State v. Coleman

954 S.W.2d 1, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 1565, 1997 WL 550529
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided September 9, 1997·No. No. WD 49795·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

HOWARD, Judge.

James C. Coleman appeals his conviction on one count of selling cocaine, § 195.211, RSMo Supp.1993. Mr. Coleman contends that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to grant him a new trial on the ground of juror misconduct, and by denying his motion to disclose the identity of a confidential informant.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed and remanded with directions.

On September 13, 1993, Marcus Regan was working as an undercover detective with the Street Narcotics Unit of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department. At approximately 6:00 p.m., Detective Regan, accompanied by a confidential informant, drove to a house where drug sales were allegedly taking place. Detective Regan stopped his car forty to fifty feet from the front of the house, parking on the same side of the street and at a forty-five degree angle from the front door. Detective Regan testified that it was sunny and that he had a clear view of the front door.

As Detective Regan watched from the car, the informant walked to the house and knocked on the door. A man answered the door, and, from previous contacts, Detective Regan recognized the man as Mr. Coleman. The informant asked Mr. Coleman for a $20.00 rock of crack cocaine, and he briefly went back inside the house. He reappeared and gave the informant two beige rock-like items in exchange for $20.00 in cash. Detective Regan testified that the transaction took place on the front porch, and that he had a clear view of it.

The rock-like items tested positive for crack cocaine, and Mr. Coleman was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of selling cocaine. The amended information further alleged that Mr. Coleman was a prior and persistent drug offender pursuant to §§ 195.275 and 195.291. Prior to trial, the court received evidence of Mr. Coleman’s prior convictions, and he was found to be a prior and persistent drug offender. Also prior to trial, Mr. Coleman filed a motion asking the trial court to disclose the identity of the confidential informant, alleging that the informant had knowledge which would support his defense of mistaken identity. Mr. Coleman’s motion was denied by the trial court.

At the close of the trial, Mr. Coleman was found guilty of one count of selling cocaine. Shortly after the jury returned its verdict, Mr. Coleman’s counsel learned that one of the jurors, Christopher Burnett, had gone to the scene of the crime on the evening before jury deliberations began. Mr. Coleman’s counsel moved for a mistrial, and an eviden-tiary hearing was held.

Mr. Burnett testified at the hearing, and stated that he had visited the scene because, at trial, defense counsel had been “making such a big deal” by contending that Detective Regan could not see the transaction from where he was parked. Mr. Burnett explained that he had stopped his car where Detective Regan had previously parked, and that he could see the door clearly from that spot.

Mr. Burnett stated that, at the beginning of jury deliberations, the vote was ten to two in favor of conviction. According to Mr. [4]*4Burnett, the two jurors who voted not guilty explained their vote by stating that it would be unfair to “just convict a man after one minute,” and that they “wanted to talk about everything that went on instead of having a unanimous decision from the very beginning and just leaving.” Mr. Burnett also stated that the two jurors who initially voted not guilty were concerned about Detective Re-gan’s identification of Mr. Coleman.

Mr. Burnett then told the jury of his visit to the scene, and the jury continued to deliberate for another half-hour before voting unanimously to convict Mr. Coleman. In describing the jury’s response to his disclosure, Mr. Burnett stated that “[everybody was saying they couldn’t go on what I was saying because they couldn’t see it with then-own eyes.” Mr. Burnett added that “when we were deliberating we said what I saw was irrelevant to the case anyway, because no one saw it but me.” Mr. Burnett twice stated that the jury did not consider the information he gave them in arriving at their verdict.

Kevin Gaultin also testified at the hearing, and stated that he was one of the two jurors who had initially voted not guilty. But Mr. Gaultin added that he thought Mr. Coleman was guilty before he heard anything from Mr. Burnett. Mr. Gaultin also indicated that, in reaching a guilty verdict, he believed Detective Regan’s testimony regardless of what Mr. Burnett had told him.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court denied Mr. Coleman’s motion for a mistrial, finding there was no prejudice to Mr. Coleman. The ensuing judgment recited that Mr. Coleman was “a prior offender and a persistent offender pursuant to the provisions of Sections 558.016 and 557.036.4,” a statement which was at variance with the court’s pretrial finding that Mr. Coleman was a prior and persistent drug offender, as alleged in the amended information. Mr. Coleman was sentenced to a twenty-year term of imprisonment.

In his first point on appeal, Mr. Coleman claims that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial on the ground of juror misconduct. Mr. Coleman contends that he was prejudiced, and that his rights to a fair trial and to due process of law were violated, when Mr. Burnett investigated the scene and then told the other jury members about the results of his investigation.

Both parties agree that, as a general rule, jurors may not impeach their own verdict. State v. Babb, 680 S.W.2d 150, 152 (Mo. banc 1984). Both parties also acknowledge that, in State v. Taylor, 917 S.W.2d 222, 225 (Mo. App. W.D.1996), this court has held that when—as in this case—-the State fails to object to a juror’s attempt to impeach his or her own verdict, the State waives its right to complain of the court’s consideration of such evidence. In its brief, the State suggests that Taylor is an incorrect extension of the holding in State v. Suschank, 595 S.W.2d 295, 298 (Mo.App. E.D.1979); however, we need not address this contention because, even if we consider the rule to be waived by the State, Mr. Coleman is not entitled to relief on his claim of jury misconduct.

The mere fact that a jury has seen improper evidence does not automatically entitle the defendant to a new trial. Taylor, 917 S.W.2d at 226. A new trial will be required only where the defendant has been prejudiced by the juror misconduct. Id. A rebuttable presumption of prejudice arises upon evidence of improper communication with, or other influences upon, the jury during deliberations; however, this presumption can be overcome by competent evidence of a lack of prejudice. Id.

This court utilizes an abuse of discretion standard to review the trial court’s refusal to grant a new trial. Id. Under such a standard, this court must determine whether the trial court’s ruling constituted an abuse of discretion because it offended the logic of the circumstances or was arbitrary and unreasonable. Id. An abuse of discretion exists when reasonable persons could not differ as to the propriety of the action taken by the trial court. Id.

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

State v. Coleman, 954 S.W.2d 1, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 1565, 1997 WL 550529 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997).

954 S.W.2d 1 (State v. Coleman) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Jones v. Stange
E.D. Missouri, 2023
State v. Jones
525 S.W.3d 132 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2017)
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent v. CHRISTOPHER RYAN BEARD
442 S.W.3d 84 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Moore
411 S.W.3d 848 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Lawrence
250 S.W.3d 763 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2008)
Andersen v. Osmon
217 S.W.3d 375 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Stephens
88 S.W.3d 876 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2002)
State v. Dowell
25 S.W.3d 594 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2000)
State v. Myers
997 S.W.2d 26 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1999)
State v. Rodriguez
985 S.W.2d 863 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1998)