State v. Brice

64 P.3d 444, 31 Kan. App. 2d 293, 2003 Kan. App. LEXIS 145
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedFebruary 28, 2003
DocketNo. 87,788
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 64 P.3d 444 (State v. Brice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Brice, 64 P.3d 444, 31 Kan. App. 2d 293, 2003 Kan. App. LEXIS 145 (kanctapp 2003).

Opinions

Larson, J.:

Derek Dwayne Brice appeals his jury conviction of severity level 4 aggravated battery, K.S.A. 21-3414(a)(1)(A), contending the trial court erred (1) when it instructed the jury that great bodily harm occurs when a person sustains a “through and through bullet wound,” (2) when it refused to give instructions for severity levels 7 and 8 aggravated battery, and (3) when it refused to allow him to present the testimony of a physician. Brice further contends the totality of the circumstances prejudiced him and denied him a constitutionally fair trial.

Although the facts surrounding the gunshot wound inflicted by Brice upon Ivory Kelly are central to the issues raised by this appeal, they are not greatly in dispute. Simply stated, Brice had replaced Kelly in a relationship with a woman named Nichole Kendrick and was driving one of Kelly s cars. Although Kendrick and Kelly had lived together for a number of years and had three chil[294]*294dren, Brice’s driving of any of Kelly’s cars was at the crux of the dispute which led to the shooting in issue.

Kendrick testified that Kelly did not like Brice, had threatened to “lack his ass,” and had told her not to allow Brice to drive any of the three cars that Kelly and Kendrick owned together. Kelly worked two jobs to afford the cars and was insistent that Brice should not be driving them.

In February 2001, Kendrick and Brice dropped off one of the cars at Kelly’s house to use while another car needed repairs. Kelly asked Kendrick about her allowing Brice to drive his car, and Kendrick ignored him. Kelly then went to a Save-A-Lot store to buy food for the children and observed Brice and Kendrick in the parking lot. An argument occurred between Kelly and Kendrick concerning Brice and the cars. Kelly instructed Brice to give Kendrick the keys to the car so she could take the children home.

As Kendrick left the parking lot, Kelly walked toward the store and Brice. When they were approximately 2 feet apart, Brice shot Kelly with a 9mm handgun. The bullet entered Kelly’s upper right thigh and exited his buttocks.

Kendrick took Kelly to the Parsons Hospital emergency room. The treating physician, Dr. Myers, testified at trial that the bullet missed the bone, major arteries, veins, and nerves. Dr. Myers said the wound was cleaned but not stitched closed because closing the wound would increase the chance for infection. He specifically testified “that it was a through and through injury.”

Kelly was kept overnight at the hospital and checked by Dr. Myers the following day for circulation in the leg. He was given pain medication and released. Kelly said he limped for approximately 1 week but did not use crutches. He missed a week and a half of work and has a scar at both the entry and exit points.

Brice turned himself in to the police approximately 10 hours after the shooting. He was given a Miranda warning and consented to an interview. He told Detective Gofourth, who testified at trial as to the conversation, that Brice said Kelly and Kendrick pushed and grabbed each other at the store, which led to an altercation between Kelly and himself. Brice said Kelly knocked the car keys [295]*295from his hand and struck him. Brice said he “just blacked out” and did not know if he shot Kelly or not.

During a second interview, Brice told the detective he shot Kelly because he was afraid of him. He admitted to obtaining a 9mm gun because of this fear. The gun had been given to Kendrick and was not located. Kendrick exercised her Fifth Amendment rights at trial when questioned about the gun. It was established at trial that Kelly was a much larger man than Brice and had played linebacker on a high school football team in Louisiana where Brice and Kelly had known each other.

In addition to Dr. Myers’ testimony, Officer Riley and Kelly testified in the State’s case in chief that the bullet entered Kelly’s upper right thigh and exited through his right buttock. After the State rested, Brice moved for a judgment of acquittal on the ground that the State had failed to prove that Kelly had sustained great bodily harm.

The majority of the Kansas cases involving the difference between “bodily harm” and “great bodily harm” were discussed and argued. Brice’s contention that he was entitled to lesser included instructions on level 7 and level 8 aggravated battery was considered. In addition, there was the question of whether Brice would be allowed to call a physician he had not previously designated as a witness who was expected to testify that Kelly’s gunshot wound resulted only in “bodily harm” and not “great bodily harm” and there was no disfigurement.

Included in the discussion was the question of whether this was a multiple acts situation which required an instruction on that question. This is not an issue on appeal.

Eventually, the trial court held that “bodily harm” or “great bodily harm” is a determining factor as to the severity level of aggravated batteiy and the court was obligated to determine “as a matter of law” if great bodily harm occurred in order to classify the crime charged and properly instruct the jury. The court discussed the severity and location of the wounds in other Kansas cases and noted that Kelly’s wound was not one which just grazed the skin. Thus, the court concluded that there was a factual issue as to whether it was “great bodily harm” or only “bodily harm.”

[296]*296The trial judge decided that the State’s evidence clearly established that the gunshot wound constituted “great bodily harm” and he was obligated to so find as a matter of law and to give the jury a definitional instruction that a “through and through bullet wound is great bodily harm as a matter of law.”

Once this question was resolved, the court held that disfigurement was not an issue in the case and that the testimony of Brice’s medical expert, Dr. Miller, was not necessary. Defense counsel proffered Dr. Miller’s expected testimony, stating he was a surgeon who served in the Vietnam war; he currently practices with Dr. Myers, the treating physician, and had reviewed Kelly’s medical records. According to Dr. Miller, Kelly did not sustain great bodily harm or disfigurement because the scars left by the bullet were similar to scars after a child falls off a bicycle. The defense argued that Dr. Miller’s testimony was necessary but the trial court’s ruling had removed the possibility that Dr. Miller could offer any meaningful evidence.

The court reviewed the jury instructions. It agreed it should give a self-defense instruction. The defense again requested instructions for the lesser included forms of aggravated battery and objected to the definition of great bodily harm as being a “through and through bullet wound.” The court declined to give instructions on severity levels 7 and 8 (bodily harm) aggravated battery and determined it would instruct the jury that the term “great bodily harm” meant a “through and through bullet wound.” Instructions were to be given on severity levels 4 and 5 (intentional and reckless) aggravated battery where great bodily harm existed.

Brice rested without calling any witnesses. In closing, he argued that he did not intentionally shoot Kelly and did not intend to cause any harm to Kelly.

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Related

State v. Brice
80 P.3d 1113 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
64 P.3d 444, 31 Kan. App. 2d 293, 2003 Kan. App. LEXIS 145, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brice-kanctapp-2003.