Syfrett v. State

435 S.E.2d 470, 210 Ga. App. 185, 93 Fulton County D. Rep. 3114, 1993 Ga. App. LEXIS 1073
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedAugust 20, 1993
DocketA93A1568
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 435 S.E.2d 470 (Syfrett v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Syfrett v. State, 435 S.E.2d 470, 210 Ga. App. 185, 93 Fulton County D. Rep. 3114, 1993 Ga. App. LEXIS 1073 (Ga. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

McMurray, Presiding Judge.

Defendant Syfrett appeals his conviction of aggravated battery. Held:

1. Defendant’s first five enumerations of error question the sufficiency of the evidence to authorize his conviction. Viewed in the light most favorable to upholding the judgment of the trial court, the evidence was that defendant and a companion (who was a co-defendant acquitted of a charge of aiding and abetting defendant in the commission of the aggravated battery) arrived uninvited at the victim’s house and began arguing with his guests. When the victim asked defendant and his companion to leave, defendant “slung a can of beer across the room . . .” and started “manhandling” the victim. The defendant began hitting the victim, who ended up on the floor with defendant holding him down and continuing to hit him. Defendant withdrew outside to his truck. The victim armed himself with an unloaded shotgun which he held by the barrel like a baseball bat. Defendant then took the shotgun away from the victim and began hitting him with it until he was unconscious. Physicians testified as to the multiple fractures the victim suffered and as to the lasting, disfiguring effect of the injuries.

Defendant relied on a defense of self-defense. The burden was on the State to prove that defendant did not act in self-defense. Shackleford v. State, 198 Ga. App. 768 (1) (403 SE2d 74). “A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or a third person against such other’s imminent use of unlawful force; however, a person is justified in using force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself. . . .” OCGA § 16-3-21 (a). The evidence presented in the case sub judice was sufficient to prove defendant did not act in self-defense and to authorize the jury to find defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the offense of aggravated battery. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d [186]*186560); Parham v. State, 204 Ga. App. 659 (420 SE2d 356).

2. There was no error in permitting a nine-year-old witness to the crime to testify without first determining whether she understood the nature of an oath. OCGA § 24-9-5 (b); Sizemore v. State, 262 Ga. 214, 217 (416 SE2d 500).

3. Next, defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence as to a statement made by defendant after he had been taken into custody but prior to any Miranda (v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (86 SC 1602, 16 LE2d 694)) warnings. The incident in question occurred when defendant was being transported from his attorney’s office, where he had surrendered himself into custody, to jail. The police detective who arrested defendant testified that he did not question or interrogate defendant concerning the alleged crime but asked his name, address, and similar things for booking information, and informed him of the charges against him. Defendant then proceeded to discuss the circumstances surrounding the offense at issue.

“[T]he necessity of administering Miranda warnings exists only when the individual is interrogated while in custody.” Ramos v. State, 198 Ga. App. 65, 66 (2) (400 SE2d 353). Miranda warnings are not a prerequisite to the admission of evidence concerning voluntary statements not made in response to any form of custodial questioning or interrogation. McClendon v. State, 201 Ga. App. 262, 264 (1b) (410 SE2d 760). “ ‘The term interrogation under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. The latter portion of this definition focuses primarily upon the perceptions of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police. This focus reflects the fact that the Miranda safeguards were designed to vest a suspect in custody with an added measure of protection against coercive police practices, without regard to objective proof of the underlying intent of the police. A practice that the police should know is reasonably likely to evoke an incriminating response from a suspect thus amounts to interrogation. But, since the police surely cannot be held accountable for the unforeseeable results of their words or actions, the definition of interrogation can extend only to words or actions on the part of police officers that they should have known were reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.’ (Citation and punctuation omitted. Emphasis in original.) Hibbert v. State, [195 Ga. App. 235, 236 (393 SE2d 96)].” Cottingham v. State, 206 Ga. App. 197, 200 (4) (424 SE2d 794). In the present case, it does not appear as a matter of law from the evidence that the detective knew or should have known that his interaction with defendant was reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from defendant. This was a question of fact to [187]*187be resolved by the trial court, and under the circumstances in this case, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s conclusion that no interrogation occurred. Turner v. State, 199 Ga. App. 836, 838 (3) (406 SE2d 512).

4. The trial court did not err in refusing to permit defendant to impeach the victim by showing his convictions for simple battery and three offenses of driving under the influence. “ ‘A witness may be impeached by showing conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude. (Cit.) The fact of conviction must be shown by record evidence and not by testimony. (Cit.)’ Johnson v. State, 144 Ga. App. 406 (1) (240 SE2d 919) (1977). ‘(E)ven competent proof of an offense not involving moral turpitude, or incompetent proof of an offense involving moral turpitude, such as a mere indictment or a charge or an arrest or a trial and acquittal, are not legal methods of impeachment. (Cits.)’ Whitley v. State, 188 Ga. 177, 179 (5) (3 SE2d 588) (1939). Accord Strickland v. State, 166 Ga. App. 702 (305 SE2d 434) (1983).

‘Our Supreme Court has declared that crimes involving moral turpitude are “restricted to the gravest offenses, consisting of felonies, infamous crimes, and those that are malum in se and disclose a depraved mind. (Cit.)” (Cits.)’ Seaboard &c. R. Co. v. West, 155 Ga. App. 391, 393 (271 SE2d 36) (1980). Accord Hall v. Hall, 261 Ga. 188 (402 SE2d 726) (1991) (holding that DUI is not such an offense). . . . [Also,] this court has previously held that such offenses as simple battery, see Jabaley v. Mitchell, 201 Ga. App. 477 (411 SE2d 545) (1991), and ‘fighting,’ see Curry v. State, 17 Ga. App. 312 (1) (86 SE 742) (1915), are not crimes involving moral turpitude.” Polk v. State, 202 Ga. App. 738, 739 (2) (415 SE2d 506).

5. Relying upon Chandler v. State, 261 Ga.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Nana Osei-Owusu v. State
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2012
Osei-Owusu v. State
735 S.E.2d 75 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2012)
Richards v. State
655 S.E.2d 690 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2007)
Ellis v. State
642 S.E.2d 869 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2007)
Keith v. State
632 S.E.2d 669 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2006)
Head v. State
569 S.E.2d 548 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2002)
Medina v. State
545 S.E.2d 366 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2001)
Turner v. State
526 S.E.2d 95 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1999)
Nealy v. State
522 S.E.2d 34 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1999)
Easterwood v. State
500 S.E.2d 413 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)
Anderson v. State
491 S.E.2d 893 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Young v. State
491 S.E.2d 404 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Franks v. State
486 S.E.2d 594 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1997)
Thomas v. State
487 S.E.2d 75 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Hollis v. State
484 S.E.2d 54 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Smith v. State
474 S.E.2d 272 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1996)
Edwards v. State
467 S.E.2d 379 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1996)
Saldona v. State
466 S.E.2d 655 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1996)
Jenkins v. State
465 S.E.2d 296 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1995)
Martin v. State
464 S.E.2d 872 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
435 S.E.2d 470, 210 Ga. App. 185, 93 Fulton County D. Rep. 3114, 1993 Ga. App. LEXIS 1073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/syfrett-v-state-gactapp-1993.