existence of a substantial risk that the appellant might flee, intimidate witnesses, or otherwise interfere with the administration of justice if released on bond pending appeal. Compare Morton v. State, 166 Ga. App. 170 (303 SE2d 509) (1983). All the evidence is in fact to the contrary. In support of its conclusion that the appellant might flee, the court evidently relied solely on the length of the sentence originally imposed. This sentence was subsequently reduced from 40 years to 20 years by virtue of the granting of the appellant’s motion for new trial as to Count 3 of the indictment, and we do not in any event believe that in a non-capital case the length of the sentence alone can serve as a sufficient basis for the denial of an appeal bond. Rather, this is merely one factor to be taken into consideration along with others. Accord Birge v. State, supra, 238 Ga. at 90, citing ABA Standards, Criminal Appeals, § 2.5 (a) and (b) (1974). As for the court’s finding that there was a substantial risk that the appellant might intimidate witnesses or otherwise interfere with the administration of justice, this was evidently based on evidence that the appellant’s wife had sought prior to trial to influence the victim to change her testimony. We reject the state’s apparent contention that the actions of the appellant’s wife may be attributed to the appellant based merely on the fact of their relationship.

Decided February 14, 1984 — Rehearing denied March 12, 1984. Don C. Keenan, Julie K. Fegley, David S. Bills, for appellant. Robert E. Wilson, District Attorney, Jonathan C. Peters, Barbara Conroy, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.

The court’s order denying the motion for appeal bond is reversed, with direction that a reasonable appeal bond be set instanter.

Shulman, P. J., Birdsong, Carley, and Sognier, JJ., concur. McMurray, C. J., Been, P. J., Quillian, P. J., and Pope, J., dissent.