People v. McDaniel

209 N.W.2d 836, 47 Mich. App. 661, 1973 Mich. App. LEXIS 1346
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 25, 1973
DocketDocket No. 12582
StatusPublished

This text of 209 N.W.2d 836 (People v. McDaniel) 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. McDaniel, 209 N.W.2d 836, 47 Mich. App. 661, 1973 Mich. App. LEXIS 1346 (Mich. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

McGregor, J.

Defendant was convicted of uttering and publishing a counterfeit check, contrary to MCLA 750.249; MSA 28.446, by a jury in circuit court on July 2, 1971; he was sentenced on August 9, 1971, to a term of from 1-1/2 to 14 years in prison.

Defendant allegedly uttered and published a forged or false check on August 23, 1969; the [663]*663check was presented to an employee of the Sears, Roebuck & Company, at the store. The check was dated August 22, 1969, payable to the order of one Leon Dandridge in the amount of $207, drawn on the Carrolton-Zilwaukee VFW Post account of a Saginaw bank. Several days later, a detective of the Bay City Police Department went to the Sears store and obtained a description from the employee of the man who cashed the check. He later returned to the store with a group of photographs and left them for the employee’s examination, with instructions that she was to indicate in writing the number of the photograph, if any, which answered the description she had given. When the detective returned the following day, the employee had picked out one of the pictures, the same being a picture of the defendant. A warrant for his arrest was then obtained.

At trial, the employee identified the defendant as the man who had cashed the check. The prosecutor showed her the array of photographs from which she had previously picked the defendant, and she identified the one she had selected; it was a picture of the defendant.

On cross-examination, the detective testified that two pictures in the group, one of which was of the defendant, had handwriting on the back. However, the Sears employee had already testified that she did not look at the back of the defendant’s picture. The detective also testified that handwriting samples taken from the defendant did not match with the handwriting on the check. This fact was never communicated to the prosecutor.

Following the testimony of the detective, and out of the presence of the jury, the defendant made a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, based inter alia on the fact that the handwriting [664]*664samples did not match that on the check. The court denied this motion, stating that the jury could find the defendant guilty of the offense even if the handwriting did not match, because the jury could choose to disbelieve the employee and her contention that she had seen the defendant endorse the check, and could believe her identification of the defendant.

Defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied. On appeal, he raises numerous allegations of error.

The first issue we consider is whether the employee’s in-court identification of the defendant was improper. Defendant contends that the out-of-court photographic identification was impermissibly suggestive because defendant’s picture had writing on the back. However, the employee testified that she did not look at the back of any of the pictures. The employee positively identified the defendant at trial; she also related the facts of the photographic identification. At defendant’s request, the pictures were introduced into evidence and the defense counsel conducted a thorough cross-examination of the employee on the identification issue. Nowhere did the defense counsel object to the in-court identification as being tainted by the out-of-court identification until his motion for a new trial.

Defendant’s failure timely to raise the issue does not preclude appellate review. People v Limon, 4 Mich App 440 (1966); People v Schumacher, 29 Mich App 594 (1971), remanded on other grounds, 384 Mich 831 (1971); People v James Jackson (Docket No. 11627, decided June 28, 1972 [unreported]). The test for setting aside a photographic identification is set out in Simmons v United States, 390 US 377, 384; 88 S Ct 967, 971; 19 L Ed 2d 1247, 1253 (1968):

[665]*665"[W]e hold that each case must be considered on its own facts, and that convictions based on eyewitness identification at trial following a pretrial identification by photograph will be set aside on that ground only if the photographic identiñcation procedure was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentiñcation. ”

The situation here is very similar to that in People v Council, 36 Mich App 682, 685 (1971), where this Court held:

"In the present case, the pretrial photographic identification procedure, scrutinized in light of the totality of the surrounding circumstances, does not give rise to substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. Because the procedure was not so unduly prejudicial as to wholly taint the conviction of the defendant, this Court finds no merit in this contention by defendant.”

Likewise, in the instant case, the identification procedure was proper and defendant suffered no prejudice. Furthermore, it was for the jury to decide whether to credit or reject the employee’s identification testimony. People v Charles Williams, 36 Mich App 195 (1971).

The next issue is whether the failure of the prosecution, even though unintentional, to disclose to the defense that handwriting samples taken from defendant did not match the handwriting on the check resulted in the denial of defendant’s right to a fair trial.

At the preliminary examination, defendant testified that after he was arrested, the police took handwriting samples from him. Defense counsel asked to see those samples, but the prosecutor stated that his office had none.

At trial, the Sears employee testified that the check was signed in her presence; on cross-exami[666]*666nation of the detective, it was discovered that the handwriting samples taken from this defendant did not match with the handwriting on the forged check. The detective stated that he did not think that this fact had been disclosed to the prosecutor. The jury was excused and the defendant moved for a directed verdict. The motion was denied. The prosecutor requested a recess until the following week so he could investigate the handwriting report. The defendant opposed this motion and the motion was denied.

In his final argument, the prosecutor stated that the Sears employee must have been mistaken when she testified that the defendant signed the check in her presence. However, he prefaced his argument by saying that the arguments by counsel are not evidence in the case. Defense counsel countered in his argument by stating that, if the employee were mistaken as to whether the person signed in her presence, she could be mistaken as to the crucial question of identity.

In Brady v Maryland, 373 US 83, 87; 83 S Ct 1194, 1196-1197; 10 L Ed 2d 215, 218 (1963), the Court held:

" * * * that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.”

In Moore v Illinois, 408 US 786, 794, 795; 92 S Ct 2562, 2568; 33 L Ed 2d 706, 713 (1972), the Court, in discussing Brady, stated:

"The heart of the holding in Brady is the prosecution’s suppression of evidence, in the face of a defense production request, where the evidence is favorable to the accused and is material either to guilt or to punish

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

Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Simmons v. United States
390 U.S. 377 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Moore v. Illinois
408 U.S. 786 (Supreme Court, 1972)
People v. Limon
145 N.W.2d 287 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1966)
People v. Charles Williams
193 N.W.2d 331 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1971)
People v. Schumacher
185 N.W.2d 633 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1971)
People v. Council
194 N.W.2d 34 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
209 N.W.2d 836, 47 Mich. App. 661, 1973 Mich. App. LEXIS 1346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mcdaniel-michctapp-1973.