Stroud v. State

1952 OK CR 16, 240 P.2d 1125, 95 Okla. Crim. 113, 1952 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 343
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 6, 1952
DocketNo. A-11585
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1952 OK CR 16 (Stroud v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stroud v. State, 1952 OK CR 16, 240 P.2d 1125, 95 Okla. Crim. 113, 1952 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 343 (Okla. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

JONES, J.

The defendant, James D. Stroud, was charged by an information filed in the district court of Oklahoma county with the crime of robbery by force and fear after former conviction of a felony; was convicted of robbery by force and fear, with the punishment left to the discretion of the court. After motion for new trial was overruled, the defendant was sentenced to serve a term of seven years imprisonment in the State Penitentiary, and has appealed.

Leon Pitts testified that shortly before dark on August 19, 1950, he went to a pool hall operated by one Rubber York to purchase some snuff; that when he entered the establishment he noticed defendant sitting inside the hall. Pitts purchased the snuff and also a bottle of pop. He had six one dollar bills in his pocket and he pulled out the bills and handed one of them to the proprietor to pay for the purchases. He took the change, together with the five one dollar bills, and placed them in his pocket. Shortly after leaving the pool hall and while walking down a railroad track about 60 yards from the pool hall Pitts was struck on the head by defendant and his money was taken. Besides Pitts, James B. York, owner of the. pool hall, and Fred Wilson, testified concerning the robbery. York was the proprieter of the pool hall and Wilson was inside of the pool hall at the time Pitts entered and made his purchases. They testified that immediately after Pitts left the pool hall Stroud got up and walked out behind him. Wilson left shortly afterwards and saw Stroud catch up with Pitts and strike him. He called for York and York ran out of the pool hall and saw both parties on the ground. They then saw Stroud get up and cut across to Fourth street and start up Fourth street. Pitts also got up and left.

The officers were notified of the robbery by Pitts after he had arrived home. They testified as to the bruised and swollen place on the head of Pitts where he had been struck by some blunt object. They also testified that later that night they arrested Stroud and he had one dollar in change and some keys on his person.

The defendant did not testify, but he introduced evidence that he was at another place at about the time the robbery is alleged to have occurred. The sister of the defendant testified that on the morning of -the day defendant was arrested 'for this offense she gave defendant five one dollar bills. She testified that at the time of the alleged robbery defendant was at her home staying with her little boy while she went to the grocery store; that defendant left her place between 9 :00 and 9 :30 p. m.

The first assignment of error is that the state erred in introducing evidence of the bad reputation of defendant when the defendant had not placed his reputation in issue by offering evidence of his good reputation. This assignment of error is directed at the testimony of Cliff Myers, court clerk of Oklahoma county. Myers identified the information, the verdict of the jury, the judgment and sentence, and the receipt of the warden of the state penitentiary in case No. 8089, State of Oklahoma v. James D. Stroud; case No. 9322, State of Oklahoma v. James H. Stroud; and case No. 12310, State of Oklahoma v. James D. Stroud. These three cases were cases where one James D. Stroud had been convicted in the district court of Oklahoma county. In case No. 9322 the defendant was referred to therein by the name James D. Stroud and also as Jimmy Stroud. After these various exhibits had been identified by the court clerk, they were admitted in evidence over objection of counsel for defendant.

E. E. Jones, policeman, then testified for the state that the James D. Stroud who was convicted in the three eases mentioned by the court clerk was the same [115]*115Tames D. Stroud who was on trial. On cross-examination it was brought out that his identification of defendant was based upon the fact that the witness had seen the records in the police department of the former convictions and had seen the defendant’s picture in the records, but he admitted that he was not present at the time the eases were tried and did not personally know anything about the trial and did not transport the defendant to the penitentiary. The court thereupon sustained the objection of counsel for defendant to the admission of all the evidence pertaining to the former convictions, and at the time stated to the jury:

“There has been some evidence here that there was a James Stroud convicted of other crimes, but there has been no identification that he was the same person. You will be instructed, Gentlemen of the Jury, to disregard any evidence about these former convictions, wholly and entirely.”

The court not only gave the jury the above admonishment at the time he sustained the objection of counsel to the introduction of such evidence, but in instruction No. 4 he further instructed the jury as follows:

“You are instructed that while the defendant is charged with Robbery By Force and Fear After Former Conviction of a Felony, the State has wholly failed to prove by any competent evidence that the defendant has heretofore been convicted of a felony and you will, therefore, not consider this part of the charge for any purpose, and you will not consider for any purpose any of the testimony introduced by the State concerning any alleged former conviction of the defendant, as the defendant, in all criminal cases, is presumed to be not guilty of the crime charged, and before the State can rely upon a former conviction that fact must be proven by competent material evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt; and, as already heretofore instructed, this, the State has wholly failed to do, and such testimony cannot be considered by you for any purpose.”

We hare repeatedly condemned attempts by the prosecution to get before the jury evidence which was inadmissible, especially in regard to former convictions of the accused where the same has not been plead in the indictment or information, and the defendant has not been offered as a witness in his own behalf. Kirk v. State, 11 Okla. Cr. 203, 145 P. 307; Pressley et al. v. State, 71 Okla. Cr. 436, 112 P. 2d 809; Love v. State, 84 Okla. Cr. 385, 182 P. 2d 793. In all of these cases it is emphasized that the bad character of the defendant may not be shown until after the defendant puts his character in issue.

We do not think the facts of the instant case come within the rulings of any of the above cases. Here the defendant was charged in the information with having committed the crime of robbery after former convictions in three felony cases which were specifically named in the information. The prosecution followed the suggestions which this court has advanced in many cases as a proper way to introduce evidence as to the former convictions. Spann v. State, 69 Okla. Cr. 369, 103 P. 2d 389; Pitzer v. State, 69 Okla. Cr. 363, 103 P. 2d 109; Lee v. State, 67 Okla. Cr. 283, 94 P. 2d 5; Carr v. State, 91 Okla. Cr. 94, 216 P. 2d 333, certiorari denied, 340 U. S. 840, 71 S. Ct. 28, 95 L. Ed. 616.

The county attorney was evidently relying in good faith upon the statement of the police officer that he knew the defendant was the person who had been convicted in the other three cases. The trial court acted upon the assumption that the evidence pertaining to the former convictions was insufficient to justify submitting the evidence upon such issue to the jury.

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Related

Handley v. State
1966 OK CR 163 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1966)
Igo v. State
267 P.2d 1082 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1952 OK CR 16, 240 P.2d 1125, 95 Okla. Crim. 113, 1952 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 343, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stroud-v-state-oklacrimapp-1952.