State v. Walters

528 S.W.2d 790, 1975 Mo. App. LEXIS 2143
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 6, 1975
DocketNo. KCD 27507
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 528 S.W.2d 790 (State v. Walters) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Walters, 528 S.W.2d 790, 1975 Mo. App. LEXIS 2143 (Mo. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

ROBERT R. WELBORN, Special Judge.

Appeal from judgment of conviction and sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, imposed by court under Second Offender Act (§ 556.280, RSMo 1969), upon jury verdict finding Charles William Walters guilty of robbery in the first degree with a deadly weapon. §§ 560.120, 560.135, RSMo 1969.

At around 3:00 P.M., September 11, 1973, Charles Wolfe was alone, working in his upholstery shop in Columbia. A man entered the store, grabbed Wolfe around the neck, dragged him to the cutting bench, placed a sharp object at Wolfe’s back and said: “Give me your money or I’ll kill you.” The intruder took Wolfe’s billfold, containing about $30.00, from Wolfe’s pocket, threw a bedspread over Wolfe’s head and left. Wolfe did not see the man, but saw his arm and could tell that the robber was white and wore a short-sleeved, gold colored shirt.

Renee Spence, who lived four doors from Wolfe’s shop, was standing on her front porch at around 3:00 o’clock, September 11, 1973. She saw a car, with three occupants, park between her residence and Wolfe’s shop. The person on the right front seat got out of the car, went to the front of Wolfe’s shop, looked in, then went to the side door and entered the shop. At that juncture the driver saw Ms. Spence. He backed to the rear door of Wolfe’s shop, [791]*791sounded the horn and left. Because she was suspicious, Ms. Spence noted the license number of the auto.

When the police arrived at the scene in response to Wolfe’s call following the robber’s departure, Ms. Spence told them what she had observed and gave them a description of the car and its license number.

Sometime later in the afternoon, police found an auto which matched the description. As an officer was checking the vehicle, Daryl Marshall approached and said that he was its driver. Marshall, placed under arrest on suspicion of armed robbery, told police that he had been driving around with Mike Hall and the appellant as passengers in the car; that Walters asked him to stop near Wolfe’s shop and he did so and Walters got out and went into the shop.

The police contacted Mike Hall, who told them the same story. They attempted to get in touch with Walters, but were not successful. The next morning, an officer went to the Crossroads Trailer Court where Walters lived with a sister. He was admitted to the trailer by Walters’ sister. When the officer went toward the rear, he heard a loud crashing noise and saw Walters’ feet as he went through the window. After a brief pursuit, Walters was apprehended.

Upon interrogation by officers, Walters said that he, Marshall and Hall were riding around, drinking beer and vodka, and that they stopped at Wolfe’s and Marshall went in and robbed Wolfe. Later, he retracted this story and admitted that he robbed Wolfe.

At Walters’ trial, Wolfe, Marshall, Hall, Ms. Spence and the police officers involved in the investigation and arrest testified for the state to substantially the above facts. Walters’ statement, admitting his commission of the robbery was introduced in evidence, a pre-trial motion to suppress the statement having been overruled after a hearing. No evidence was offered by the defendant.

The jury trial resulted in a verdict of guilty and after finding the Second Offender Act applicable, the judge imposed a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

On this appeal the sole assignment of error relates to the trial court’s sustaining objection by the state to cross-examination by defense attorney of Mike Hall concerning his juvenile court record. The proceedings upon which the complaint is based are as follows:

“Q. Mr. Hall, you testified yesterday that you’re 15 years old, is that right?

“A. Yes, sir.

“Q. Are you under the supervision of the juvenile court?

“MR. DOAK: Your Honor, I’m going to object to that again. * * * Once again we’re getting into this same type testimony and I believe that the fact that he’s under the supervision of juvenile authorities is.it’s indicative of the fact that he has a juvenile record which as we said yesterday is not a conviction that can be used in impeachment.

“THE COURT: Mr. Mays?

“MR. MAYS: Your Honor, the purpose of the question goes to show whether or not the Defendant (sic) has possible bias and has.therefore is adverse.has possible bias reasons why he may be testifying as he is, therefore, I am entitled to inquire as to whether or not he is under the supervision of the juvenile court and for the same reasons that we are.have the right of confrontation.

“THE COURT: Yes, the objection will be overruled. You may answer the question.

“Q. You are under the supervision of the juvenile court?

“Q. And how long have you been under the supervision of juvenile court?

“A. Since I was about 12.

“Q. And for what purposes have you been.why have you been under the supervision of the.

[792]*792“MR. DOAK: I say at this time I’d like to object again and ask to approach the bench. I think at this time he is getting into the.what would be the nature of a prior conviction which is not a prior conviction. The question, why are you under, is obviously brings up misconduct which would be a prior conviction, (sic)

“THE COURT: Yes, that objection will be sustained.

“MR. MAYS: Well, Your Honor, uh

“THE COURT: Mr. Doak.

“MR. MAYS: At this point and time the witness still has not elucidated as to why he’s under the supervision. It could be from incidents arising from this particular incident. I admit that is true.

“THE COURT: Not since he was 12 years old, overruled.

“Q. Mike, have you come under the supervision of the juvenile court as a result of your participation in this particular incident that we’ve been talking about today and yesterday with Daryl Marshall and Mr. Walters?

“A. Sir?

“Q. Have you been taken before the juvenile court as a result of your par-tic.participation in this incident with Mr. Marshall and Mr. Walters in September? Have you been charged.face any sort of charges as a result of this?

“A. I don’t think so.

“Q. But your are under the supervision of the juvenile court now, is that right?

“A. Yes.”

Appellant endeavors to bring this case within the ambit of the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974). That case involved a prosecution in which the trial court had applied an Alaska statute (§ 47.10.080(g), Alaska Stat.) prohibiting the use of juvenile court action in other courts, to provide a state’s witness, on probation by order of the juvenile court after he had been adjudicated delinquent for having committed two burglaries, with a protective order which prevented his cross-examination concerning the juvenile adjudication.

The United States Supreme Court held that the effect of the order was to deny the defense the right of effective cross-examination of the witness and that the defendant’s right to confrontation of witnesses against him under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was superior to the state’s interest in protecting juveniles from exposure of the juvenile court records.

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Related

State v. Wilson
755 S.W.2d 707 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1988)
State v. Howard
693 S.W.2d 888 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1985)
State v. Chandler
682 S.W.2d 63 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1984)
State v. Russell
625 S.W.2d 138 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1981)
State v. Burnfin
560 S.W.2d 283 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
528 S.W.2d 790, 1975 Mo. App. LEXIS 2143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-walters-moctapp-1975.