State v. Youngblood

648 S.W.2d 182, 1983 Mo. App. LEXIS 3812
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 2, 1983
DocketNo. 12539
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 648 S.W.2d 182 (State v. Youngblood) 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. Youngblood, 648 S.W.2d 182, 1983 Mo. App. LEXIS 3812 (Mo. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

GREENE, Chief Judge.

Defendant, Donald Youngblood, was jury-tried and convicted of the crime of first degree robbery and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment by the trial court, in accordance with the jury verdict. This appeal followed.

Youngblood does not question the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction. It suffices to say that a review of the record conclusively shows that there was evidence submitted to the jury from which they could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that, on October 27,1980, Youngblood forcibly stole $12,676, the property of the Peoples Bank and Trust Company, by taking the money from the possession and custody of Clara F. Bailey, an employee of a branch of the bank at Hollister, Missouri, while Youngblood was displaying or threatening the immediate use of a dangerous instrument, which was a pistol, against Ms. Bailey if she did not comply with his demand that she give him the money. This evidence met all of the requirements for a conviction of the crime of robbery in the first degree. § 569.020.1

Youngblood’s first point is that the trial court committed prejudicial error by overruling his challenge for cause of prospective juror Jerry Coday. Youngblood contends that Coday was clearly biased and prejudiced in favor of the state “as evidenced by his stated belief that the mere arrest of the defendant and his presence in court constituted evidence of his guilt of the offense charged.” Coday did not serve on the jury, but Youngblood’s attorney was forced to use one of his peremptory challenges to remove him from the jury panel after the trial court denied his challenge for cause.

The pertinent portion of the voir dire examination of Coday, a question directed to the entire panel including Coday, and the trial court’s ruling on the issue are as follows:

“Mr. Anderson: Do you have any — I asked this generally of all the jurors, but do you have anything — any personal opinions or feeling that just because Don Youngblood is here today, he’s been arrested and he’s in Court, that that’s evidence he is guilty of a crime of bank robbery?
Mr. Coday: I figure where there’s smoke there’s fire.
Mr. Anderson: Would you elaborate on that? I mean, are you saying that that would — just the fact he is here would constitute evidence in your mind that he would be — at least some evidence he would be guilty of the offense?
Mr. Coday: Some, yes.
Mr. Anderson: And, if the judge tells you that that’s an improper assumption to make and that the fact that he is here and being tried and that’s no evidence for you to consider in this case, could you put that feeling aside? How strong a feeling is it to you personally?
Mr. Coday: I could probably put it aside.
Mr. Anderson: Do you understand that the law does give Don a presumption this moment that he is innocent of the charge?
Mr. Coday: Yes.
Mr. Anderson: Do you understand that?
Mr. Coday: Yes.
Mr. Anderson: Do you fault that presumption in any way as being an improper presumption the law gives him?
Mr. Coday: No.
Mr. Anderson: Now, just a summation and my last question: is there anyone here who feels that there’s anything which would be proper to consider as evidence in this case other than what is heard from this witness stand right here? Are you all going to accept what is heard [185]*185here on the witness stand as evidence in this case, and that’s going to be the basis of your verdict? Everyone willing to do that?
(No response.)
Mr. Anderson: That’s all.
The Court: Mr. Anderson, do you have any further requests for strikes for cause?
Mr. Anderson: We would additionally move to strike for cause juror number two, Jerry Coday. He stated the belief that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
The Court: Number two?
Mr. Anderson: Yes, we move to strike him for cause.
The Court: Do you have any objections?
Mr. Justus: Your Honor, when he was asked about that, he said he could put that all aside and listen to the evidence today. I don’t think he should be struck.
The Court: Request for strike for cause of Mr. Coday denied. He did say that he could — first of all, I believe, you asked him if he believed in the proposition of presumption of innocence, and he stated that he did and that he could go into it with an open, objective mind.”

The constitutional right to trial by an impartial jury includes the right of the defendant to have a full panel of qualified jurors prior to his being required to make peremptory challenges. The failure of the trial court to grant a legitimate challenge for cause is reversible error. State v. Reynolds, 619 S.W.2d 741, 749 (Mo.1981). However, the trial court has great discretion in determining whether a challenge for cause should be sustained or denied, and that ruling will not be disturbed on appeal unless it is clearly contrary to the evidence and constitutes a clear abuse of discretion. State v. Treadway, 558 S.W.2d 646, 649 (Mo. banc 1977), cert. den., 439 U.S. 838, 99 S.Ct. 124, 58 L.Ed.2d 135 (1977); State v. Reynolds, supra.

On review of the cold record, any doubt in the matter should be resolved in favor of the finding of the trial judge for he was in a far better position than we, having had the opportunity to view the parties, to determine the validity of the challenge for cause. State v. Pitchford, 556 S.W.2d 57, 60-61 (Mo.App.1977). Viewed in this light, we cannot say that the trial court clearly abused its discretion by failure to sustain the challenge.

While Coday did initially express the opinion that a person having been charged with a crime was at least some evidence of guilt, he further responded, after the presumption of innocence was explained by Youngblood’s attorney, that he did not find such presumption improper. When the panel was asked a general question by the defense counsel, Coday indicated, by not responding, that the only evidence to consider against Youngblood was what the jurors -heard from the witness stand as evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
648 S.W.2d 182, 1983 Mo. App. LEXIS 3812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-youngblood-moctapp-1983.