State v. Holt

465 S.W.2d 602, 1971 Mo. LEXIS 1073
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMarch 8, 1971
Docket55826
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 465 S.W.2d 602 (State v. Holt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Holt, 465 S.W.2d 602, 1971 Mo. LEXIS 1073 (Mo. 1971).

Opinion

HIGGINS, Commissioner.

James Albert Holt, with prior convictions for burglary and stealing, was convicted by a jury of robbery, first degree, and the court assessed his punishment at fifteen years’ imprisonment. Sentence and judgment were rendered accordingly. §§ 556.280, 560.120, 560.135, V.A.M.S.

Appellant contends first that there was insufficient evidence to take this case to the jury, arguing that the “only evidence is the identification of Appellant by the victim.” Such argument concedes the presence of eyewitness testimony, and a brief statement demonstrates a sufficiency of evidence to support the verdict in all respects.

On March 19,1969, Beulah Nitchman was employed by Super Sandwich Shop, Inc., at 5200 Chippewa, St. Louis, Missouri. At about 9:30 p.m., defendant entered the cafe, pulled a pistol from under his jacket, pointed it at her, and demanded her money. So frightened, Miss Nitchman opened her cash register and gave her assailant its contents, $36 in money. She identified defendant in court as her assailant. See State v. DeLuca, Mo., 448 S.W.2d 869, 870[1]; and see also State v. McGee, Mo., 447 S.W.2d 270, 271-272; State v. Bibbs, Mo., 461 S.W.2d 755, December 14, 1970.

Secondly, appellant contends that the “court erred in not granting a hearing out of the presence of the jury with respect to the legality of the identification of appellant by state witness Beulah Nitch-man.”

In order to understand and rule this point, it is desirable to have a detailed statement of its related circumstances. Prior to selection of the jury, defense counsel stated: “I would like to make a motion for a hearing, this is an identification case, * * * on the grounds that this identification violated the defendant’s rights under the constitution amendments four, five and six. * * *

“THE COURT: What form of evidence do you have that this is in the nature of identification ?

“MR. LITTLETON: Well, the evidence is that there was no formal lineup, that the defendant was brought in singly, that he wasn’t given right to counsel, the identification was suggested by the police.

*604 “MR. FRANK (Assistant Circuit Attorney) : Just for the record, the identification is not based on any personal confrontation the victim had with the defendant other than the time of the holdup and this is the sole basis for the identification in this case, that the victim at the time of the holdup identified this man as the man that held her up. We are not relying on any confrontation in this case nor will there be any evidence to- that effect, in other words there will be no evidence on the part of the state as to any identification in personal lineup.

“THE COURT: I am going to overrule you at this time.”

During trial the victim, Beulah Nitch-man, positively identified defendant as her assailant, described his actions while in her store, described and identified his gun, his distance from her, her clear view of his face, and how all his moves and gestures were accomplished by his right hand, having his left hand, shown to be tattooed, in his pocket at all times.

All such testimony was given without objection; there was no motion to suppress it; there was no motion for hearing outside the presence of the jury; and there was no motion to strike.

The defense cross-examined Miss Nitch-man extensively and developed that she identified defendant at the police station where he was shown to her about a week after she had been robbed; that she recognized him also by his voice; and that she helped the police to compose what is known as a composite picture of defendant.

At the conclusion of her testimony, there still was no objection, complaint, or motion with respect to her identification of defendant.

Appellant’s argument is that by the court’s pretrial ruling counsel “was forced to inquire about the confrontation in the presence of the jury to the detriment of Appellant’s case.” There are numerous difficulties in this position. First, the nature of appellant’s oral pretrial motion is not clear. If it were intended as a motion to suppress identification testimony, it would have been a simple matter to so style it. Second, the language of the court’s ruling indicates that “hearing” was not refused for all times, nor did it foreclose other motions going to identification testimony. The court simply overruled the motion “at this time,” a time when the only record before the court was the statements of counsel. See State v. DeLuca, supra, 448 S.W.2d 1.c. 871. Third, the only evidence to which such motion would lie in this case was the identification of defendant by the single eyewitness. It was received without objection and, absent objection or other effort to suppress or strike, appellant “cannot now successfully urge that the trial court erred in admitting it.” State v. Whitaker, Mo., 312 S.W.2d 34, 38 [9]. See also State v. Hampton, Mo., 430 S.W.2d 160, 163 [5]; State v. Leigh, Mo., 423 S.W.2d 690, 691 [1]; State v. Griffin, Mo., 339 S.W.2d 803, 805 [4-6]; State v. Tyler, Mo., 454 S.W.2d 564, 566-567[1, 2]; State v. Simone, Mo., 416 S.W.2d 96, 101 [15], Fourth, the record does not show how defense counsel was “forced” to cross-examine the eyewitness to his detriment. The cross-examination was undertaken without any effort to strike the identification. It was not only extensive but also detailed and exhaustive, and it demonstrates a defense tactic aimed at discrediting the sole eyewitness in her identification of defendant. Having elected such a course, appellant may not now, on this record, be permitted to second-guess and try a new tack.

Insofar as this point argues that the in-court identification was “tainted,” suffice to say that the statement demonstrates an identification source independent of the view, composite picture, and knowledge that defendant would be in the courtroom. Free rein was given to cross-examination, including coverage of matters such as change in hair style and dress and the tattoo. As in other face-to-face robbery cases, the events at the time of the robbery, even though the time of confrontation is *605 short, are indelibly etched in the victim’s mind. See, e. g., State v. DeLuca, supra, 448 S.W.2d 1.c. 872-873; State v. Keeney, Mo., 425 S.W.2d 85, 90[7]; State v. Mentor, Mo., 433 S.W.2d 816.

Appellant’s third point charges error in admitting into evidence two photographs of defendant. Again, it is necessary to state the context in order to rule the contention.

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Bluebook (online)
465 S.W.2d 602, 1971 Mo. LEXIS 1073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-holt-mo-1971.