State v. Bravo

639 P.2d 358, 131 Ariz. 168, 1981 Ariz. App. LEXIS 616
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedNovember 10, 1981
Docket2 CA-CR 2261
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 639 P.2d 358 (State v. Bravo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bravo, 639 P.2d 358, 131 Ariz. 168, 1981 Ariz. App. LEXIS 616 (Ark. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

OPINION

BIRDSALL, Judge.

Appellant was a defendant in two cases consolidated for trial. In the first case he was charged with aggravated assault with a dangerous instrument, a bar stool, committed March 8, 1980, upon Edward Mungia. The state also alleged that the offense was of a dangerous nature. In the second case the charges were criminal trespass and influencing a witness. There it was claimed that on May 12,1980, he and another person attempted to dissuade the assault victim, Mungia, from testifying in the first case. The court granted appellant’s motion for acquittal at the close of the state’s evidence in the second case and the jury found the appellant guilty of aggravated assault.

On appeal the appellant presents four issues for our determination:

1) Was it reversible error to consolidate the two cases?

2) Should the trial court have excused for cause two jurors who said they would give more weight to the testimony of police officer witnesses?

3) Was the appellant entitled to an intoxication instruction?

4) Was the appellant deprived of effective assistance of counsel?

We find no error.

Joinder

The appellant contends that the trial court erred in consolidating for trial the charge of aggravated assault with the charge of influencing a witness, the assault victim. We first note that appellant’s trial counsel agreed to the joinder of the two cases. This stipulation amounts to a waiver of any error and the matter cannot now be considered on appeal. State v. Acree, 121 Ariz. 94, 588 P.2d 836 (1978). In any event, the joinder should have been permitted even over appellant’s objection. The two offenses were connected together in their alleged commission. Rule 13.3(a)(2), Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S. The witness was the victim of the assault. The appellant and another went to see him on the very evening of appellant’s arrest on the assault and his subsequent release pending trial. Evidence that a defendant attempted to influence the testimony of a witness against him tends to show a consciousness of guilt. The evidence would be admissible even without the subsequent charge. In United States v. Bourassa, 411 F.2d 69 (10th Cir. 1969), the court held charges of possessing and passing counterfeit coins were properly consolidated with “bail-jumping,” where the defendant absconded prior to trial on the counterfeiting charges and this act gave rise to the “bail-jumping” charge. A.nd in Williams v. United States, 265 F.2d 214 (9th Cir. 1959), the court approved the joinder of the crimes of statutory rape and obstructing justice. After being charged with the rape, the defendant induced the victim to repudiate the statement she had given the police. In stipulating to the joinder in the instant case, trial counsel was merely giving in to the inevitable ruling allowing the joinder.

Jurors

The determination of whether to excuse a juror for cause is within the sound discretion of the trial court and should not be disturbed on appeal absent a clear showing of abuse. State v. Reinhold, 123 Ariz. *170 50, 567 P.2d 532 (1979). We find no such error here because we believe any bias or prejudice demonstrated on voir dire was waived. We make this finding even though appellant used two of his peremptory challenges to remove two biased jurors. See State v. Munson, 129 Ariz. 441, 631 P.2d 1099 (1981).

The relevant voir dire examination of the two veniremen went as follows:

“THE COURT: Is there any person who is employed as a law enforcement officer, or has a member of your close family or close friends who are employed in law enforcement?
All right.
Mr. Palmer?
MR. PALMER: I have a nephew that’s with the Tucson Police.
THE COURT: All right, sir. Now if there were Tucson Police Department officers called as witnesses in this case, because of your nephew’s employment, do you think it would cause you to place greater or less weight on the testimony of a Tucson Police Department officer than you might some normal, everyday witness off the street?
MR. PALMER: Blood’s thicker than water.
THE COURT: In other words, what you’re saying is, if I understand that, that because you have a nephew that’s with the Tucson Police Department, you might tend to give a police officer’s testimony more weight than you might someone else.
MR. PALMER: Yes, sir, I believe I would.
THE COURT: All right, sir.
THE COURT: The second row, we have Miss Selby.
MS. SELBY: I have a very close friend who’s on the police department, and I mean I would try to be, you know, really fair, but I have a high respect for police officers.
THE COURT: All right. Let me pose a hypothetical question to you: Let’s suppose that Police Officer A testifies, let’s assume he’s an eyewitness, and this is — I don’t know anything about the case, so it’s clearly a hypothetical— and he testifies that he saw X, Y and Z happen, and witness B, who is not with law enforcement, says that X, Y and Z did not happen, but rather, C, D and F; would you tend to give more credence and more testimony — more weight to the testimony of the police officer simply because he was a police officer?
MS. SELBY: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: All right, ma’am.”

Neither the trial court nor the attorneys, who were permitted voir dire, asked any follow-up questions of these veniremen concerning this subject even though their responses were such that this was clearly indicated. Nothing in the record suggests in any way that the jurors were rehabilitated as in State v. Brierly, 109 Ariz. 310, 509 P.2d 203 (1973). Brierly involved the same voir dire examination. Our examination of this record discloses that the veniremen were not even asked generally if they had any reason to believe they could not be impartial. In United States v. Baldwin, 607 F.2d 1295 (1979), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred in refusing to ask if any prospective juror would give greater or lesser weight to the testimony of a law enforcement officer by reason of his or her position. And State v. Bailey, 605 P.2d 765 (Utah, 1980) holds that responses to this same question which were very similar to those of Mr. Palmer and Ms.

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

Related

State v. Fitzwater
2026 UT App 10 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2026)
State v. Brice
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2024
State v. Kemp
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2023
State v. Cisneros
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2019
State v. Rubio
195 P.3d 214 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2008)
State of Arizona v. Sergio Alonzo Rubio
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2008
People v. Metcalfe
782 N.E.2d 263 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2002)
State v. Ebert
964 P.2d 487 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1998)
State v. Trostle
951 P.2d 869 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1997)
K.B. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
941 P.2d 1288 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1997)
State v. Smith
927 P.2d 649 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1996)
Republic Insurance v. Feidler
875 P.2d 187 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1994)
State v. Marcham
770 P.2d 356 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1988)
Presley v. State
750 S.W.2d 602 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1988)
State v. Cocio
709 P.2d 1336 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1985)
State v. Swartz
683 P.2d 315 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1984)
State v. Fisher
686 P.2d 750 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1984)
State v. Allen
682 P.2d 417 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
639 P.2d 358, 131 Ariz. 168, 1981 Ariz. App. LEXIS 616, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bravo-arizctapp-1981.