Case Title: Ex parte Jason Michael Sharp. PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS (In re: Jason Michael Sharp v. State of Alabama)

Citation: 

Docket Number: 1080959

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 2009-12-04T00:00:00Z

Document:
REL: 12/04/2009 
Notice: T h i s 
o p i n i o n i s s u b j e c t t o f o r m a l 
r e v i s i o n b e f o r e 
p u b l i c a t i o n i n 
t h e 
advance 
s h e e t s o f 
Southern Reporter. 
R e a d e r s a r e 
r e q u e s t e d t o n o t i f y t h e 
Reporter of 
Decisions, 
Alabama A p p e l l a t e C o u r t s , 300 D e x t e r Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229¬
0 6 4 9 ) , o f 
any 
t y p o g r a p h i c a l o r o t h e r e r r o r s , i n 
o r d e r t h a t c o r r e c t i o n s may 
be 
made b e f o r e 
t h e o p i n i o n i s 
p r i n t e d i n 
Southern Reporter. 
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA 
OCTOBER TERM, 2009-2010 
1080959 
Ex p a r t e Jason M i c h a e l Sharp 
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI 
TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS 
( I n r e : 
Jason M i c h a e l Sharp 
v. 
S t a t e o f Alabama) 
(Madison C i r c u i t Court, CC-99-2473; 
Court o f C r i m i n a l Appeals, CR-05-2371) 
STUART, 
J u s t i c e . 
J a s o n M i c h a e l S h a r p was c o n v i c t e d o f 
m u r d e r made 
c a p i t a l 
b e c a u s e i t 
was c o m m i t t e d d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f a r a p e o r 
an 
1080959 
a t t e m p t e d r a p e , see § 1 3 A - 5 - 4 0 ( a ) ( 3 ) , A l a . Code 1975. 
A f t e r 
a s e n t e n c i n g h e a r i n g , t h e j u r y recommended, b y a v o t e o f 
11-1, 
t h a t 
S h a r p be 
s e n t e n c e d 
t o d e a t h . 
The 
t r i a l 
c o u r t t o o k 
t h e 
j u r y ' s 
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n 
and 
s e n t e n c e d 
S h a r p 
t o d e a t h . 
The 
C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
a f f i r m e d 
S h a r p ' s 
c o n v i c t i o n 
and 
s e n t e n c e . 
S h a r p v. S t a t e , 
[Ms. CR-05-2371, Aug. 29, 2008] 
So. 3 d ___ 
( A l a . C r i m . App. 
2 0 0 8 ) . 
T h i s 
C o u r t 
g r a n t e d 
S h a r p ' s 
p e t i t i o n 
f o r 
a 
w r i t 
o f 
c e r t i o r a r i t o r e v i e w two i s s u e s : w h e t h e r p l a i n e r r o r o c c u r r e d 
i n t h e a d m i s s i o n o f t h e t e s t i m o n y o f t h e e m e r g e n c y - r o o m n u r s e 
who 
e x a m i n e d t h e v i c t i m and w h e t h e r p l a i n e r r o r o c c u r r e d i n 
2 
1080959 
t h e 
S t a t e ' s 
e x e r c i s e 
o f 
i t s p e r e m p t o r y 
c h a l l e n g e s .
1 
We 
r e v e r s e and remand. 
The 
f a c t s o f t h e o f f e n s e a r e a d e q u a t e l y s t a t e d i n 
d e t a i l 
i n 
t h e 
C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s ' o p i n i o n and 
w i l l 
n o t 
be 
r e p e a t e d h e r e . 
See S h a r p v. S t a t e , 
So. 3d a t 
. 
" P l a i n 
e r r o r i s 
" ' e r r o r t h a t i s so o b v i o u s t h a t t h e 
f a i l u r e 
t o 
n o t i c e 
i t w o u l d 
s e r i o u s l y 
a f f e c t 
t h e 
1 N e i t h e r o f t h e s e c l a i m s was p r e s e n t e d t o t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
o r 
t o t h e C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s ; h o w e v e r , R u l e 3 9 ( a ) ( 2 ) , 
A l a . 
R. App. 
P., 
p r o v i d e s : 
" ( 2 ) 
D e a t h - p e n a l t y 
c a s e s . 
