State v. Lineberger

395 S.E.2d 716, 100 N.C. App. 307, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 970
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 18, 1990
DocketNo. 8926SC1361
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 395 S.E.2d 716 (State v. Lineberger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Lineberger, 395 S.E.2d 716, 100 N.C. App. 307, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 970 (N.C. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Judge.

The pertinent facts are as follows: Defendant was arrested on 27 July 1988 and thereafter waived a probable cause hearing on 16 August 1988. On 2 December 1988, defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial pursuant to G.S. §§ 15A-701 et seq. The grand jury returned true bills of indictments for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and for discharging a firearm into occupied property on 5 December 1988.

The State’s evidence at trial tended to show, inter alia, that in the early morning hours of 29 June 1988, defendant drove his car in the traffic lane to the left of a vehicle driven by Timothy Johnson. Then, according to the State’s witness, defendant partially rolled down the front passenger window and fired two shots at the Johnson vehicle. One of those shots struck Lynn Covington, a passenger in Johnson’s vehicle, entering her upper arm and lodging in her chest.

Defendant’s evidence tended to show that he had picked up a hitchhiker prior to the incident and that it was the hitchhiker, [309]*309not the defendant, who fired the shots at the Johnson vehicle, and injured Ms. Covington.

During defendant’s case in chief, it was discovered that the State inadvertently failed to include the back side of two report forms and a supplemental page upon which the investigating officer made an entry indicating that a prospective witness for the State had previously identified the person who fired the pistol as “Ron.” Defendant presented no evidence suggesting that the State intentionally withheld this information or that the district attorney’s office had any prior knowledge that this information existed. The trial judge found that neither the prosecutor nor the police department willfully withheld exculpatory information and that the jury was provided a full opportunity and, in fact, did hear testimony and argument regarding the omission of portions of the investigating officer’s report prior to reaching a verdict. Defendant’s motion to dismiss all charges was subsequently denied.

The primary question presented on appeal is whether the trial court committed reversible error in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss the charges based on the State’s failure to provide the complete police investigatory report during discovery. Under the particular facts in this case, we find no error.

Specifically, defendant argues that the State had a duty to provide him with a complete copy of the police investigatory report pursuant to G.S. § 15A-903 and the United States Constitution. Initially, we note that there is no common law right to discovery in criminal cases. State v. Smith, 291 N.C. 505, 231 S.E.2d 663 (1977). Thus, questions concerning discovery must be resolved by reference to statutes and due process principles. State v. Batts, 93 N.C. App. 404, 411, 378 S.E.2d 211, 214 (1989), citing State v. McDougald, 38 N.C. App. 244, 248 S.E.2d 72 (1978), disc. rev. denied, appeal dismissed, 296 N.C. 413, 251 S.E.2d 472 (1979).

G.S. § 15A-903(d) provides that:

Documents and Tangible Objects. — Upon motion of the defendant, the court must order the prosecutor to permit the defendant to inspect and copy or photograph books, papers, documents, photographs, motion pictures, mechanical or electronic recordings, . . . tangible objects, or copies or portions thereof which are within the possession, custody, or control of the State and which are material to the preparation of his defense, are [310]*310intended for use by the State as evidence at the trial, or were obtained from or belonged to the defendant.

The above-mentioned section is restricted by G.S. § 15A-904(a) which provides that:

... this Article does not require the production of ... statements made by witnesses or prospective witnesses of the State to anyone acting on behalf of the State.

See also State v. Harris, 323 N.C. 112, 371 S.E.2d 689 (1988). Statements made by witnesses to law enforcement officers are not discoverable evidence. State v. Alston, 307 N.C. 321, 298 S.E.2d 631 (1983). Therefore, defendant lacked the requisite statutory authority to request the production of the police investigatory report.

As to defendant’s argument that the omitted portions of the police investigatory report were discoverable under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), and that the failure of the State to produce the requested information violated his right to due process by denying him the opportunity to effectively cross-examine witnesses, we disagree. Brady merely requires the disclosure, upon request, of favorable evidence to the accused. It does not require the disclosure of all evidence. State v. Alston, supra.

While we recognize that the Supreme Court in Brady held that “the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or punishment,” Brady v. Maryland, supra at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215, we also recognize that the State’s obligation to disclose such evidence to defense counsel begins at trial. State v. Jackson, 309 N.C. 26, 305 S.E.2d 703 (1983). In clarifying the Brady rule, the Supreme Court in United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976), held that a general request for all exculpatory information does not create a prosecutorial duty to respond with the production of all information. Moreover, the Court held that the Constitution does not require that the defendant be allowed broad discovery of all of the prosecution’s files. Id. at 109, 96 S.Ct. at 2400, 49 L.Ed.2d at 353. In evaluating whether the suppression of such information violated defendant’s right to due process, “the focus should not be on the impact of the undisclosed evidence on the defendant’s ability to prepare for trial, but rather should be on the effect [311]*311of the nondisclosure on the outcome of the trial.” State v. Alston, supra at 337, 298 S.E.2d at 642. “The mere possibility that an item of undisclosed information might have helped the defense, or might have affected the outcome of the trial, does not establish ‘materiality’ in the constitutional sense.” Id. quoting United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. at 109-10, 96 S.Ct. at 2400, 49 L.Ed.2d at 353.

The record in the case sub judice establishes that neither the prosecutor nor the investigating officer intentionally withheld any portion of the investigative report. Also, the record indicates that the trial judge, prior to ruling on defendant’s motion to dismiss, specifically considered that the jury was made fully aware of the omitted documents and their contents.

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Bluebook (online)
395 S.E.2d 716, 100 N.C. App. 307, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 970, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lineberger-ncctapp-1990.