State v. Catrett

169 S.E.2d 248, 5 N.C. App. 722, 1969 N.C. App. LEXIS 1429
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedAugust 27, 1969
Docket6929SC307
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 169 S.E.2d 248 (State v. Catrett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Catrett, 169 S.E.2d 248, 5 N.C. App. 722, 1969 N.C. App. LEXIS 1429 (N.C. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

PARKER, J.

Defendant first assigns as error the failure of the trial court to grant his motion for continuance of the trial. The record contains an affidavit by defendant’s attorney indicating that the affidavit was made on 30 January 1969. The session of court at which defendant was tried convened on 27 January 1969. In the affidavit, defendant’s counsel declares that he was employed by Pace prior to the convening of the session; that he was appointed counsel for defendant on 29 January 1969; that he first talked with defendant on Monday afternoon, 27 January 1969, but did not accept employment at that time due to defendant’s inability to raise funds with which to employ counsel; that he spent several hours with defendant on the afternoon of 29 January 1969 and that one Knight who lives near Saluda, N. C., was able to provide testimony favorable to defendant but that counsel was unable to get in touch with Knight; *725 that “there are other persons not now known to (Pace and Catrett) who may have seen the defendant Catrett” on the afternoon the alleged offense was committed at places other than the scene of the offense. When court convened on 30 January 1969, defendant’s counsel, on the basis of facts set forth in his affidavit, moved for a continuance of the trial. The court denied the motion.

Understandably, the affidavit of defendant’s counsel does not conform to G.S. 1-175 requiring that an affidavit pertaining to request for continuance of trial be filed fifteen days before the trial session convenes. “Ordinarily a motion for a continuance on the ground of a want of time for counsel for accused to prepare for trial is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial judge, and his ruling thereon is not subject to review on appeal in the absence of circumstances showing that he has grossly abused his discretionary power.” Ervin, J., in State v. Gibson, 229 N.C. 497, 50 S.E. 2d 520. Whether a defendant bases his appeal upon an abuse of judicial discretion or a denial of his constitutional rights, to entitle him to a new trial because his motion to continue was not allowed, he must show both error and prejudice. State v. Moses, 272 N.C. 509, 158 S.E. 2d 617. In the instant case, defendant has failed to show that he was prejudiced by a failure of the court to grant his motion for continuance. Evidence in the case showed that the crime was committed around 6 or 6:30 o’clock on the evening of 31 August 1968. The only witness referred to in counsel’s affidavit was a Mr. Knight and the defendant and his codefendant at trial stated that they visited a Mr. Knight near Saluda prior to 1:30 p.m. on 31 August 1968 to inquire about renting a house. It is obvious that Knight, had he been called, could not have aided the defendant. The affidavit states there may have been other witnesses who saw the defendant at a place other than the scene of the crime at the time it was committed, but the affidavit failed to state as a fact that there were such persons. We hold that defendant has failed to show that he was prejudiced by the failure to grant his motion, hence the assignment of error is overruled.

In his next assignment of error, defendant contends that the court erred in admitting “the confession” of defendant in evidence over defendant’s objection and without determining the voluntariness of the confession upon a voir dire in the absence of the jury.

The evidence tended to show that the house which was broken into was located on the Old Melrose Road in or near Saluda, N. C. Defendant, testifying in his own behalf, stated that he went with his codefendant Pace to visit Pace’s mother at her home around 1:30 *726 p.m. on 31 August 1968; that he (defendant) was drinking at that time and for that reason left the Pace home and that he did not see Pace again until that night after both were arrested. A State’s witness had testified that he saw defendant in a red and white Chevrolet in the driveway of the house that was broken into, that Pace was crawling out of a window with some of the stolen property in his hands and that other stolen property was piled up in the yard near the house. After defendant rested his case, witness Carswell, a police officer, was then recalled by the State and was asked if he had a conversation with defendant about defendant’s presence on the Old Melrose Road on 31 August 1968. The witness replied that he had and the following occurred:

“Q. What did he tell you, if anything, about who had been with him on the afternoon of the 31st day of August 1968 on the old Melrose Road?
MR. CROWELL: Objection.
THE COURT: Sustained as to Pace. Do not consider this evidence as to Pace, members of the jury, but only as to Catrett.
A. Well, he stated to me that he let Ray Pace out of the car above Mr. Brown’s cabin and he was supposed to pick him up in 30 or 40 minutes and he also said he didn’t know what —
MR. CROWELL: Objection.
A. —Samuel Ray Pace was planning to do.
THE COURT: Sustained as to Pace. Overruled as to Catrett.”

The defendant contends that the statement made by defendant to Officer Carswell was a confession and that the court erred in not conducting a voir dire in the absence of the jury and passing upon the voluntariness and competence of the confession. In his brief, the attorney general contends that the statement made by defendant to Carswell did not constitute a confession or admission and therefore did not require voir dire procedure prior to introduction. Certainly the statement was not a “confession;” at most it was an in-culpatory statement.

It is well settled that a witness may be impeached by proof that on other occasions he has made statements inconsistent with his testimony at trial. Stansbury, N.C. Evidence 2d, § 46, p. 88. “Inconsistent statements of a witness may not be used as substantive evidence of the facts stated, nor do they have the effect of nullifying his testimony. They are simply for the consideration of the jury in determining the witness’s credibility.” (References to citations *727 omitted.) Stansbury, N.C. Evidence 2d, § 46, p. 90. It is also well established that as a general rule, the general admission of evidence which is competent for a restricted purpose will not be held error in the absence of a request by defendant that its admission be restricted, and a general objection to the testimony is insufficient. 2 Strong, N.C. Index 2d, Criminal Law, § 95, p. 629. The transcript of testimony quoted above indicates that defendant’s counsel made a general objection to the challenged evidence.

We do not think the challenged evidence falls within the condemnation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, where a signed confession was introduced as substantive evidence against the defendant. On the contrary, we think the principle declared in Walder v. United States, 347 U.S. 62, 98 L. Ed. 503, is applicable.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
169 S.E.2d 248, 5 N.C. App. 722, 1969 N.C. App. LEXIS 1429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-catrett-ncctapp-1969.