When t h e 
C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
has 
a f f i r m e d 
a s e n t e n c e 
i m p o s i n g 
t h e 
d e a t h 
p e n a l t y , 
c o u n s e l 
who 
r e p r e s e n t e d 
t h e 
a p p e l l a n t on a p p e a l t o t h e C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
o r 
s u c c e s s o r c o u n s e l 
s h a l l p r e p a r e and 
f i l e 
i n t h e 
Supreme C o u r t 
a p e t i t i o n 
f o r a w r i t 
o f 
c e r t i o r a r i 
f o r 
r e v i e w o f t h e d e c i s i o n o f t h e C o u r t o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s . 
T h a t 
p e t i t i o n 
s h a l l 
be 
g o v e r n e d 
by 
t h i s 
r u l e , e x c e p t 
t h a t : 
"(A) 
I n 
a d d i t i o n 
t o 
t h e 
b a s e s 
f o r 
c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f p e t i t i o n s f o r t h e w r i t o f 
c e r t i o r a r i 
l i s t e d 
i n s u b s e c t i o n ( a ) ( 1 ) o f 
t h i s 
r u l e , 
a 
p e t i t i o n 
f o r 
a 
w r i t 
o f 
c e r t i o r a r i 
w i l l 
a l s o be c o n s i d e r e d f r o m 
a 
d e c i s i o n 
f a i l i n g 
t o 
r e c o g n i z e 
p r e j u d i c i a l 
any 
p l a i n 
e r r o r 
o r d e f e c t 
t h e p r o c e e d i n g u n d e r r e v i e w w h e t h e r o r n o t 
t h e e r r o r was 
b r o u g h t 
t o t h e a t t e n t i o n 
o f 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t o r t h e C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s . " 
as 
i n 
3 
1080959 
f a i r n e s s 
o r 
i n t e g r i t y 
o f 
t h e 
j u d i c i a l 
p r o c e e d i n g s . 
Ex p a r t e 
T a y l o r , 666 So. 2d 
73 
( A l a . 1 9 9 5 ) . The p l a i n 
e r r o r 
s t a n d a r d 
a p p l i e s o n l y where a p a r t i c u l a r l y 
e g r e g i o u s 
e r r o r o c c u r r e d a t t r i a l and t h a t e r r o r h a s 
o r 
p r o b a b l y 
h a s 
s u b s t a n t i a l l y 
p r e j u d i c e d 
t h e d e f e n d a n t . 
T a y l o r . ' 
"Ex 
p a r t e 
T r a w i c k , 
698 So. 2d 
[162,] 
167 
[ ( A l a . 
19 9 
7 ) ] . " 
Ex p a r t e W a l k e r , 972 So. 2d 737, 742 ( A l a . 2 0 0 7 ) . 
F i r s t , 
S h a r p c o n t e n d s t h a t p l a i n e r r o r o c c u r r e d when t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t a d m i t t e d 
o p i n i o n t e s t i m o n y o f a l a y 
w i t n e s s . 
He 
f u r t h e r 
a r g u e s 
t h a t 
p l a i n 
e r r o r 
o c c u r r e d 
when 
t h e 
S t a t e 
r e f e r e n c e d 
t h a t 
t e s t i m o n y 
i n i t s o p e n i n g 
and 
c l o s i n g 
a r g u m e n t s . 
The 
r e c o r d e s t a b l i s h e s t h a t d u r i n g 
i t s o p e n i n g a r g u m e n t 
t h e 
S t a t e 
a r g u e d : 
" I n 
t h e 
m e a n t i m e 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] 
i s 
b e i n g 
t r a n s p o r t e d t o H u n t s v i l l e H o s p i t a l . 
When she g e t s 
t o t h e ER [ e m e r g e n c y r o o m ] , she i s a d m i n i s t e r e d b y 
a t r a u m a n u r s e a t t h e ER b y t h e name o f K i m H e l l u m s . 
And K i m H e l l u m s d e s c r i b e s -- when [ t h e 
v i c t i m ] came 
i n 
she 
a s s e s s e d 
h e r 
s i t u a t i o n 
a n d b a s e d 
on h e r 
e x p e r i e n c e 
as 
an 
ER 
n u r s e 
she 
s u r m i s e d , 
she 
d e t e r m i n e d t h a t she was d e a l i n g w i t h t h e v i c t i m o f 
a s e x u a l a s s a u l t . 
She b e g a n h e r j o b t h e r e i n t h e ER 
t o 
t r y t o 
s a v e 
[ t h e v i c t i m ' s ] 
l i f e . 
P o l i c e 
o f f i c e r s 
h a d a r r i v e d on t h e s c e n e as w e l l . 
