State v. Gallow

338 So. 2d 920
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided October 6, 1976·No. 57920·Published·Cited by 39 cases

Opinion

338 So.2d 920 (1976)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
McArthur GALLOW.

No. 57920.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

October 6, 1976.
Rehearing Denied November 5, 1976.

*921 David L. Dawson, Jr., Robert R. Rainer, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Ossie B. Brown, Dist. Atty., Robert H. Hester, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

SANDERS, Chief Justice.

Defendant, McArthur Gallow, was charged with and convicted of the second degree murder of Bobby Miller, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, defendant relies upon seven assignments of error for reversal of his conviction and sentence. Assignment of Error No. 5, being neither briefed nor argued, is considered abandoned. State v. Richmond, La., 284 So.2d 317 (1973); State v. Edwards, 261 La. 1014, 261 So.2d 649 (1972).

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

Defendant alleges that the trial court committed error when it commented on the facts of the case and expressed an opinion as to the defendant's guilt or innocence during voir dire examination.

Unfortunately, the comment complained of is subject to two transcriptions. Due to a malfunction of the transcription equipment, the comment had to be reconstructed from the reporter's notes, which were imperfect.

During the voir dire examination of a juror, the following exchange took place:

"Q. As I said, we want the average person who will listen to what comes from that witness stand—am I safe in saying that if you are convinced that the defendant committed murder you could find him guilty of murder?
"A. Well, yes, I believe so.
"Q. You understand what I am saying, Mr. Edgell?
"A. There is something that I don't understand here. Maybe I have watched too much TV—if a man—I assume that attempted murder is a felony, but I thought that killing somebody is first degree murder, that's what I thought.
"Q. That's not the law in our State.
*922 "Reporter's note: The recording machine having malfunctioned, this transcription below is dependent on the Reporter's notes which are, unfortunately imperfect and lend themselves to two transcriptions, which are presented:
"THE COURT: There is     :  THE COURT: There is
no attempt involved      :  no attempt involved
here. He is on trial for :  here. He is on trial for
the person who died      :  the person who got
. . . killed, not for    :  killed not for the one
the one he didn't get.   :  who didn't get killed.
"MR. DAWSON: At this point I'm going to object to the Court's comments. I think the Court, even though no evidence has been introduced, the Court is commenting on possible evidence.
"THE COURT: I am not commenting on. . . hypothetical . . .
"MR. DAWSON: I don't think it's proper, and I object.
"Interrogation on voir dire of panel No. 2 of the Jury Venire was resumed by Robert Hester, assistant district attorney, and then begun by David L. Dawson, Jr., counsel for defense; and concluded. Whereupon the Court made the following remarks:
"THE COURT: I would admonish you and order you to disregard the remarks that I made if those remarks were interpreted by you as referring to this case on trial."

The above admonition was made by the court on its own initiative, since defense counsel requested neither an admonition nor a mistrial.

Having reviewed the judges comment in context, we construe it to mean that the defendant was charged with murder, not attempted murder. (The defendant was charged with second degree murder of Bobby Miller, who was struck by a bullet intended for another.)

Even if the comment were construed to be a factual comment, however, in our opinion the error would not be reversible. Firstly, the comment by the court during voir dire is not a comment on the facts within the purview of Article 772 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure. Secondly, the remark did not relate either directly or indirectly to any of the grounds listed in Article 770 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure requiring a mistrial if requested. At most, the comment would constitute a remark under Article 771 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, which can be cured by an admonition. Such an admonition was given.

It is well settled that a verdict will not be set aside because of improper remarks by the judge unless the reviewing court is thoroughly convinced that the jury was influenced by the remarks and that they contributed to the verdict. State v. Hammler, La., 312 So.2d 306 (1975); State v. Simpson, 247 La. 883, 175 So.2d 255 (1965).

Assignment of Error No. 1 is without merit.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2

Defendant alleges that the trial court committed error when it admitted into evidence, over defendant's objection, a portion of a bullet found at the scene of the crime.

The investigating officer testified that he found the lead slug approximately twelve inches from a bloodstain near the victim's body. The bullet was the only one found at the scene of the crime and did tend to establish that the victim had been shot.

It is well settled that a trial court has wide discretion in determining the relevancy of evidence, and its ruling will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of an abuse of discretion. State v. Owens, La., 301 So.2d 591; State v. Pierre, 261 La. 42, 259 So.2d 6 (1972); State v. Davis, 259 La. 35, 249 So.2d 193 (1971). There is no showing of an abuse of discretion in this case. Defendant's objection goes to the weight to be given to the evidence rather than to its admissibility. State v. Dotson, 260 La. 471, 256 So.2d 594 (1971).

Assignment of Error No. 2 is without merit.

*923 ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 3

Defendant alleges that the trial court erred when it admitted into evidence, over defendant's objection, two color photographs of the victim.

The test of admissibility is whether the probative value of the photographs outweighs the prejudice which may result from their display to the jury. State v. Smith, La., 327 So.2d 355 (1976); State v. Beach, La., 320 So.2d 142 (1975).

In the present case, the photographs were neither gruesome nor gory. Defendant bases his argument partially on the fact that the photographs were in color. The fact that they were in color does not of itself make the photographs inadmissible. The trial judge, demonstrating awareness of possible prejudice, allowed into evidence only two of the three photographs offered by the State. The trial court has considerable discretion in the admission of photographs; its ruling will not be disturbed in the absence of an abuse of that discretion. State v. Gibson, La., 271 So.2d 868 (1973); State v. Barber, La., 271 So.2d 853 (1973).

Assignment of Error No. 3 is without merit.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 4

Defendant alleges that the trial court erred in permitting the jury to visit the scene of the crime. He contends that the trip was "completely unnecessary since there were photographs and other evidence in [the] record pertaining to this matter. The only thing that this did was to inflame the jury which situation was aggravated by the inclement weather."

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