State v. Grundstein

69 N.E.2d 418, 46 Ohio Law. Abs. 175
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 23, 1943
DocketNo. 3500
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 69 N.E.2d 418 (State v. Grundstein) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Grundstein, 69 N.E.2d 418, 46 Ohio Law. Abs. 175 (Ohio Ct. App. 1943).

Opinions

[176]*176OPINION

By BARNES, P.J.

The above-entitled cause is now being determined as an error proceeding by reason of defendant’s appeal on questions of law from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, Ohio.

On March 25, 1942, the defendant, Seymour Grundstein, together with one Ray Jordan, were jointly indicted for receiving and concealing five automobile tires, tubes and wheels and one push-button auto radio, of the value of $125.00, being the personal property of Wayne Armstrong, then before stolen and the defendants then and there well knowing said personal property had been stolen as aforesaid.

Upon arraignment, Ray Jordan entered a plea of guilty and received a suspended sentence. Grundstein entered a plea of not guilty, thereafter was tried, the jury returning a verdict of guilty. .Following the verdict of guilty, overruling of motion for new trial, and imposition of sentence, all necessary steps were taken through which the case was lodged in our court.

Counsel for appellant sets out eight separately stated and numbered assignments of error. In appellant’s brief these assignments are reclassified under two headings, which we will take up in their order.

The first claimed error discussed is that the trial court abused its discretion in opening up the case and permitting the State to introduce additional testimony following the close of the evidence and the principal arguments of counsel for the State and the defendant.

After counsel for the defendant had closed his argument, counsel for. the state interposed an oral motion that the case be opened up to permit the presentation of evidence as to the value of the stolen property claimed to. have been unlawfully received and concealed by defendant. The State had overlooked presentation of evidence on this question of value.

Over the objection of counsel for defendant, the court permitted the case to be opened, with permission to introduce such additional testimony as the State might desire.

During the recess immediately preceding the State’s motion, one member of the jury made inquiry of the court if any evidence had been introduced touching the details in the claimed transaction between Grundstein and the three or four [177]*177boys admittedly connected with the stealing of the automobile from which the property described in .the indictment was taken. When the court reconvened following the recess, the court asked this juror to make a statement for the record as to the particular question she wished information upon. Following the statement of the juror, the trial court, without objection, caused the court reporter to read from the record the testimony introduced covering the particular question inquired about.

Following the order of the trial court to open up the case for additional testimony, it developed that the State did not have present the particular witnesses it desired to interrogate; whereupon the court excused the jury, after the usual caution, until the following morning.

Counsel for the defendant preserved his record by making objection to the court’s order permitting the opening up of the case and the introduction of additional testimony. At the same time that the court announced its order for opening up, he made the statement that counsel for the' defendant would have the privilege of introducing any evidence which he desired, touching the value of the property and, further, that counsel for defendant would have an opportunity to reargue the ease, if it was so desired.

In the brief of counsel for defendant, extended statement is made in effect that at the recess preceding the motion to open up, defendant’s counsel called the court’s attention to the fact'that there was a failure of proof upon the part of the State as to the value of the property described in the indictment; that thereafter the court conveyed this information to the Prosecuting Attorney, and by reason thereof the motion tp open up followed. This is urged as an additional ground of misconduct of the trial court.

A complete answer to this claim is that the record does not contain any of these claimed facts, aside from the motion to open up and the court’s order thereon.

In considering this claimed error, we can not go beyond the facts disclosed from the record.

In Ohio it is uniformly held that the question of opéning up a case for the presentation of further testimony is always within the sound discretion of the trial court, and that such orders will not be considered erroneous unless under such circumstances as present the conclusion of abuse of discretion.

[178]*178O Jur Vol 12, p 501, Sec 484; page 503, Sec 486;

Webb v State, 29 Oh St, 351;

Vecchio v State, 32 O. L. R., 553.

The latter case was decided by the Court of Appeals of Cuyahoga County. The opinion was delivered by Judge Sullivan. This particular question is discussed at page 555 of the opinion. The state of facts in the reported case was very similar to the instant case. In this Vecchio case, as in the instant case, both the Prosecuting Attorney and counsel for the defendant had completed their arguments when the motion to open up was made. The court held that the opening up was within the sound discretion of the court and determined that there was no abuse of discretion.

Counsel for the defendant cites the case of In re Estate of Ruhl, decided by our court February 13, 19, 41, and reported in 36 Ab, p 250. At page 253 of the opinion reference is made to an assignment of error from the fact that the trial court improperly opened the case and permitted the presentation of further testimony. After stating the general rule that this was clearly within the sound discretion of the trial court, we made the further observation that the rules would be different in a trial before a jury. The above pronouncement was proper under the facts in the reported case, but unfortunately we failed to state that the case had been fully submitted and taken by the court under advisement. Naturally such a situation could not occur in a jury trial, because the jury would have completed its deliberations and been discharged. The observation of counsel that the syllabus presents the law of the case is not correct as to cases reported in the Ohio Law Abstract. The syllabus is recognized as head notes prepared by the editorial staff. The court deciding the case never sees the prepared syllabus until the case is reported. Of course, the rule is different in reported decisions by the Supreme Court.

When the court reconvened the morning following .the adjournment, counsel for the State introduced its evidence on the question of value of the property referred to in the indictment. Thus far we have no difficulty in determining that no error intervened by reason of the court’s opening up for the introduction of further testimony as to value.

Thereafter, the State called another witness, being one of the boys implicated in the original theft of the automobile, [179]*179and interrogated him as to the details relative to the disposition of the tires,'wheels and radio and the receiving of the money therefor from the defendant, Grundstein. This was cumulative of what had already been presented through the testimony of some of the other boys involved in the theft. In some details it was contradictory.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
69 N.E.2d 418, 46 Ohio Law. Abs. 175, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-grundstein-ohioctapp-1943.