Wooten v. State

931 S.W.2d 408, 325 Ark. 510, 1996 Ark. LEXIS 463
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 16, 1996
DocketCR 95-975
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 931 S.W.2d 408 (Wooten v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wooten v. State, 931 S.W.2d 408, 325 Ark. 510, 1996 Ark. LEXIS 463 (Ark. 1996).

Opinion

ANDREE LAYTON ROAF, Justice.

Appellant Jimmy Don Wooten was convicted of capital murder, criminal attempt to commit capital murder, and aggravated assault. Wooten was sentenced to death by lethal injection on the capital murder charge, thirty years’ imprisonment on the attempt-to-commit-capital-murder charge, and six years’ imprisonment on the aggravated-assault charge. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in (1) overruling his Batson objection during jury selection, (2) in allowing victim-impact evidence during the penalty phase of his trial, and (3) in failing to suppress identification testimony. We find no error and affirm.

On August 5, 1994, David LaSalle, Henry Teb Porter, and Molly Porter were hiking on a forest trail near the Long Pool recreation area in Pope County when they encountered appellant Jimmy Don Wooten. Wooten was riding a six-wheel all-terrain vehicle. At trial, Henry Porter testified that the group had three encounters with Wooten before he attacked them and shot David LaSalle. LaSalle died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head. Porter also testified that Wooten shot him in the shoulder, forearm, and face, and that he was able to remove the key from Wooten’s all-terrain vehicle before Wooten chased him into the woods. Molly Porter, Henry Porter’s daughter, testified that Wooten shot LaSalle and shot her father and chased after him.

On the day of the shooting, Wooten reported that an assailant who looked just like him had stolen his six-wheel vehicle while he was fishing near Long Pool and had shot at him using the .22-caliber pistol he had in the vehicle. Wooten claimed that he later found the vehicle with the gun abandoned by the side of the road near his truck. A .22-caliber bullet was recovered from David LaSalle’s body. It was determined that Wooten’s gun fired a spent .22-caliber cartridge found at the location where LaSalle and Porter were shot. In addition, swimming trunks found at Wooten’s home matched Henry and Molly Porter’s description of trunks worn by the assailant.

In a bifurcated proceeding, the jury found Wooten guilty of capital murder. During the penalty phase of his trial, the jury found one aggravating circumstance and concluded that it justified beyond a reasonable doubt a sentence of death.

1. Jury Selection

Wooten first argues that the trial court erred in allowing the state to remove the sole African-American from the jury panel by a peremptory strike when she was otherwise qualified and unbiased and not challenged for cause. In Prowell v. State, 324 Ark. 335, 921 S.W.2d 585 (1996), we recently set forth the standard to be applied in reviewing an objection based upon Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). We wrote:

The procedures to be followed when a Batson objection is raised are well established:
First, the defendant must make a prima facie case that racial discrimination is the basis of a juror challenge. In the event the defendant makes a prima facie case, the State has the burden of showing that the challenge was not based upon race. Only if the defendant makes a prima facie case and the State fails to give a racially neutral reason for the challenge is the court required to conduct a sensitive inquiry.
Mitchell v. State, 323 Ark. 116, 913 S.W.2d 264 (1996); Heard v. State, 322 Ark. 553, 910 S.W.2d 663 (1995). Further, this Court has stated that a prima facie case may be established by: (1) showing that the totality of the relevant facts gives rise to an inference of discriminatory purpose, (2) demonstrating total or seriously disproportionate exclusion of blacks from the jury, or (3) showing a pattern of strikes, questions, or statements by a prosecuting attorney during voir dire. Id. The standard of review for reversal of a trial court’s Batson ruling is whether the court’s findings are clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Id.

In the instant case, the State exercised a peremptory challenge to excuse Ms. Shirley Hadey. The prosecuting attorney stated that Ms. Hadey could not say that she would be able to sign the death-penalty form if the State proved its burden. Counsel for Wooten objected based upon Batson and stated for the record that Ms. Hadey was the sole African-American on the panel. Wooten’s counsel asserted that Ms. Hatley in fact stated that she could consider the death penalty. In response, the prosecuting attorney asserted that Ms. Hatley was the only juror who stated that she did not know whether she could sign the death-penalty form. The prosecuting attorney also noted for the record that Wooten and the officers involved in the case were all white, but he conceded that Wooten was not precluded from raising a Batson objection. See Powers v. Ohio, 449 U.S. 400 (1991) (defendant’s race is irrelevant to his standing to object to the discriminatory use of peremptory challenges).

In overruling Wooten’s Batson objection, the trial court concluded that Ms. Hatley was very hesitant in her responses to the state and that she never said that under the proper circumstances she could actually vote for the death penalty. The trial judge stated, “I don’t think there is a proper Batson situation here and I’ll allow them to use a peremptory challenge on Ms. Hatley.”

On appeal, Wooten contends that a prima facie case was established because the sole African-American was excused from the panel. See Mitchell v. State, 295 Ark. 341, 750 S.W.2d 936 (1988). Granted, we have stated that the prosecution’s use of a peremptory challenge to remove the only black prospective juror may establish a prima facie case. Cooper v. State, 324 Ark. 135, 919 S.W.2d 205 (1996); Mitchell v. State, 295 Ark. 341, 750 S.W.2d 936 (1988). However, as in Prowell v. State, supra, here the prosecutor volunteered an explanation for the challenge, and the trial court made no specific ruling on whether a prima facie case was made. In Prowell, this court recognized that once a prosecutor has offered a race-neutral explanation for the peremptory challenge and the trial court has ruled on the ultimate question of intentional discrimination, the preliminary issue of whether the defendant had made a prima facie showing becomes moot. See Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352 (1991).

Wooten also asserts that the State failed to provide a racially neutral reason for the challenge, and he contends that a white venireperson examined at the same time as Ms. Hatley and two others who were questioned after Ms. Hatley was excused gave answers similar to Hatley’s, but were not challenged. In support of his argument, Wooten cites Ford v. Norris, 67 F.3d 162 (8th. Cir.

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Bluebook (online)
931 S.W.2d 408, 325 Ark. 510, 1996 Ark. LEXIS 463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wooten-v-state-ark-1996.