And 
d u r i n g 
h e r work 
w i t h 
[ t h e v i c t i m ] i n t h e ER she 
b e g a n 
t o 
r e a l i z e 
t h a t 
she knows 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] . 
T h e y ' r e b o t h n u r s e s , 
t h e y ' v e w o r k e d t o g e t h e r , 
t h e y 
know e a c h o t h e r , t h e y ' r e a c q u a i n t e d 
w i t h e a c h 
o t h e r , 
4 
1080959 
b u t 
she 
s a y s 
t h a t 
she 
d i d n ' t 
e v e n 
r e c o g n i z e 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] b e c a u s e o f 
a l l t h e 
b l o o d 
and 
t h e 
c o n d i t i o n 
o f h e r 
f a c e , t h e 
s w e l l i n g . 
"She 
s e e s what she d e s c r i b e s as a semen smear on 
t h e 
i n n e r 
t h i g h 
o f 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] 
as 
she 
i s i n 
t h e 
h o s p i t a l . 
She 
p o i n t s 
i t o u t 
t o 
t h e 
i n v e s t i g a t o r . 
She 
t a k e s 
a 
s t e r i l e 
g a u z e 
and 
she 
c o l l e c t s 
t h a t 
semen smear t h a t i s p r e s e r v e d , 
h a n d e d t o t h e 
p o l i c e 
o f f i c e r 
t h a t ' s 
i n 
t h e 
room, 
and 
t h a t 
p i e c e 
o f 
e v i d e n c e c o n t i n u e s 
on w i t h us 
t o d a y . " 
D u r i n g 
t h e 
t r i a l , 
t h e 
S t a t e 
c a l l e d 
K i m 
H e l l u m s , 
t h e 
e m e r g e n c y - r o o m n u r s e , 
t o 
t e s t i f y 
as 
t o what h a p p e n e d i n 
t h e 
e m e r g e n c y room when t h e v i c t i m was 
b r o u g h t 
i n . 
H e l l u m s 
was 
one 
o f t h e 
f i r s t w i t n e s s e s 
t o t e s t i f y . 
The 
f o l l o w i n g 
o c c u r r e d 
d u r i n g 
t h e 
S t a t e ' s 
d i r e c t e x a m i n a t i o n o f 
H e l l u m s : 
" [ S t a t e ] : 
L e t 
me 
a s k 
y o u 
t h i s , 
Ms. 
H e l l u m s . 
Were you 
w o r k i n g on 
o r a b o u t J a n u a r y 2, 
1999, 
when 
[ t h e v i c t i m ] was 
t r a n s p o r t e d 
t o t h e e m e r g e n c y room? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
Y e s . 
" [ S t a t e ] : And were you w o r k i n g as a n u r s e i n t h e 
e m e r g e n c y room when she 
was 
t r a n s p o r t e d ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
Y e s . 
" [ S t a t e ] : 
I f you 
w o u l d 
t e l l 
t h e 
f o l k s on 
t h i s 
j u r y 
what 
you 
r e c a l l 
a b o u t 
y o u r 
s h i f t 
and 
s p e c i f i c a l l y when 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] 
was 
t r a n s p o r t e d 
t o 
t h e h o s p i t a l . 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
I remember t h e y i n f o r m e d us t h a t 
we 
had 
a t r a u m a c o m i n g i n , i t was 
a s t a b b i n g . 
And when 
she 
a r r i v e d t h e y p l a c e d 
h e r 
o v e r on 
t h e 
bed 
and 
we 
s t a r t e d an a s s e s s m e n t , w h i c h i s p r o t o c o l f o r 
u s . 
5 
1080959 
" [ S t a t e ] : I f 
y o u w o u l d j u s t d e s c r i b e t o us what 
an a s s e s s m e n t i s . 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : When I s a y r a p i d a s s e s s m e n t , i t ' s 
a 
r a p i d 
h e a d t o t o e a s s e s s m e n t 
o f t h e p a t i e n t a n d 
t h e y ' r e 
a s s e s s i n g 
t h e i r 
i n j u r i e s , 
t h e i r 
l e v e l o f 
c o n s c i o u s n e s s , 
t h e i r wounds, t h e i r 
v i t a l 
s i g n s . 
