Case Title: State v. Doolin

Citation: 444 P.2d 541

Docket Number: 

State: oregon

Court: Oregon Supreme Court

Date: 1968-08-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
444 P.2d 541 (1968)
STATE of Oregon, Respondent,
v.
Albert DOOLIN, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Oregon, Department 1.
Argued and Submitted July 11, 1968.
Decided August 23, 1968.
Oscar D. Howlett, Portland, argued the cause and filed a brief for appellant.
Jacob B. Tanzer, Asst. Chief Deputy Dist. Atty., Portland, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was George Van Hoomissen, Dist. Atty., Portland.
Before McALLISTER, P.J., and O'CONNELL and DENECKE, JJ.
McALLISTER, Justice.
The defendant, Albert Doolin, was convicted in Multnomah county of armed robbery of a grocery store and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appeals and assigns as error only the denial of his motion for a mistrial.
The state called several witnesses who identified defendant as one of the two robbers. Defendant testified that he spent the evening of the robbery in a tavern with friends and called several witnesses to corroborate his alibi. During the closing argument by the district attorney the following occurred:
The court denied the motion for mistrial and gave the following cautionary instruction:
We find nothing prejudicial in the brief reference by the district attorney to the rule that a party calling a witness vouches for his credibility. For a recognition of that rule and of its criticism by Wigmore, see Arthur v. Parish, 150 Or. 582, 589, 47 P.2d 682 (1935); 3 Wigmore, Evidence (3d ed.) 383, § 896 et seq.
*542 In view of the prompt interruption by defense counsel, we need not speculate as to whether further comment by the district attorney concerning the credibility of the witnesses might have been prejudicial. It is sufficient to say that under the circumstances of this case, the court properly denied the motion for mistrial. State v. Nichols, 236 Or. 521, 538, 388 P.2d 739 (1964).
The judgment is affirmed.