State v. Bowers

762 S.W.2d 889, 1988 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 184
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedApril 6, 1988
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 762 S.W.2d 889 (State v. Bowers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bowers, 762 S.W.2d 889, 1988 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 184 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION

JONES, Judge.

The defendants, Jerry Gerald Bowers and Terrion Lee Cole, were convicted of burglary third degree and petit larceny by a jury of their peers. The trial court sentenced Bowers to serve a term of seven (7) years in the Department of Correction for the offense of burglary third degree and three (3) years in the Department of Correction for the offense of petit larceny. The trial court sentenced Cole to serve a term of ten (10) years in the Department of Correction for the offense of burglary third degree and three (3) years in the Department of Correction for petit larceny. The trial court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.

The defendants appealed to this Court as of right after the trial court denied their motions for a new trial. Tenn.R.App.P. 3(b).

During the early morning hours of May 26, 1986, a service station, located in Jackson, Tennessee, was burglarized. Entry was obtained by breaking a lock securing the front door. A quantity of beer was stolen from the station.

A witness, who turned eighteen shortly before trial, testified that on the morning in question he and his cousin were enroute to the home of the cousin’s girlfriend when he saw an individual run into the front door of the service station and immediately enter the station. Shortly thereafter he saw two individuals leave the station through the front door. Both individuals were carrying cases of beer. As the defendant and his cousin were walking through an alley, the two individuals passed the witness. He recognized the two individuals as “Little Jake”, Bowers, and “Terry”, Cole.

Approximately two days after the burglary the witness told the owner of the service station that he had witnessed the burglary. Later, the owner and the witness went to the Jackson Police Department where the witness gave a statement, provided the police with the “street” or “funny” names of the individuals responsible, identified a photograph of Bowers, and provided the police with Cole’s address. He later identified a photograph of Cole.

The testimony of this witness is the only evidence which establishes the defendants’ guilt.

[891]*891Defense counsel attempted to question the witness about his juvenile adjudications. The assistant district attorney general interposed an objection. After a lengthy hearing the trial court sustained the objection, and defense counsel were not permitted to question the witness about his juvenile adjudications.

The record reveals the witness had juvenile adjudications for an attempt to commit felony by fraud, third degree burglary, larceny by trick, and aggravated assault on two occasions; and the witness was on probation when he saw the burglary in progress. The record further reflects that the witness was found guilty of assault and battery on the 3rd day of June, 1986, just six days after the witness had given his statement to the officers; and the juvenile court simply continued his existing probation. On June 12, 1987, two weeks before the trial commenced and four days after his eighteenth birthday, the defendant was convicted of aggravated assault; and the juvenile court placed the witness on unofficial probation.

In State v. Butler, 626 S.W.2d 6 (Tenn.1981), our Supreme Court adopted Rule 609(d) of the Federal Rules of Evidence. This rule provides that:

Evidence of juvenile adjudications is generally not admissible under this Rule. The Court may, however, in a criminal case allow evidence of a juvenile adjudication of a witness other than the accused if conviction of the offense would be admissible to attack the credibility of an adult and the Court is satisfied that admission in evidence is necessary for a fair determination of the issue of guilt or innocence.

As can be seen from a reading of this rule, three requirements must be satisfied before a juvenile adjudication may be used to impeach a witness. First, the witness must be a person other than the accused. The rule prohibits the use of a juvenile adjudication to impeach the accused. State v. King, 718 S.W.2d 241, 248 (Tenn.1986); State v. Dixon, 656 S.W.2d 49, 51-52 (Tenn.Crim.App.1983). Second, the offense, if committed by an adult, must be admissible to attack the credibility of an adult witness. State v. Turnbill, 640 S.W.2d 40, 47 (Tenn.Crim.App.1982). Third, the admission of the juvenile adjudication must be necessary for a fair determination of the accused’s guilt or innocence. State v. Butler, supra, 626 S.W.2d at 11.

Our Supreme Court adopted this rule because it “has the salutary effect of carrying out the State’s policy of protecting the juvenile offender and at the same time protecting the rights of an accused, including his right of confrontation....” 626 S.W.2d at 10. However, the Court made it clear that it was not abandoning in toto the legislative mandate contained in T.C.A. § 37-l-133(b), which bars the collateral use of juvenile adjudications. The Court said “[ijmplicit within the requirement of a showing of the necessity of the evidence for a fair determination of guilt or innocence is the policy that juvenile adjudications are not to be used on collateral matters.” 626 S.W.2d at 10. In other words, the requirement embraces this State’s voiced policy of protecting juvenile offenders; and the wholesale use of juvenile adjudications to impeach witnesses will not occur as a result of the adoption of Rule 609(d).

In the case sub judice the requirements mandated by Rule 609(d) of the Federal Rules of Evidence are established by the record.

First, the witness is a person “other than the accused.”

Second, there are several juvenile adjudications for offenses which could be utilized to impeach an adult witness if the offense had been committed by an adult. The offenses of attempt to commit a felony by fraud, third degree burglary, and larceny by trick are offenses which involve dishonesty; and these convictions would be admissible to test the credibility of an adult witness without regard to their prejudicial [892]*892effect. See State v. Cole, 665 S.W.2d 407, 410 (Tenn.Crim.App.1983); State v. Hardison, 705 S.W.2d 684, 686 (Tenn.Crim.App.1985); State v. Miller, 737 S.W.2d 556, 558-559 (Tenn.Crim.App.1987). Convictions for the offenses of aggravated assault and felonious assault are likewise admissible if their probative value is found to outweigh their prejudicial effect and otherwise meet the criteria established by our Supreme Court in State v. Morgan, 541 S.W.2d 385 (Tenn.1976).

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762 S.W.2d 889, 1988 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bowers-tenncrimapp-1988.