Williams v. State

55 So. 3d 366, 2010 WL 2148533
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided May 28, 2010·No. CR-08-2016·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 368

Maxine Williams was convicted of one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, see § 13A-12-212, Ala. Code 1975, and one count of chemical endangerment of a child, see § 26-15-3.2, Ala. Code 1975. The trial court sentenced Williams, as a habitual offender, to concurrent terms of 15 years' imprisonment on each count. Williams filed a motion for a *Page 369 new trial, which the trial court denied. This appeal followed.

On January 31, 2008, Officer Jason Adkins of the City of Dothan Police Department, accompanied by other officers of the Dothan Police Department, obtained and executed a search warrant at 626 Chickasaw Street because a confidential informant, who had been at the residence earlier that day, had informed Officer Adkins that drugs were being sold from the house and that guns were being kept there.

As the officers approached the house, they saw two African-American males standing near the rear of the house. Officer Adkins and another officer moved toward the side door of the house, and two other officers headed in the direction of the men in the backyard, who fled. Officers apprehended one of the men, who was later identified as Anthony Hamilton. During a search of Hamilton, the police found what appeared to be a crack pipe containing cocaine residue.

While the other officers pursued Hamilton and the other male, Officer Adkins knocked on the door and announced his presence. Approximately 15 seconds after he knocked and heard movement inside the house, Officer Adkins broke through the door. Williams, two other adult women, a 10-year-old girl, and an infant were in the living room when the officers entered. After securing everyone, the officers searched the house.

In the rear bedroom of the house, Officer Adkins found Williams's purse near the nightstand. He also noticed women's clothing lying about the room and photographs of Williams posted on the mirror. During his search of the rear bedroom, Officer Adkins found hidden between the mattress and the box springs a DVD case containing two pieces of crack cocaine.1

In the kitchen, Officer Adkins discovered a prescription bottle with Williams's name on it that contained more crack cocaine. Outside the back door, which led from the kitchen to the backyard, officers found another DVD case on a table and another on the ground near where the two males had been when the officers first approached. The case on the table contained crack cocaine.

In addition to the drug evidence in the bedroom and in Williams's prescription bottle, Officer Adkins found a loaded shotgun under a window near the backdoor. On the window sill above the shotgun, Officer Adkins found an off-white powdered substance lodged between the window sill and the wall. Officer Adkins also found more off-white powdered substance inside a cabinet in the kitchen, wedged between the cabinet and the wall. Finally, the officers found a second shotgun inside the house as well as additional pills around the house.

Although the physical evidence at the residence indicated that Williams had some connection to it and Officer Adkins testified that he knew that Williams lived there, she denied that she lived there when she spoke with Officer Adkins. Officer Adkins testified that the utilities for the house were registered in the name of Maggie Johnson. However, neither of the two women with Williams were identified as Maggie Johnson, and there was no evidence indicating that Johnson actually lived there. Williams did not testify.

I.
Williams first argues that the trial court erred in denying herBatson2 motion because *Page 370 she contends that she made a prima facie case of racial discrimination based on the State's striking all but two of the African-American veniremembers from the jury. Specifically, she claims error because the State struck potential juror no. 133, R.N.J., an African-American female, who, Williams argued, had not provided any negative responses to the prosecutor's questioning during voir dire. Williams maintains that she established a prima facie case of discrimination and that the trial court erred in not requiring the State to articulate race-neutral reasons for its strikes.

During jury selection, the defense made a Batson motion after the State struck R.N.J. Specifically, the following exchange occurred:

"[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Ms. Maxine Williams is a black female. She is part of the minority. Juror Number 133 is also a minority class. The State struck her as their last strike. I am not aware of any negative response with the State in reference to Juror Number 133, so I will ask that they be ordered to give a race-neutral reason for striking.

"THE COURT: It is the State's last strike?

"[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Yes, Your Honor.

"THE COURT: How many black jurors are on the actual jury panel?

"[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Two. Well, three counting her.

"THE COURT: I'm going to find that the Defense has failed to make a prima facie case of a Batson violation. So I will not require the State to give any reasons for the strike of this particular juror."

(R. 18.)

Initially, we note that Williams failed to provide a complete record on appeal. The record indicates that the jury venire was composed of 36 persons. One person failed to report for jury duty, leaving 35 in the jury venire. The State had 12 peremptory strikes; Williams had 11 peremptory strikes. (C. 36.) Although the jury strike list is a part of the record and the trial court stated for the record the names of the jurors who were empaneled, the record does not include a transcription of the voir dire of the venire by the State and Williams or of the actual striking of the jury. The record, however, does show that two African-Americans remained on the jury. Regardless, nothing in the record indicates the actual race of any of the other prospective jurors. As we stated in Johnson v. State,823 So.2d 1 (Ala.Crim.App. 2001):

"Initially, we note that the record does not contain any documents that show the race of the prospective jurors on the venire or of the members of the jury itself. The jury strike list is not in the record, nor is the striking of the jury included in the trial transcript. . . . Other than defense counsel's assertions in support of the Batson motion, there is simply no evidence in the record of the race of prospective jurors on the venire, of which prospective jurors were struck by the State and which were struck by the defense, or even of the identity or race of the jurors who ultimately sat on Johnson's jury. `It is the appellant's duty to provide this Court with a complete record on appeal.' Knight v. State, 621 So.2d 394, 395 (Ala.Crim.App. 1993). `"Where the record is silent on appeal, it will be presumed that what ought to have been done was not only done, but rightly done."' Owens v. State, 597 So.2d 734, 736 (Ala.Crim.App. 1992), quoting Jolly v. State, 405 So.2d 76, 77 (Ala.Crim.App. 1981). `This court will not presume error from a silent record.' Frazier v. State,

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

Williams v. State, 55 So. 3d 366, 2010 WL 2148533 (Ala. Ct. App. 2010).

55 So. 3d 366 (Williams v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Richard Daron Kennedy v. State of Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2026
Carroll v. State
215 So. 3d 1135 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2015)
Harper v. State
189 So. 3d 1 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2015)
Wimbley v. State
191 So. 3d 176 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2014)
Scheuing v. State
161 So. 3d 245 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
Hosch v. State
155 So. 3d 1048 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
Lockhart v. State
163 So. 3d 1088 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
Riley v. State
166 So. 3d 705 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
Bennison v. State
155 So. 3d 1031 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2013)
Floyd v. State
190 So. 3d 987 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2012)
Thompson v. State
153 So. 3d 84 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2012)
Coleman v. State
93 So. 3d 145 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2011)
Knight v. State
92 So. 3d 717 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2011)
Wilson v. State
142 So. 3d 732 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2010)