State v. Delbridge

630 S.W.2d 626, 1981 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 419
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedOctober 1, 1981
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 630 S.W.2d 626 (State v. Delbridge) 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. Delbridge, 630 S.W.2d 626, 1981 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 419 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

OPINION

O’BRIEN, Judge.

Defendant was convicted on two indictments in the Shelby County Criminal Court. The first charged him with second degree murder committed by the use of a pistol for which he was sentenced to serve forty-five (45) years in the penitentiary. On the second conviction, for carrying a pistol with intent to go armed, he received a Fifty Dollar ($50) fine.

Several issues are raised. We consider first the insistence that the verdict of the jury was contrary to the weight of the evidence. Defendant asserts the proof preponderates in favor of his theory that the victim’s death was brought about by collateral reasons and not as the direct result of any actions on his part. He also says the evidence adduced at trial supports his theory of self-defense. A summary of the trial evidence is essential to a solution of these issues.

Defendant and the homicide victim, Nor-vin Brown, apparently both lived on Holman Street in the City of Memphis. Late in the evening of July 28,1979 the two men became involved in an altercation over blocking the passage of their respective automobiles on the street. The argument progressed to the point which culminated in the shooting as Mr. Brown was making a left turn into his driveway at 1737 Holman.

The State’s version was that Brown was having difficulty manipulating the turn into the driveway, finding it necessary to make at least two attempts by backing into the street and aligning the automobile with the driveway. State’s witnesses testified that Delbridge fired a gun at Brown apparently without any physical provocation. Brown commented, “what you tryin’ to do, scare somebody?” Defendant took a couple more steps and fired again. Apparently the first shot passed through Brown’s right arm [628]*628just above the right wrist. The second round entered the right side of his body and lodged in the back of his chest. Medical evidence indicated he bled to death as a result of the gunshot would to the chest.

According to defendant’s testimony he was following the victim’s vehicle down Holman Street. Brown turned partially into the driveway, let some children out of the car, and stood by the side of his vehicle which was blocking the street. Words passed between them and finally Brown moved his car forward in the driveway sufficiently to allow him to pass. As he was driving by Brown put his car into reverse as if he were attempting to ram into him. Defendant parked on the opposite side of the street and was walking across when Brown came around from the driver’s side of the car toward the rear end of his own vehicle in a rapid manner, sticking his hand into his pocket. Defendant removed a .25 caliber automatic from his own pocket and fired. He says he fired the first time to let Brown know he was armed because he was of the opinion Brown was going for a gun and he wanted to, “keep him off of me.” He had no intention of killing Brown. When Brown started toward him again he shot the second time because he believed Brown intended to harm him. Other defense witnesses testified they saw the victim lying on the ground and saw a woman wearing a housecoat who appeared to take a gun from his body and run to the house with it hidden in her clothing. This was refuted by State witnesses who denied any such occurrence took place.

The discrepancies in the evidence and conflicts in the testimony have been resolved by the verdict of the jury whose function it is to resolve the conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from the evidence in reaching their verdict. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Tennessee Appellate Procedure Rule 13(e) requires that findings of guilt in criminal actions shall be set aside if the evidence is insufficient to support the findings of guilt by the trier of fact beyond a reasonable doubt. Once a defendant has been found guilty of the crime charged, upon judicial review, all of the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution. The inquiry by the reviewing court is not to ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt but whether, after reviewing the evidence on that basis, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, supra. The jury rejected defendant’s theory of self-defense and the evidence sustained this conclusion on their part. The same is true regarding the cause of death of Mr. Brown. Defendant, in his brief, correctly states that there was no evidence before the jury relative to what ensued at the hands of the doctors and medical attendants after his injury inflicted by the shooting. The law on this subject is that one who unlawfully inflicts a dangerous wound upon another is held for the consequences flowing from such injury, whether the sequence be direct or through the operation of intermediate agencies dependent upon and arising out of the original cause. Evans v. State, 557 S.W.2d 927, (Tenn.Cr.App.1977).

Defendant’s complaint that the trial judge commented on the evidence during the trial is without merit. Defense counsel, in the process of direct examination of defendant, was endeavoring to show why he was carrying a pistol at the time the altercation with Mr. Brown occurred. In sustaining the objection to this line of questioning the trial judge stated the law relative to the offense of carrying a pistol. This statement of the law should-have been, and was, included in the instructions to the jury. Although perhaps redundant at the time it was made, it certainly was not prejudicial.

An issue, blown out of all reasonable proportions, is defendant’s claim that the trial judge erred in allowing State’s counsel to retrieve a statement provided, during the trial, to defense counsel pursuant to Criminal Procedure Rule 16(a)(1)(E).

[629]*629After the direct testimony of a State’s witness defense counsel requested and received a written pretrial statement of the witness. At the conclusion of cross-examination the Assistant District Attorney General representing the State picked up the statement from the counsel table. Defense counsel insisted on having it returned to him. State’s counsel offered to return it. The trial judge declined to rule on whether or not defense counsel was entitled to have the document returned to him. He suggested that counsel was only entitled to the statement during cross-examination of the witness and it was his inclination to make a test case of the issue. Defense counsel claimed to have made some trial notes on the document during his cross-examination. The trial judge refused to direct the return of the instrument to him and in so doing offered what can only be categorized as facetious advice to sue for its return.

In the first instance the original document was not submitted to defense counsel. He received a copy as is usually the custom and there was no reason for the Assistant District Attorney to take it back. Secondly, the Assistant District Attorney General stated he had no objections to returning the instrument to defense counsel. Third, the record does not sustain counsel’s claim that he made trial notes on the statement. It would have been most improvident for him to do so had it been an original trial document.

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Related

State v. James Delbridge
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1997
State v. Workman
776 S.W.2d 135 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
630 S.W.2d 626, 1981 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 419, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-delbridge-tenncrimapp-1981.