Sprinkle v. State

368 So. 2d 554, 1978 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1107
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided March 21, 1978·Published·Cited by 94 cases

Opinion

[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 556 [EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 557

On the night of December 3, 1976, Billy White, an eighteen year old Baldwin County High School student, and Cheri Prine, a fifteen year old student, were killed in an automobile collision in Baldwin County. The twenty year old appellant was indicted for their murders by perpetrating an act greatly dangerous to the lives of others and evidencing a depraved mind without regard for human life. A jury convicted him of murder in the second degree and fixed his punishment at twenty-one years' imprisonment. The appellant's request for Youthful Offender Treatment was denied because the appellant had "a running record of traffic violations" including reckless driving, driving while intoxicated and driving without a license. His motion that he be committed to a state mental institution for treatment and evaluation was granted. At trial the appellant was represented by retained counsel who was appointed on this appeal.

The sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction has not been challenged. As there was no motion to exclude the state's evidence, no request for the affirmative charge, no exceptions reserved to the oral charge of the trial court, and no motion for a new trial, the question of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction is not presented on appeal. Robinson v. State, 44 Ala. App. 206, 205 So.2d 524 (1967); Alexander v. State, 281 Ala. 457, 204 So.2d 488 (1967);Anderson v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 339 So.2d 166 (1976). Yet, having reviewed the evidence we find that it was ample to support the verdict.

The evidence presented by the state, in its barest essentials, reveals that around 4:45 on the afternoon of December 3, 1976, the appellant began drinking beer and soon switched to whiskey. By 10:00 o'clock that night the appellant was intoxicated. A waitress at the Little Dutchman Lounge testified that the appellant was incapable of driving safely and refused to serve him any beer. The appellant left before she could call his parents to come take him home.

The collision occurred on Alabama Highway 112, the Old Pensacola Road, in Baldwin County. The point of impact was determined to be in the lane rightfully occupied by Billy White and Cheri Prine. The appellant was driving in the wrong lane at *Page 558 a speed of approximately one hundred miles an hour in an intoxicated condition when the collision occurred. The Chevrolet Vega driven by White was traveling approximately forty-five miles an hour and was repelled backwards a distance of ninety-three feet from the point of impact. The Ford driven by the appellant traveled in its original direction for a distance of one hundred seventy-six feet from the point of impact before finally stopping. No skid marks were found at the scene.

The defense called several witnesses including the appellant who testified that the appellant was not drunk on the night of the collision. Several other witnesses attested to the appellant's good reputation in the community.

I
Initially the appellant argues that the trial court improperly denied his motion for a change of venue. In support of this argument the appellant argues that

"the defendant was from across the tracks; that the parties who were killed were a local football hero and a cheerleader. They were close enough to the Solicitor that he cried when trying to read the indictment and apparently close enough to the judge that he refused a bond without any logical reason except prejudice."

Additionally it is argued that the motion for change of venue should have been granted because eleven of the thirty-nine veniremen were excused because "they expressed a fixed opinion or prejudice." The record does not disclose the nature of this fixed opinion or bias.

The only evidence offered in support of the motion for a change of venue was an affidavit of defense counsel that he had made "limited inquiries of several people in Bay Minette and in this general area" and the "consensus of opinion was that it was very doubtful" that the appellant could receive a fair trial in Baldwin County.

The mere belief of the defendant or of the witnesses he is able to produce that he cannot receive an impartial trial is not enough to entitle him to a change of venue. Patton v.State, 246 Ala. 639, 21 So.2d 844 (1945); Campbell v. State,257 Ala. 322, 58 So.2d 623 (1952); Mathis v. State, 280 Ala. 16, 189 So.2d 564, cert. denied, 386 U.S. 935, 87 S.Ct. 963,17 L.Ed.2d 807 (1966).

A defendant has a right to a change of venue only if it is clearly shown that a fair and impartial trial may not be had in the county in which the indictment was found. In Jackson v.State, 104 Ala. 1, 4, 16 So. 523 (1894), the Supreme Court of this state noted:

"Facts and circumstances rendering such a trial improbable must appear. The mere belief of the party applying, or of the witnesses he is enabled to produce, that such trial can not be had, will not suffice. 1 Bish.Cr.Proc. § 71; Salm v. State, 89 Ala. 56, 8 So. 66. The affidavits consist largely in the mere expression of the opinion of the parties making them, and no distinct, tangible facts are stated, which, in our opinion, would have justified the circuit court in granting the application."

An affidavit containing a mere expression of opinion, that one accused of crime can, or cannot, have a fair and impartial trial, is worthless as evidence, pro or con, unless it is supported by sufficient reasons, testified to as facts. Salm v.State, 89 Ala. 56, 59, 8 So. 66 (1889). In ruling on a motion for a change of venue the trial court must "be governed more by the facts of the case, as proved or admitted, and legitimate inferences from them, than by the mere opinions of witnesses, which are unsupported by facts". Seams v. State, 84 Ala. 410,413, 4 So. 521, 522 (1887).

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Sprinkle v. State, 368 So. 2d 554, 1978 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1107 (Ala. Ct. App. 1978).

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