Samples v. State

1959 OK CR 6, 337 P.2d 756, 1959 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 194
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 1, 1959
DocketA-12639
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 1959 OK CR 6 (Samples 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
Samples v. State, 1959 OK CR 6, 337 P.2d 756, 1959 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 194 (Okla. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinions

POWELL, Presiding Judge.

The plaintiff in error, defendant, was charged by information in the district court of Canadian county with the crime of receiving stolen property; was tried before a jury, convicted, but the jury being unable to agree upon the punishment to be assessed, left that to the court, who fixed the penalty at confinement in the State penitentiary for a period of two years.

[760]*760The pertinent portion of the information reads:

“That is to say, the said defendant, then and there being, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and wrongfully buy and receive from one Robert V VanBuskirk for a consideration of $80.00 approximately twenty-three cases of motor oil of the reasonable value of $150.00 of good and lawful money of the United States of America, that had at the time been stolen from another person, other than defendant, the defendant knowing at the time that said motor oil had been stolen and was stolen property, all in violation of section 1713, Title 21, Oklahoma Statutes, contrary to the form of the statutes in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State.”

For reversal five specifications of error are advanced, which will be treated in the order presented.

The first proposition is based upon paragraph 4 of defendant’s motion for new trial, and paragraph 5 of petition in error, and for the sake of brevity will be stated as found in the motion for new trial, as fellows:

“The conduct of the county attorney in persistently asking the State’s witnesses on direct and re-direct examination leading and suggestive questions which tended and did emphasize the testimony of such witness in the mind of the jury.”

To support the allegations in the information the State used the confessed thief, Thomas Edward Morse, Jr., who, while working around the warehouse of William Schulte in ElReno (who was a Phillips Petroleum Company wholesale dealer in oil and gas) as laborer and janitor, had a duplicate key made to the warehouse lock, and in that way gained access at night to the stored oil, and with the aid of one Robert V. VanBuskirk, had been selling this canned oil to various persons. VanBuskirk also testified. He had been convicted .for his part in the thievery, but at the time of the testimony had not been sentenced. The jury had left his punishment to be fixed by the court. The record shows that Van-Buskirk’s sentence was suspended.

Various other witnesses testified for the State, including William Schulte, who had lost the oil. He admitted that he had signed the thief’s bond after he had been charged, and in fact while the case was pending employed him to cut the grass at his home; and that the contractor who was building an addition to the warehouse that had been robbed, used Morse a half day performing labor.

Counsel for the defendant point out numerous questions asked by the assistant county attorney during the course of his direct examination of State’s witnesses, and particularly Thomas Morse, Jr., and Robert VanBuskirk. The record reflects that defense counsel was alert and in most instances before the witness would be able to answer the particular question by the particular witness, objected, on the ground that such question was leading and suggestive, and in almost every instance the court sustained the objection of defense counsel. However, we have been amazed to note that such proper rulings on the part of the trial court did not seem to slow down the assistant county attorney, who persisted throughout the trial on direct examination in asking leading questions.

It is argued by counsel for defendant that the continued asking of leading and suggestive questions by the assistant county attorney in disregard of the court’s rulings and admonitions, was without expectation of the answers; that there was persistent indulgence of side remarks to opposing counsel with obvious purpose of prejudicing the jury against the defendant, and that such conduct constitutes reversible error.

In view of the argument, though the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict of the jury has not been questioned, we -have read and checked very carefully the voluminous record of the testimony and particularly the court’s rulings. The court [761]*761was very careful in his rulings, and, as stated, in most instances, sustained counsel for defendant and properly cautioned the jury to not consider answers that were made before the court could rule. In' a close case the cumulative conduct of the assistant county attorney complained of here in the interest of fairness might force a new trial.

Here, however, the defendant testified in his own behalf, and substantially corroborated the testimony of the State’s witness VanBuskirk relative to his dealings with him concerning the time, place and price paid for the alleged twenty-three cases of motor oil, set out in the information. In fact, he. admitted later purchases. And Thomas Edward Morse, Jr., just prior to being caught by witness Schulte in his warehouse in the night time loading out cases of motor oil, had suggested to defendant that he would leave out his salesman, Robert VanBuskirk, and sell him the oil at $3.00 per case. Both VanBuskirk and Morse admitted that they told the defendant that the oil was not “hot” but was legitimate, and denied telling the defendant that the oil came in on a load of whiskey or was purchased as damaged oil from an insurance company, which was the theory of defendant when he testified. Both VanBus-kirk and Morse made delivery of the stolen oil to defendant in Morse’s automobile.

The jury apparently did not judge the defendant so naive that he actually put full credence in the representations of the day laborer and his close friend suddenly turned oil dealers, and believed, it would seem from the evidence, that defendant had good reason to believe the oil to be stolen. There is ample basis in the evidence for such conclusion, independent of the testimony of VanBuskirk, from whom he purchased the oil, corroborated by other witnesses, and in fact not denied by the defendant, except that he had no reason to believe the oil was stolen.

In view of the evidence, we must apply the principle long adhered to by this court that a conviction will not be reversed for alleged misconduct of the prosecuting attorney, unless this court can say that the prosecuting attorney was not only guilty of •misconduct, but that such misconduct might, in some degree, have influenced the verdict against the defendant. Davis v. State, 7 Okl.Cr. 322, 123 P. 560; Campbell v. State, 23 Okl.Cr. 250, 214 P. 738.

Defendant next argues:

“Under the evidence in the case, the court erred in not giving a cautionary instructon to the jury concerning the testimony of an accomplice (22 O.S.A. § 742) and if in doubt that witness was an accomplice, court should have submitted the question of whether he was an accomplice to the jury for its determination.”

It is urged that State’s witness VanBus-kirk was an accomplice of defendant Samples in the receiving of the stolen property, and therefore it .was the duty of the court, without a request, to give an instruction concerning the testimony of an accomplice.

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Bluebook (online)
1959 OK CR 6, 337 P.2d 756, 1959 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/samples-v-state-oklacrimapp-1959.