State v. Porter

574 P.2d 187, 223 Kan. 114, 1977 Kan. LEXIS 387
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedNovember 5, 1977
Docket48,763
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 574 P.2d 187 (State v. Porter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Porter, 574 P.2d 187, 223 Kan. 114, 1977 Kan. LEXIS 387 (kan 1977).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Owsley, J.:

This is a direct appeal from jury verdicts of guilty of first degree murder (K.S.A. 21-3401) and aggravated robbery (K.S.A. 21-3427).

On Memorial Day, 1975, the owner of a small convenience store in Atchison, Kansas, was gunned down during a robbery. The facts of the crime are unimportant to this appeal. Suffice it to say a description of the robber was spread into the community and nearby states. After several leads were investigated a warrant *115 was issued for the arrest of defendant. On July 10, 1975, defendant was transported from Little Rock, Arkansas, to stand trial. We have condensed the many points of error asserted by defendant.

I. Pretrial Identification

Defendant was formally arraigned on July 11, 1975. Counsel was appointed. Subsequently, several witnesses were shown a display of six photographs, one being defendant. Neither defendant nor his counsel was present. At a later date counsel made a motion before the city court for a lineup. This request was denied. Defendant appealed the ruling to the district court, whereupon the appeal was dismissed.

Defendant first argues it was error for the district court to dismiss the appeal on the issue of his right to a lineup, relying on K.S.A. 22-3609 (now K.S.A. 1976 Supp. 22-3609 and 22-3609a). Prior to the creation of our court of appeals the statute read:

“(1) The defendant shall have the right to appeal to the district court of the county from any judgment of a court of limited jurisdiction or a municipal or police court which adjudges the defendant guilty of a violation of the laws of Kansas or the ordinances of any municipality of Kansas or which imposes a sentence of fine or confinement or both. . . .”

Defendant claims the refusal to permit a lineup amounted to a finding of guilt. We cannot agree.

The city court had jurisdiction of the matter only for purposes of conducting a preliminary hearing. This court has often stated that a preliminary hearing is not a trial of a defendant’s guilt; it is rather an inquiry into whether the defendant should be held for trial. (State v. Holloway, 219 Kan. 245, 547 P.2d 741; State v. Smith, 215 Kan. 34, 523 P.2d 691; State v. Bloomer, 197 Kan. 668, 421 P.2d 58, cert. denied 387 U.S. 911, 18 L.Ed.2d 631, 87 S.Ct. 1697; State v. James Earley, 192 Kan. 167, 386 P.2d 189; In re Mortimer, 192 Kan. 164, 386 P.2d 261.) In such cases the magistrate or city judge has no power to determine guilt or innocence, but only to determine whether a felony has been committed and whether there is probable cause to believe the accused committed it. (State v. Boone, 218 Kan. 482, 485, 543 P.2d 945, reh. denied 425 U.S. 985, 48 L.Ed.2d 811, 96 S.Ct. 2194.)

Because appellate jurisdiction to the district court exists only when allowed by statute (Landscape Development Co. v. Kansas City P.& L. Co., 197 Kan. 126, 415 P.2d 398; Williams v. Seymour Packing Co., 174 Kan. 168, 175, 254 P.2d 248; Kowing v. Douglas *116 County Kaw Drainage Dist., 167 Kan. 387, 207 P.2d 457), the district court had no jurisdiction to take the appeal. Defendant’s remedy was to appeal the denial of the lineup to this court once he had been adjudged guilty. (See, State v. Wallace, 172 Kan. 734, 243 P.2d 216; State v. Edwards, 35 Kan. 105, 10 Pac. 544.)

The defendant did not have a constitutional right to be placed in a lineup (Dunlap v. State, 212 Kan. 822, 512 P.2d 484; Reedy v. State, 210 Kan. 793, 504 P.2d 146); thus, it was not error for the lower courts to deny his request.

Defendant urges Kansas to adopt the rule set forth in Evans v. Superior Court, 11 Cal. 3d 617, 114 Cal. Rptr. 121, 522 P.2d 681 (1974), and State v. Boettcher, 338 So. 2d 1356 (La. 1976). These cases recognized that a defendant has no right to be placed in a lineup, but held that a district court has broad discretion in allowing a lineup when the identification of the defendant is shown to be a material issue, when there is a great likelihood the visual identification of the witnesses may not be reliable, and when a lineup would tend to resolve the issue.

We have examined the cases cited and conclude the facts of this case do not justify a lineup, even if the cases were adopted as the law of this state, an issue we need not decide at this time. Witnesses gave police an extensive description of defendant, his clothing and the getaway car. Three witnesses picked defendant from a photographic display. While identity was at issue, it cannot be said there was a reasonable likelihood of a mistaken identification which required a lineup.

Defendant also contends he was deprived of his right to counsel during the photographic display, relying on United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149, 87 S.Ct. 1926; Gilbert v. California, 388 U.S. 263, 18 L.Ed.2d 1178, 87 S.Ct. 1951; and Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 18 L.Ed.2d 1199, 87 S.Ct. 1967. The Wade-Gilhert-Stovall trilogy of cases gives defendant a right to counsel at a lineup held after prosecution has commenced. The right to have counsel present at a photographic display, even after charges have been filed, does not exist. (State v. Clark, 218 Kan. 726, 544 P.2d 1372; State v. Anderson, 211 Kan. 148, 505 P.2d 691; United States v. Ash, 413 U.S. 300, 37 L.Ed.2d 619, 93 S.Ct. 2568.)

Finally, defendant argues the photographic display tainted the witnesses’ in-court identification.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
574 P.2d 187, 223 Kan. 114, 1977 Kan. LEXIS 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-porter-kan-1977.