Peninger v. State

1991 OK CR 60, 811 P.2d 609, 62 O.B.A.J. 1536, 1991 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 58, 1991 WL 78889
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 14, 1991
DocketF-89-870
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 1991 OK CR 60 (Peninger 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
Peninger v. State, 1991 OK CR 60, 811 P.2d 609, 62 O.B.A.J. 1536, 1991 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 58, 1991 WL 78889 (Okla. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

OPINION

LUMPKIN, Vice Presiding Judge:

Appellant Doy Dale Peninger was tried by jury and convicted of two (2) counts of Indecent Proposal to a Minor in violation of 21 O.S.Supp.1985, § 1123, in the District Court of Tulsa County, Case No. CRF-88-2585. The jury recommended as punishment three (3) years imprisonment on each count. The trial court sentenced accordingly. Appellant now claims that errors occurred during his trial which require reversal of his conviction by this Court. We agree and reverse for a new trial, stating only those facts pertinent to the resolution of the case.

In his second assignment of error, Appellant alleges that the trial court erred in failing to sustain his motion to quash the search warrant and suppress the fruits of that search, namely photographs of young boys in Appellant’s foster care clad only in their underwear. The record reflects that Appellant was charged on June 28, 1988, with one count of lewd molestation and one count of indecent proposal to a child, committed against M.N. That same day an affidavit for a search warrant was prepared which stated in part:

photos of juvenile males clad in white underware [sic] and others of bright colored bikini underwear. Camera and camera equipment suitable for taking these photos.... Was used as the means of committing the felony, to-wit: Soliciting a Minor Child for Indecent Photos (21 OS 1021 B 2) (O.R. 10)

Issued and executed that day, the warrant yielded approximately one hundred photographs, sixteen (16) of which were admitted into evidence at trial. The photos admitted into evidence were discovered on the coffee table in Appellant’s living room, among a stack of photographs. These sixteen (16) photographs were introduced during the testimony of Detective Roberts, the affiant on the affidavit to the search warrant and the officer who executed the warrant.

On August 12, 1988, Appellant filed a Motion to Quash the arrest for the reason that there was no probable cause for the issuance of the search warrant or the arrest. Appellant renewed this motion at a pre-trial hearing but did not stand on it once it was overruled. Appellant again [611]*611entered his objection when the photographs were introduced and admitted into evidence.

The issuance of a search warrant is dependent upon a neutral and detached magistrate’s examination of the totality of the circumstances to determine if probable cause exists for the issuance of the warrant. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983); Langham v. State, 787 P.2d 1279, 1280 (Okl.Cr. 1990). The scope of items that can be validly listed in a search warrant as the subject of a search are instrumentalities of a crime, fruits of a crime, contraband and/or evidence of a crime. Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967). In order for there to be a valid finding of probable cause “enough underlying facts and circumstances must be set forth in the affidavit to enable the magistrate to independently judge the affiant’s conclusion that [evidence of the crime] is located where the affiant says it is.” Asher v. State, 546 P.2d 1343, 1347 (Okl.Cr.1976).

In the present case, the affidavit to the search warrant provided that Appellant possessed in his home photographs of young boys clad only in their underwear which were used to commit the crime of soliciting a minor for indecent photos pursuant to 21 O.S.1981, § 1021(B). This information was insufficient for the reviewing magistrate to determine that a crime had been committed or that there was probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime was contained in the Appellant’s home as it failed to state the existence of a crime. The photographs were not evidence of a crime as they did not meet the definition of obscene material set forth in 21 O.S.1981, § 1024.1. Therefore, we find that the magistrate erred in issuing the search warrant based upon the foregoing information and that the evidence seized pursuant to that warrant (the photographs) should have been suppressed.

Further error occurred in the admission of the photos into evidence. For photographs to be admissible, their content must be relevant and their probative value must substantially outweigh their prejudicial effect. Nguyen v. State, 769 P.2d 167 (Okl.Cr.1988), cert denied, 492 U.S. 925, 109 S.Ct. 3264, 106 L.Ed.2d 609 reh. denied, 492 U.S. 938, 110 S.Ct. 27, 106 L.Ed.2d 639; Smith v. State, 737 P.2d 1206, 1210 (Okl.Cr.1987), cert denied, 484 U.S. 959, 108 S.Ct. 358, 98 L.Ed.2d 383 (1987); Oxendine v. State, 335 P.2d 940, 942 (Okl.Cr.1958). When the probative value of photographs is outweighed by their prejudicial impact on the jury — that is the evidence tends to elicit an emotional, rather than rational, judgment by the jury — then they should not be admitted into evidence. President v. State, 602 P.2d 222, 225 (Okl. Cr.1979); Oxendine, 335 P.2d at 942.

In the instant case, we find that the photographs were not relevant and should not have been admitted into evidence. The subjects of the photographs are young boys who have been in Appellant’s foster care. The victim is not represented in this collection of photographs. Testimony at trial revealed that the photographs were taken prior to the time M.N. was placed in Appellant’s home. No allegations were ever made that Appellant took any photographs of M.N. or that the offenses Appellant committed involved soliciting minors for photographs. The photos do not prove or tend to prove an issue in the case. They do not have a tendency to make more or less probable a material fact in issue.

We recognize the well established rule that the admissibility of photographs is a matter within the trial court’s discretion and that absent an abuse of that discretion, this Court will not reverse the trial court’s ruling. Nuckols v. State, 690 P.2d 463, 470 (Okl.Cr.1984), cert denied, 471 U.S. 1030, 105 S.Ct. 2050, 85 L.Ed.2d 323 (1985). However we fail to see the relevancy of these photographs.

Accordingly, we find the failure to suppress the photos and their ultimate admission into evidence to be fatal errors which require reversal of the case and remand for a new trial.

Appellant’s fourth and fifth allegations of error concern the testimony of [612]*612defense witness, Richard Demorest. De-morest, a licensed social worker for Children’s Medical Center who treated the eleven year old victim, informed the court that M.N. had instructed him not to divulge any confidential communications. The defense objected and requested the court direct the witness to answer. The trial court ruled that it would permit the witness to testify to “anything that doesn’t violate the privilege of the alleged victim in this case.” The court further clarified its ruling by stating that “it appears that a legal privilege exists, and if the patient has indicated to you he doesn’t want you to violate that, then I’m not going to order you to do so.” Once he took the stand, Mr. Demorest stated that M.N. had requested that he not testify and that he would refuse to testify unless ordered to testify by the court.

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Peninger v. State
1991 OK CR 60 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1991 OK CR 60, 811 P.2d 609, 62 O.B.A.J. 1536, 1991 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 58, 1991 WL 78889, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peninger-v-state-oklacrimapp-1991.