State v. Stolze

539 P.2d 881, 112 Ariz. 124, 1975 Ariz. LEXIS 328
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 11, 1975
Docket2916
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 539 P.2d 881 (State v. Stolze) 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. Stolze, 539 P.2d 881, 112 Ariz. 124, 1975 Ariz. LEXIS 328 (Ark. 1975).

Opinion

LOCKWOOD, Justice:

The appellant, William E. Stolze, was convicted of three counts of furnishing marijuana to a minor in violation of A.R. S. § 36-1002.08 and was sentenced to a term of not less than ten years nor more than ten years and one day in the Arizona State Prison.

The appellant’s first contention is that his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution “has been violated by the unwillingness of the lower court to provide him with the complete transcript of his lower court trial.” Appellant further states that “counsel has made repeated requests that the lower court furnish the complete four volumes of the reporter’s transcript * * * [and] was only able to obtain two and has prepared this appeal using those two.” It is well established that “[djestitute defendants must be afforded as adequate appellate review as defendants who have money enough to buy transcripts.” Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 76 S.Ct. 585, 100 L.Ed.' 891 (1956). In terms of a trial record, this means that the state must afford the indigent a “ ‘record of sufficient completeness’ to permit proper consideration of [his] claims.” Draper v. Washington, 372 U.S. 487, 83 S.Ct. 774, 9 L.Ed.2d 899 (1963). While a “record of sufficient completeness” does not translate automatically into a complete verbatim transcript, “the State must provide a full verbatim record where that is necessary to assure the indigent as effective an appeal as would be available to the defendant with resources to pay his own way.” Mayer v. *126 City of Chicago, 404 U.S. 189, 92 S.Ct. 410, 30 L.Ed.2d 372 (1971).

We find that the trial court fully complied with the requirements of due process and the equal protection clause by issuing an order on January 24, 1974, apT proximately a month and a half after sentencing, stating “that a copy of the transcript of proceedings be furnished to the defendant at the expense of Gila County.” At the same time the court granted the defendant an extra thirty days in which to file his appeal. In view of this action by the trial court we are not swayed by appellant’s allegation in his brief that “[r]epeated efforts by defense counsel to secure transcripts were met with bureaucratic unwillingness to provide the transcripts at anything other than fifty cents a page.” Armed with the court’s order, defense counsel was in a position to easily enforce his request for a free copy of the transcript. Appellant fails to allege that discussion of any issue was hindered by his supposed inability to obtain a portion of the transcript and a reading of his brief displays a complete discussion of the facts and issues in this case. We find no merit in this contention.

The appellant’s second contention is that the testimony of an eleven year old prosecution witness should have been stricken from the record by the trial court because her testimony was the product of “coaching” by her brother who was in the courtroom in violation of “the rule.” The record is devoid of a scintilla of evidence to support a charge of “coaching.” Defense counsel made no objection on this ground at trial. The mere fact that the witness’ brother remained in the courtroom in violation of “the rule” after he testified neither establishes “coaching” nor prejudice to the defendant under the facts of this case. In State v. Sowards, 99 Ariz. 22,406 P.2d 202 (1965), we stated:

“Arizona has no statutory provision or criminal procedure rule relating to the sequestration of witnesses during a trial, but this common law practice was followed in our courts before Arizona became a state. Territory of Arizona v. Dooley, 3 Ariz. 60, 78 P. 138 (1889). The purpose of excluding witnesses from the trial is to encourage the discovery of truth, and detection and exposure of falsehood. State v. Thomas, 78 Ariz. 52, 275 P.2d 408 (1954). As we have previously said, exclusion of witnesses from the courtroom and administration of the exclusionary rule is within the sound discretion of the trial judge and this court will not disturb the ruling of the trial court unless there is shown an abuse of discretion and resulting prejudice therefrom. State v. Romero, 85 Ariz. 263, 336 P.2d 366 (1959).” 99 Ariz. at 26, 406 P.2d at 204.

Because the witness’ brother had already testified, the policy underlying “the rule” was not violated. When the trial judge pointed out to both attorneys during the sister’s testimony that the witness’ brother had not left the courtroom the defense attorney declined to request removal. We find no prejudice to the defendant nor an abuse of discretion by the trial court for failing to order removal on its own motion.

The appellant’s third contention is that he was “denied a fair trial by the impaneling of a jury who subsequent to their being sworn in proved to be composed of persons who were friends and business acquaintances of prosecution witness Edward Guerrero, who was also the father of the minor child to whom the appellant supposedly furnished the contraband.” Again, the appellant offers no facts to support his allegation. What the record actually discloses is that Edward Guerrero, a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, testified that none of the jurors' were “close personal friends.” He admitted that as a Representative of that District he had encountered several of the jurors before, but was unable to recall any of their names. There was no evidence Guerrero had ever had business dealings with any of the jurors. The burden is on the party who claims he was tried by *127 a biased jury to establish that a juror gave improper answers on voir dire or that the selection procedure was somehow discriminatory. United States v. Cross on, 462 F.2d 96 (9th Cir. 1972), cert, denied 409 U.S. 1064, 93 S.Ct. 569, 34 L.Ed.2d 517; People v. Preston, 9 Cal.3d 308, 107 Cal.Rptr. 300, 508 P.2d 300 (1973). The appellant has clearly failed to satisfy this burden.

The appellant’s fourth contention is that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a “surprise” exhibit consisting of marijuana found in the pocket of defendant’s jacket seized at the home where the crime in this case occurred. The officer who seized the jacket neglected to list the marijuana on his property sheet made out the day of the defendant’s arrest and sent the marijuana discovered in the coat to the Arizona Department of Public Safety Laboratory for analysis approximately six months after the other contraband seized in the case was sent. We have previously noted the necessity of a timely motion where “surprise” is claimed:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
539 P.2d 881, 112 Ariz. 124, 1975 Ariz. LEXIS 328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stolze-ariz-1975.