State v. Gill

474 P.2d 23, 3 Or. App. 488, 1970 Ore. App. LEXIS 553
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 10, 1970
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 474 P.2d 23 (State v. Gill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gill, 474 P.2d 23, 3 Or. App. 488, 1970 Ore. App. LEXIS 553 (Or. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

FOLEY, J.

The defendant, Oliver Gill, Jr., appeals from a second degree murder conviction obtained under ORS 163.020 (2), which reads:

“Any person who kills another by an act imminently dangerous to others, and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any design to effect the death of any particular individual, is guilty of murder in the second degree.”

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

His first assignment of error is the denial of his motion for a directed verdict. This requires that *491 this court’s review of the evidence be in the light most favorable to the state, and that the trial court’s action in this regard be sustained if there is any substantial evidence to support the verdict. State v. Shipman, 2 Or App 359, 468 P2d 921 (1970).

The deceased was killed by one of two rifle shots fired from across the street into the downstairs living room of her two-story home in Portland, Oregon, on June 7, 1968, shortly after midnight. There was evidence from which the jury could conclude that defendant fired the shot which killed decedent. Firing a rifle into a house is an inherently dangerous act. See Perkins, Criminal Law 677-79 (1st ed 1957), and 5 ALE 605-606 (1920). There was evidence indicating defendant had known the decedent and her family for some years and was aware that people were in and about the house at the time of the shooting. From this the jury was entitled to conclude that defendant’s act of shooting into the house was an act imminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life. There was no error in denying the motion for directed verdict.

ASSIGNMENT OF EEEOE NO. 2

Defendant complains that the court’s jury instruction on the elements of the offense did not include the words “with malice.” The instruction conformed to the statute defining the crime, OES 163.020 (2), which does not contain the words “with malice.”

Malice is an element of second degree murder, State v. Collis, 243 Or 222, 413 P2d 53 (1966), but there is no magic in the use of the word “malice.” The *492 phrase “depraved mind, regardless of human life,” contained in the instruction given, is at least synonymous with the term “malice.” Perkins, Criminal Law 36-37 (2d ed 1969); 1 Wharton, Criminal Law and Procedure 522-27, § 242 (Anderson ed 1957). It would probably be more accurate to label it a special, high degree of malice. The instruction given correctly stated the lawT.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 3

Defense counsel assigns as error the court’s denial of his motion for a mistrial based on the prosecution’s failure to timely produce a tape-recorded statement obtained from defendant by the police on the day of the murder.

In Portland municipal court defense counsel asked for and was apparently granted an order that the state disclose any and all statements taken from defendant. The district attorney advised counsel .that none existed and counsel relied on that representation. On the first day of trial, seven months later, the prosecutor announced the discovery of the recording in question and gave a copy of it to defense counsel. Defendant contends that this long delay in producing the statement constituted suppression of evidence helpful to him, and caused such surprise as to effectively preclude a preparation of his defense, thereby denying him a fair trial.

The Oregon Supreme Court has held that an inadvertent failure on the part of the state to produce evidence for defendant’s inspection following a court order is not grounds for reversal where no prejudice *493 results. State v. Little, 249 Or 297, 431 P2d 810 (1967), cert den 390 US 955, 88 S Ct 1048, 19 L Ed 2d 1148 (1968). Defendant’s recorded statement directly contradicted his own in-court testimony and was in fact used by the state to attack his credibility. It would have been to defendant’s advantage if the state had not found the tape recording. In addition, any prejudice that might have resulted due to surprise and timing could have been remedied by a continuance. Defendant did not request one. There was no error in denying defendant’s motion for a mistrial.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 4

Defendant assigns as error failure to give his requested instruction regarding aiding or abetting. This assignment is frivolous. The court gave the instruction requested.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 5

Defendant excepted to an instruction concerning the consideration which the jury could give to the tape-recorded statement of defendant, discussed above in Assignment No. 3. The defendant’s objection is twofold: (1) that the court erred in telling the jury that “* * * you can consider such alleged statements for what you deem them to be worthy [sic] * * and (2) that the court should have specifically instructed the jury that the taped statement could be used solely for impeachment purposes and not as evidence of the crime charged.

The instruction must be read in context. The *494 trial court led into his instructions on the admissibility of the tape recording with the following statement:

“I further instruct you that the State offered as impeaching evidence a tape recording of statements allegedly made by the defendant during the evening of June 7th, 1968, at the police station.
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“There is no contention by the State that this was a confession but rather the State contends that these are impeaching statements.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Following these statements the court gave a lengthy instruction on the constitutional tests for admissibility —voluntariness and adequate Miranda warnings. The judge concluded this portion of his instructions by stating that if the jury found that these tests were met, it could consider the tape-recorded statements “* * * for what you deem them to be worthy * * if the jury did not so find, the statements were to be disregarded. The court then said:

“I further instruct you with respect to any statements which have been introduced and claimed to be impeaching statements. That impeaching evidence is that which contradicts or controverts the testimony of a witness. Impeaching evidence is not substantive evidence, substantive evidence is that which is sufficient to prove a material issue in the case. Therefore, I instruct you that impeaching evidence in and of itself is not sufficient to prove any material element or issue in the case.”

The instruction complained of was not erroneous. Furthermore, there was no prejudice. “For one instruction standing alone to constitute reversible error it must have been such as would have prejudiced the defendant when the instructions are considered as *495

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Bluebook (online)
474 P.2d 23, 3 Or. App. 488, 1970 Ore. App. LEXIS 553, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gill-orctapp-1970.