Walsh v. State

642 S.E.2d 879, 283 Ga. App. 817, 2007 Fulton County D. Rep. 642, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 203
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 1, 2007
DocketA06A2060
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 642 S.E.2d 879 (Walsh 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
Walsh v. State, 642 S.E.2d 879, 283 Ga. App. 817, 2007 Fulton County D. Rep. 642, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 203 (Ga. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Mikell, Judge.

A jury convicted Brian Walsh of first and second degree forgery in connection with his tender and possession of forged United States currency at a Savannah bar. On appeal, he contends that the evidence was insufficient and that the trial court erred when it admitted the indictment against him and his prior convictions into evidence. Walsh also argues that his trial counsel was ineffective. We find no reversible error and affirm.

“On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, with the defendant no longer enjoying a presumption of innocence.”1 We neither weigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses, but determine only whether the evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.2

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the record shows that Walsh ordered a drink at Wet Willie’s, a Savannah bar, and gave the bartender a $20 bill. Thinking that the apparently new bill did not “feel right,” the bartender gave it to the security guard, an off-duty police officer who had received training in counterfeit detection from the United States Secret Service in preparation for the 1996 Olympics. After the officer also concluded that the bill was counterfeit, he approached Walsh and asked to see his identification. As Walsh went through his wallet, the officer saw another bill inside it, asked to see the second bill, and noted that it had the same serial number as the bill Walsh had given the bartender. A third bill with an identical serial number was also found in the bar’s till.

Walsh identified himself as Bryan Lee, was arrested as such, and signed his first appearance form under that name. He was indicted under the name Brian Lee Walsh for first and second degree forgery (Counts 1 and 2), giving a false name to the officer at the bar. (Count 3), and first degree forgery in connection with his signature on the [818]*818first appearance form (Count 4). He pled not guilty and signed the indictment as “Bryan Walsh.”

Immediately after taking the stand in his own defense, Walsh produced a Georgia identification card, a social security card, and a South Carolina birth certificate, all of which showed that his name was Bryan Lee. All three pieces of evidence were admitted. The next day, the state tendered and the trial court signed and filed a nolle prosequi order concerning the third and fourth counts. The jury found Walsh guilty of the two remaining forgery counts, and Walsh was convicted and sentenced to ten years with seven to serve. His motion for new trial was denied.

1. Walsh first contends that the forged bills were admitted without a proper foundation and that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction.

Walsh was convicted of first and second degree forgery in connection with the bill passed to the bartender and the bill taken from his wallet. The bartender, the officer, and a detective testified as to the chain of custody of these two bills, and also testified that the bills had physical characteristics inconsistent with genuine United States currency. The jury was authorized to conclude on the basis of this evidence that the bills were not genuine and that Walsh tendered one and possessed another for the purpose of defrauding the bar. Thus the evidence was sufficient to sustain Walsh’s convictions for first and second degree forgery.3

2. The crux of this appeal is Walsh’s contentions that the trial court erred when it (a) admitted the indictment bearing Walsh’s signature into evidence; (b) allowed the state to impeach Walsh by means of a misdemeanor driving conviction; and (c) allowed the state to raise the matter of Walsh’s aggravated assault conviction on cross-examination. We disagree.

Admission of evidence rests in the trial court’s sound discretion, and evidence should be admitted if it is admissible for any legitimate purpose.4 Specifically,

evidence is not inadmissible simply because it might incidentally reflect on the defendant’s character. Any evidence establishing that a defendant has committed the crimes for which he is being tried will inevitably say something about his character. What is forbidden is the introduction by the [819]*819state in the first instance of evidence whose sole relevance to the crime charged is that it tends to show that the defendant has bad character.5

(a) After the state rested, Walsh moved for a directed verdict on the ground that the state had failed to prove that the person on trial was actually Brian Walsh. The trial court noted that the indictment, including Walsh’s signature on it, was not in evidence, and allowed the state to reopen its case in order to introduce the indictment bearing Walsh’s signature as evidence concerning the false name count. Walsh objected that since he was listed in the indictment as Brian Walsh and asked to sign the document as such, he had committed no crime when he had done so.

As the state pointed out at trial, “[ejither [Walsh] signed a false name when he signed [the indictment] or he signed a false name when he signed [the first appearance form].” But only one of these acts — the latter — was charged as a crime in the indictment. The third count alleged that Walsh gave the false name Bryan Lee at the bar, and the fourth that he signed this same name at his arraignment. Walsh’s signature on the indictment — “Bryan Walsh” — was relevant to both of these crimes and could show that “Bryan Lee” was a false name.

Moreover, immediately after the filing of the nolle prosequi order, the trial court ruled that the first appearance form and the indictment should be withdrawn as exhibits, and that the indictment should go to the jury only as a “charging document.” Walsh did not object. The trial court later instructed the jury that they “should not consider the indictment as evidence or implication of guilt.” Because Walsh did not object to the trial court’s disposition of this issue, because the indictment was withdrawn as evidence before the giving of the instruction, and because that instruction stated the applicable law accurately, Walsh’s argument lacks merit.6

(b) After Walsh presented a Georgia identification card under the name Bryan Christopher Lee, the state asked in the course of its cross-examination whether Walsh had “a Georgia driver’s license in the name of Brian Lee Walsh.” When Walsh replied that he did not, the state proffered a Georgia driving record under that name. When Walsh then denied that he had ever had a Georgia driver’s license or [820]*820been convicted of driving under a suspended license, the state proffered convictions for DUI, driving on a suspended Georgia license, and open container violation. The trial court overruled Walsh’s objections, denied his motion for mistrial, and admitted copies of the relevant documents. When the trial court filed the nolle prosequi order concerning the false name charges, Walsh renewed his objections to the introduction of all these documents. After hearing argument on this issue, the trial court confirmed its earlier admission of the DUI and suspended license convictions for purposes of impeachment. On appeal, Walsh not only renews his earlier objections, but adds that the documents’ admission rendered his trial fundamentally unfair.

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LOVELESS v. the STATE.
812 S.E.2d 42 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2018)
Arnold v. State
699 S.E.2d 77 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
642 S.E.2d 879, 283 Ga. App. 817, 2007 Fulton County D. Rep. 642, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 203, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walsh-v-state-gactapp-2007.