People v. Green

151 N.W.2d 834, 7 Mich. App. 346, 1967 Mich. App. LEXIS 582
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 10, 1967
DocketDocket 2,248
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 151 N.W.2d 834 (People v. Green) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Green, 151 N.W.2d 834, 7 Mich. App. 346, 1967 Mich. App. LEXIS 582 (Mich. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

Holbrook, J.

Defendant was tried and convicted of first-degree murder * before a jury in the Kent county circuit court in March of 1966. After denial of his motion for new trial he has appealed to this Court.

The pertinent facts appear in the record as follows : The defendant shot James Williams at approximately 7:30 p.m., December 31, 1965, at the home of his former wife, Bertha Green, at Grand *349 Rapids. He left the home before the arrival of police and was apprehended at 9:16 p.m. that same evening. He was advised that he had the right to remain silent and that anything he said would be used against him. He was asked if he had a gun or if he hid a gun any place, and he stated that if the officer would give him a cigarette he would tell him where the gun was. Upon being given a cigarette, he took the officer to where he had placed the gun. No objection was made to this testimony. When he was taken to police headquarters, he was advised by Detective Robert Scott of his constitu-' tional rights including the fact that he was entitled to have an attorney present and if he couldn’t afford an attorney, one would be appointed for him by the court.

Subsequently, he was questioned and confessed to the crime. This confession was testified to by the investigatory officer at the trial. Defendant did not object to any of this testimony and his counsel cross-examined the witness at some length eliciting further statements made by defendant concerning the transaction.

Defendant claimed that the decedent had been living in his former wife’s home and that gambling was going on in the presence of his children. He further claimed that the homicide was justifiable because he did it in self-defense.

The defendant raises several question for review which will be dealt with in proper order.

1. Were the admissions and confession of defendant properly admitted in evidence?

The testimony was not objected to by defendant. Defendant made no claim that the admissions and confession made by him to police officers were involuntary, either at the trial or in his motion for a new trial. Defendant asserts for the first time *350 in this Court that his admissions and confession were involuntary because he had not previously been informed of his right to counsel. It is his present position that being informed of the right to consult counsel before making an admission against interest or a confession is a constitutional right as defined in Escobedo v. Illinois (1964), 378 US 478 (84 S Ct 1758, 12 L ed 2d 977), and Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 US 436 (86 S Ct 1602,16 L ed 2d 694) as interpreted in Johnson v. New Jersey (1966), 384 US 719 (86 S Ct 1772, 16 L ed 2d 882). In People v. Griffin (1966), 4 Mich App 604, we discussed at great length the cases of Escobedo, Miranda, and Johnson, supra. Therein the trial commenced after Escobedo and prior to Miranda, as is also true in the instant case. Under the facts therein, we determined that reversible error was not committed by admission into evidence of statements obtained from an accused not advised of his constitutional rights, where trial commenced prior to June 13, 1966. We are equally compelled under the facts in the case at hand to come to the same conclusion. Also, see People v. Robbins (1967), 6 Mich App 633.

2. Was reversible error committed when defendant’s former wife testified to claimed confidential matters occurring during their marriage?

The testimony of Bertha Green claimed to be • reversible error is . as follows:

“Q. Willie Green assault you on September 6, 1962?
“A. He did._
“Q. What did he assault you with?
“A. I don’t know. It was a knife. That is what he had.
“Q. What did it do to you?
“A. He stabbed me in back of my neck, and he struck me here' on the jaw and on my arm.-
*351 “Q. Have you got any scar that is visible?
“A. Yes. Got one right there.
“Q. Where?
“A. See (Pointing).
“Q. From this attack?
“A. That’s right.
“Q. Did yon go to court on that occasion?
“A. I did.
“Q. At the time he attacked yon with this knife, or whatever it was, did he say anything to you?
“A. I was sitting — it was one evening, just about 4 o’clock, one afternoon, and I was sitting down watching ‘Popeye,’ me and my sister and my daughter Barbara Ann. So he come up the stairs. He was drunk. And so he started to argue with me, and he just kept walking by and by and arguing, and that was past me, backwards and forwards, one room into the other. When he come back through the room again that’s when he stabbed me in my neck.
“Q. Did he have something you saw?
“A. He had a little old knife with a wooden handle, looked like the blade had been broke off.
“Q. Did you see him before he stabbed you with, that?
“A. No, I was sitting down, I was looking at TV. He come in behind me and stabbed me. I jumped up and was scuffling .with the knife. That is when he cut me on the jaw and on my arm.
“Q. Could it have been a fish knife or fish scaler?
“A. It wasn’t a fish knife. If was a little old knife. It wasn’t a paring knife. It looked like a little old tin knife but the blade had been broke off sharp.
“Q. You were standing?
“A. I was sitting down.
“Q. Did you say anything to him?
“A. I didn’t say anything to him. He just come up 'the steps and' come up and argue with me.
*352 “Q. Did lie say anything to you threatening at that time ?
“A.

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

Related

People v. Carey
312 N.W.2d 205 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1981)
People v. Dinsmore
303 N.W.2d 857 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1981)
People v. LaPorte
303 N.W.2d 222 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1981)
People v. Holmes
295 N.W.2d 887 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1980)
People v. Darwall
267 N.W.2d 472 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1978)
People v. Christensen
235 N.W.2d 50 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1975)
People v. Wheat
223 N.W.2d 73 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1974)
People v. Johnson
220 N.W.2d 65 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1974)
People v. Pepper
194 N.W.2d 67 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1971)
People v. William Turner
182 N.W.2d 781 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1970)
People v. Nickopoulous
182 N.W.2d 83 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1970)
People v. Thomas
181 N.W.2d 328 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1970)
People v. Ruppuhn
180 N.W.2d 900 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1970)
People v. Pace
165 N.W.2d 305 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
151 N.W.2d 834, 7 Mich. App. 346, 1967 Mich. App. LEXIS 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-green-michctapp-1967.