State v. Whitted

393 S.E.2d 590, 99 N.C. App. 502, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 539
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJuly 17, 1990
DocketNo. 898SC886
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 393 S.E.2d 590 (State v. Whitted) 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. Whitted, 393 S.E.2d 590, 99 N.C. App. 502, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 539 (N.C. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Judge.

The State’s evidence tended to show, inter alia, that some time during 1977, the victim, Alma Howard, fell and broke her leg while walking in the City of New York. She and her husband, Seaborne, hired the law firm of Morris J. Eisen, P. C. (“Eisen firm”) to represent them in a personal injury action against the City. Prior to the final disposition of the lawsuit, however, the Howards moved to Mount Olive, North Carolina.

In June, 1981, Alma received a correspondence from the Eisen firm informing her the lawsuit could be settled for $10,000.00. Defendant was then hired as an intermediary between Alma and the Eisen firm.

Over the next year, Alma and her sister, Edna Pearsall, went several times to see defendant about the case. Each time they visited defendant, he informed them that he was still working on the case. Alma and Edna last visited defendant in April, 1982. Alma died 26 June 1982.

The evidence further showed that defendant maintained several bank accounts at various institutions. He had an account at First Citizens Bank which was designated as a “Trust Account.” The records to that account revealed that a transaction dated 11 March 1982 resulted in a deposit of $4,197.60 to the account. Furthermore, the account had a checkline reserve feature of $1,000.00 whereby if the account was overdrawn the bank would advance funds up to the reserve limit. As of 11 March 1982, defendant owed the bank $975.48 on that account.

Prior to 11 March 1982, defendant received a check from the Eisen firm in the amount of $5,697.60. He deposited $4,197.60 and “cashed-out” $1,500.00. According to bank records, between 11 [505]*505March and 19 April, defendant made the following transactions to the account in question: (1) check number 1138 payable to Earl Whitted, Jr. in the amount of $1,000.00 was drawn on the account and deposited into defendant’s Branch Banking and Trust (“B B & T”) account in order to cover an outstanding check defendant had written to American Express in the amount of $590.53; (2) checks number 1139 and 1140 for $186.74 and $100.00 were written to City Finance Company and Service Motor Co., respectively; (3) check number 1141 was written to American Savings and Loan in the amount of $1,545.80 to cover two months of defendant’s mortgage on his house; (4) check number 1142 was drawn on the account in the amount of $490.00 and designated payroll.

Between June, 1982 and September, 1985, Edna visited defendant’s office approximately 15 times asking about her sister’s lawsuit. Defendant’s continued response was that “he hadn’t heard anything [and that] he was still working on it.” Finally, in September, 1985, Edna went to defendant’s office demanding the lawsuit papers because she wanted to go to New York to visit the Eisen firm. Defendant responded by saying that he no longer had the papers.

On 5 September 1985 Edna and her husband Leslie went to the Eisen firm and discovered that the case was settled for $10,000.00 and a check for $5,697.60 was mailed to defendant on 4 March 1982. Upon returning to Mount Olive, they contacted the State Bureau of Investigation (“SBI”). \

On 27 September 1985, defendant contacted Edna and told her that he had the money and that she could come pick it up. Defendant was informed, however, that she had contacted the SBI.

On 28 September 1985, Edna and her parents went to defendant’s office where he tendered to each a check drawn on a BB&T account. Edna’s check was issued for $2,136.60 while her parents each received a check for $1,068.30.

The records of defendant’s BB&T account indicates that defendant transferred $4,300.00 from an account he had with Merrill Lynch to cover the checks written to Edna and her parents. The money in the Merrill Lynch account was the proceeds from a $36,406.00 deposit of a check into the account designated as the estate account of Vera Adams.

[506]*506Defendant’s evidence tended to show that he took the $1,500.00 cash from the Eisen check, put it into a folder along with other cash he had in his office and had held on to the money for three years.

By this appeal, defendant brings forth forty-seven Assignments of Error in which he challenges virtually every aspect of the trial. After a careful review of the record in the case at bar, we conclude that defendant received a fair trial free of prejudicial error. While we have considered all of defendant’s assignments of error, we find it unnecessary to address all forty-seven. We shall restrict our discussion to the legal questions we believe to be decisive.

By Assignment of Error number two, defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of his misapplication of funds of another client pursuant to G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 404(b). In particular, defendant contends that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of his handling of a wrongful death action for his client Evelyn M. Goodman in 1984. We disagree.

As a general rule, extrinsic evidence of another offense is inadmissible to show character or propensity of the defendant to commit the crime for which he is charged. State v. Searles, 304 N.C. 149, 282 S.E.2d 430 (1981). Such evidence is admissible, however, to show inter alia, motive, intent, opportunity, plan or identity. G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 404. See also State v. Allen, 92 N.C. App. 168, 374 S.E.2d 119 (1988), cert. denied, 324 N.C. 544, 380 S.E.2d 772 (1989). Where specific mental intent or state of mind is an essential element of the offense charged, evidence of similar acts are admissible to prove defendant’s intent or state of mind. State v. Hall, 85 N.C. App. 447, 355 S.E.2d 250 (1987). Here, the Goodman evidence was offered to prove defendant’s knowledge, intent and lack of mistake. We hold that it was properly admitted for those purposes.

By Assignment of Error number eight, defendant contends that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress and for sanctions. Defendant, in essence, contends that his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution were violated when the State obtained records from his B B & T bank account. We disagree.

Any person seeking the protection of the Fourth Amendment has the burden of establishing that his personal rights were violated by the State’s search and seizure of records. State v. Jones, 299 N.C. 298, 306, 261 S.E.2d 860, 865 (1980). The Fourth Amendment [507]*507only protects individuals having a reasonable expectation of privacy in the searched premises. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978); see also State v. Melvin, 86 N.C. App. 291, 357 S.E.2d 379 (1987).

Since defendant failed to establish that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy as to the bank records of Alma Howard and the estate account of Vera Adams and since G.S.

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Bluebook (online)
393 S.E.2d 590, 99 N.C. App. 502, 1990 N.C. App. LEXIS 539, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-whitted-ncctapp-1990.