State v. Shannon

478 P.2d 71, 106 Ariz. 447, 1970 Ariz. LEXIS 453
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 16, 1970
Docket2100
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 478 P.2d 71 (State v. Shannon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Shannon, 478 P.2d 71, 106 Ariz. 447, 1970 Ariz. LEXIS 453 (Ark. 1970).

Opinion

McFarland, Justice.

The defendant, Michael David Shannon, was charged with the offense of Armed Robbery. Prior to his trial, on March 18, 1969, he moved that he be examined by psychiatrists to determine whether he was sufficiently sane to stand trial and assist counsel with his defense. After considering the psychiatric reports, the trial court found Shannon capable to stand trial but, because of a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity” ordered a bifurcated trial under A.R.S. § 13-1621.01. Counsel for Shannon makes no claim here that the court’s finding was erroneous.

Shannon’s trial commenced on July 22, 1969 and was concluded with a jury verdict that Shannon was guilty of robbery and, in the second part of the bifurcated trial, that he was legally sane at the time of the commission of the crime. During the course of the trial, the court ordered that the part of the information, which alleged that the defendant committed the robbery while armed, be stricken, and the testimony clearly supports the court’s action, since there was insufficient evidence that Shannon was armed.

The facts are simple — Shannon entered a U-Tote’m Market at approximately 9:45 P.M. and demanded that the clerk, behind the counter, hand over the money. *448 The clerk testified as follows as to the defendant being armed:

“Q Now, this object that he had at his side, you said it looked like a .22 revolver you have at home.
“A Yes, sir.
“Q Did you ever see anything other than the barrel part of it?
“A No, sir.
“Q You never saw whether it had a hammer, whether it was a revolver, an automatic or what it was?
“A No sir.
“Q Could it have been a pipe?
“A It could have been.
“Q Could it have been a cap gun, a toy gun?
“A Right.
“Q And it was black and shiny; is that right ?
“A It wasn’t too shiny, but it looked black.
“Q Did he ever tell you ‘this is a gun’ or anything like that?
“A No, sir.
“Q And he never fired it, I take it.
“A No, sir.”

Rather than experiment in a course of possible fatal psychology, the clerk handed over the cash — a procedure encouraged by his employer. The defendant quitted the store and was followed, by car, by two witnesses who saw the entire transaction. They followed him until Shannon stopped at a service station, at which point the two witnesses called the police who, upon their arrival, arrested the defendant. The prosecution presented several other witnesses who, although cumulative, confirmed this evidence.

At the trial the defense declined to come forward with any testimony but rather decided to rest after the court denied its request for an instruction on the lesser offense of “theft from the person.”

The record substantially supports the facts set forth by the defendant in his opening brief and they are not controverted or enlarged upon by the state.

The questions presented by the appellant are threefold:

1. What is the effect upon this case of State v. Shaw, 106 Ariz. 103, 471 P.2d 715, in which we held the bifurcated trial provisions of A.R.S. § 13-1621.01 to be a violation of due process?

2. Did the trial court err in refusing to instruct as to the lesser offense of “theft from the person?”

3. Did the trial court err in its instruction on the right and wrong test of the M’Naghten Rule?

The instant case had been completed at the trial level but was still open on appeal at the time we handed down the decision in State v. Shaw, supra. The first question, as to the effect on this case, is answered by our decision in the Berger case, infra, where we thoroughly covered the question of retroactivity of the Shaw decision. Other than a bare statement that his rights were violated, Shannon fails to point out any particular facts wherein his trial was constitutionally tainted, nor was any objection made on this ground at the trial. We held that Shaw would be applied prospectively only to those cases commenced after the date of the decision. State ex rel. Berger v. Superior Court, 106 Ariz. 365, 476 P.2d 666; State v. Andrews, 106 Ariz. 372, 476 P.2d 673. Therefore the Shaw decision does not affect the judgment in this case.

The appellant next contends that the trial court erred in refusing to give an instruction on the lesser crime of theft from the person under § 13-661, subsec. A which provides that:

“A. Theft is:
“1. Feloniously stealing, taking, carrying, leading or driving away the personal property of another.
“2. Finding lost property under circumstances which give the finder knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and appropriation of such *449 property to the finder’s own use or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the true owner and restore the property to him.
“3. Knowingly and designingly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defrauding any other person of money, labor or property, whether real or personal.
“4. Causing or procuring another to report falsely of his wealth or mercantile character and thus obtaining credit, and thereby fraudulently obtaining possession of money, property or the labor or service of another.”

The crime charged and on which the court instructed the jury is covered by § 13-641, A.R.S.:

“13-641. Definition
“Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another from his person, or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.”

The distinction between the two crimes is obvious — the former is a surreptitious theft not necessarily even requiring the knowledge of the victim (i. e. pickpocket) while the latter requires the element that it be against the will of the victim and “accomplished by means of force or fear.” Can the greater offense of robbery be committed without inclusion of the lesser offense of theft? That is the test this court set forth in State v. Westbrook, 79 Ariz.

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Related

State v. Adams
750 P.2d 31 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1988)
Flores v. State
572 P.2d 746 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
478 P.2d 71, 106 Ariz. 447, 1970 Ariz. LEXIS 453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-shannon-ariz-1970.