State v. Dorsey

578 P.2d 261, 224 Kan. 152, 1978 Kan. LEXIS 352
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMay 6, 1978
Docket49,319
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 578 P.2d 261 (State v. Dorsey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court 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. Dorsey, 578 P.2d 261, 224 Kan. 152, 1978 Kan. LEXIS 352 (kan 1978).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Holmes, J.:

Virgil Dorsey, .Jr., defendant-appellant, appeals from jury verdicts finding him guilty of one count of kidnapping (K.S.A. 21-3420), three counts of attempted rape (K.S.A. 21-3502 and K.S.A. 21-3301), and two counts of aggravated oral sodomy (K.S.A. 21-3506).

Defendant was tried on an amended complaint containing eight counts covering acts which allegedly occurred between 12:30 a.m. and 1:35 a.m. on July 29, 1975, as follows:

[153]*153Count I, kidnapping
Count II, rape at 12:35 a.m.
Count III, oral sodomy at 12:40 a.m.
Count IV, rape at 12:45 a.m.
Count V, oral sodomy at 12:50 a.m.
Count VI, rape at 1:20 a.m.
Count VII, anal sodomy at 1:25 a.m.
Count VIII, oral sodomy at 1:35 a.m.

Defendant was found guilty on counts one, five and eight, guilty of attempted rape on counts two, four and six and not guilty on counts three and seven.

Defendant raises two points on appeal:

1. That the court erred in failing to sustain objections to the prejudicial comments of the prosecutor and in failing to admonish the jury relative to them.

2. That the verdict is not supported by sufficient competent evidence.

We do not deem it necessary or advisable to repeat the sordid details from the trial further than is necessary to determine the issues on appeal. All of the alleged crimes took place with one victim, under a single set of circumstances within a time span of approximately one hour. The two principal witnesses were the alleged victim and the defendant, each having a different version of the night’s events, although there was testimony tending to support the victim’s story.

Defendant’s first point on appeal is that the prosecutor made prejudicial statements to the jury during final argument. In State v. Baker, 219 Kan. 854, 549 P.2d 911 (1976), we held:

“In summing up a case before a jury, counsel may not introduce or comment on facts outside the evidence, but reasonable inferences may be drawn from the evidence and considerable latitude is allowed in discussing it. Counsel may appeal to the jury with all the power and persuasiveness his learning, skill and experience enable him to use.” (Syl. 9)

Some of the prosecutor’s statements objected to by defendant were in response to defense counsel’s comments in his closing argument.

“There is no prejudicial error when a statement of a prosecutor is provoked and made in response to previous argument or statements of defense counsel.” State v. Clark, 222 Kan. 65, 72, 563 P.2d 1028 (1977). See also State v. Robinson, 219 Kan. 218, 547 P.2d 335 (1976) and cases cited therein.

[154]*154Other statements of the prosecutor, not objected to during trial, are now raised for the first time on appeal.

“. . . The rule is well settled that reversible error cannot be predicated upon a complaint of misconduct of counsel in closing argument where no objection is lodged.’,’ State v. Watkins, 219 Kan. 81, 87-88, 547 P.2d 810 (1976).

We have reviewed the entire closing arguments of both counsel in light of the entire record on appeal and find defendant’s first point to be without merit.

Defendant’s second point is there was no sufficient evidence to support the verdict of the jury. Only two people were at the scene of the crime, the victim and the defendant. Both testified and it appears the jury found the victim’s testimony more believable than the defendant’s.

“. . . The credibility of witnesses will not be passed upon and conflicting evidence will not be weighed on appellate review. This court looks only to the evidence which supports the verdict and if the essential elements of the charge are supported by any competent evidence, the conviction must stand. (Citations omitted)” State v. Dodson, 222 Kan. 519, 524, 565 P.2d 291 (1977).

There was sufficient competent evidence to support the defendant’s conviction of one count of kidnapping, one count of attempted rape and one count of oral sodomy.

However, this does not finally dispose of the appeal. It is clear from the record that all of the alleged charges against the defendant grew out of one incident, with one victim under a single set of circumstances. The complaint contains a multiplicity of charges which have resulted in multiple convictions for the same offenses.

While there has been a tendency for some courts to use the terms “duplicity” and “multiplicity” interchangeably, there are definite differences between the terms when applied to a criminal pleading.

“. . . ‘Duplicity’ is the joining in a single count of two or more distinct and separate offenses. ‘Multiplicity’ is the charging of a single offense in several counts.” 1 Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal, § 142 at page 306.

In considering the problems raised by a pleading that includes multiplicitous charges the court in United States v. Hearod, 499 F.2d 1003, 1005 (5th Cir. 1974), said:

“. . . The principal danger raised by a multiplicitous indictment is the [155]*155possibility that the defendant will receive more than one sentence for a single offense.”

As early as 1884, this court stated:

“And upon general principles a single offense cannot be split into separate parts, and the supposed offender be prosecuted for each of such separate parts, although each part may of itself constitute a separate offense. If the offender be prosecuted for one part, that ends the prosecution for that offense, provided, such part of itself constitutes an offense for which a conviction can be had. And generally we would think that the commission of a single wrongful act can furnish the subject matter or the foundation of only one criminal prosecution. . . .” State v. Colgate, 31 Kan. 511, 515, 3 Pac. 346 (1884).

The conduct of the defendant in the instant case constituted one continuous occurrence in which the jury found three separate and distinct offenses were committed, to-wit: kidnapping, attempted rape and oral sodomy. As we stated in State v. Lassley, 218 Kan.

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

Related

State v. Butler
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2022
State of Maine v. Watkins
Maine Superior, 2015
State v. Sellers
253 P.3d 20 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2011)
State v. Rivera
219 P.3d 1231 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2009)
State v. Mendoza
207 P.3d 1072 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2009)
State v. Kessler
73 P.3d 761 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2003)
State v. Adams
8 P.3d 724 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2000)
State v. Thomas
993 P.2d 1249 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1999)
State v. Long
993 P.2d 1237 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1999)
State v. Taylor
965 P.2d 834 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1998)
State v. Kuykendall
957 P.2d 1112 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1998)
State v. Foster
910 P.2d 848 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1996)
State v. Williams
898 P.2d 497 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1995)
State v. Dotson
886 P.2d 356 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1994)
State v. Utterback
886 P.2d 808 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1994)
State v. Van Winkle
864 P.2d 729 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1993)
State v. Smith
864 P.2d 709 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1993)
State v. Richmond
827 P.2d 743 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1992)
State v. Zamora
803 P.2d 568 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1990)
State v. Spears
788 P.2d 261 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
578 P.2d 261, 224 Kan. 152, 1978 Kan. LEXIS 352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dorsey-kan-1978.