So 
i n t h e f i r s t t h r e e m i n u t e s I have t o go h e a d t o 
t o e 
on a p a t i e n t , a s s e s s 
t h e i r a i r w a y s , s e e i f 
t h e y a r e 
b r e a t h i n g , s e e i f 
we n e e d t o s e t 
u p t o b r e a t h e f o r 
them, p u t a t u b e down, have two I V ' s p l a c e d i n 
t h e 
p a t i e n t , a n d 
I a s s e s s p e r i n e a l a r e a a n d 
go a h e a d a n d 
i n s e r t a F o l e y c a t h e t e r t o o b t a i n a u r i n e 
s p e c i m e n 
a l s o , a n d I o b t a i n l a b s , b a s i c a l l y g e t them s e t 
u p 
f o r 
s u r g e r y i f 
t h e y n e e d t o go t o s u r g e r y . 
"When t h i s p a t i e n t was b r o u g h t i n 
she 
was p l a c e d 
o v e r on t h e 
b e d . T h e y p l a c e d h e r 
on t h e 
b e d a n d 
she 
s t i l l h a d f o r e i g n o b j e c t s a t t a c h e d t o h e r a n d t h o s e 
were 
l e f t i n p l a c e 
i n i t i a l l y j u s t t o l o o k a t h e r 
h e a d . 
She h a d so much s w e l l i n g a b o u t h e r f a c e 
t h a t 
she was u n r e c o g n i z a b l e t o me, a l o t 
o f s w e l l i n g t o 
h e r o r b i t s , ones t h a t y o u t y p i c a l l y s e e on a s s a u l t s . 
" [ S t a t e ] : What a r e 
y o u t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e o r b i t s ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
Her e y e s 
were 
s w o l l e n 
a n d y o u 
u s u a l l y 
s e e - - 
we 
s e e 
t h e s e 
i n j u r i e s 
a f t e r 
somebody's been 
r e p e a t e d l y 
p o u n d e d . 
You w o u l d n ' t 
g e t t h e s w e l l i n g f r o m one b l o w . 
T h e r e was a l o t o f 
s o f t t i s s u e i n j u r y a b o u t t h e 
f a c e , s i n u s a r e a , 
e y e s . 
I d o n ' t r e c a l l w h e t h e r h e r p u p i l s were e q u a l a t t h i s 
p o i n t b e c a u s e t h e r e was so much s w e l l i n g I c o u l d n ' t 
g e t h e r e y e s 
open. 
C h e c k i n g 
h e r a i r w a y s , 
s e e 
i f 
t h e r e was b l o o d i n i t . She h a d a l o t 
o f d r i e d b l o o d 
on h e r . 
L i k e I s a i d I d i d n ' t r e c o g n i z e h e r . 
" G o i n g down h e r body 
I n o t i c e d 
t h a t s h e h a d 
s i l v e r 
d u c t 
t a p e , 
s i l v e r 
t a p e 
w h i c h I w o u l d 
c a l l 
d u c t t a p e , 
s t i l l 
a t t a c h e d t o h e r r i g h t h a n d . 
A n d on 
t h e 
l e f t 
t h e r e was p i e c e s o f i t . 
6 
1080959 
" A s s e s s i n g h e r c h e s t t h e y were s a y i n g t h a t t h e y 
t h o u g h t 
she h a d b e e n - - 
t h e y 
knew she h a d b e e n 
s t a b b e d 
w i t h 
s o m e t h i n g 
and I was 
l o o k i n g a t t h e 
e n t r a n c e wounds and d e s c r i b i n g them t o t h e p e r s o n 
[who] was 
w r i t i n g . 
"As I moved down I l i s t e n e d t o h e r b r e a t h s o u n d s 
and as I moved down t o a b d o m i n a l a r e a , I was n o t i n g 
w h e t h e r she h a d any s w e l l i n g , any b r u i s i n g 
t h e r e . 
"And when I g o t t o h e r p e r i n e a l a r e a I s t o p p e d . 
" [ S t a t e ] : I'm s o r r y , I d o n ' t mean t o i n t e r r u p t 
y o u , Ms. H e l l u m s . 
B u t what a r e you s a y i n g what a r e a 
t h e 
p e r i - -
"The 
p e r i n e a l 
a r e a , 
t h e a r e a 
o f t h e 
g r o i n , 
b e n e a t h t h e p u b i c b o n e , t h e i n s i d e o f t h e t h i g h s . 
" [ S t a t e ] : Okay. 
Go a h e a d . 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
When I g o t t o t h i s 
p o i n t i n my 
a s s e s s m e n t -- t h e r e w e r e , o f c o u r s e , a p h y s i c i a n a t 
t h e h e a d o f t h e b e d , a t r a u m a p h y s i c i a n a t t h e b e d 
s i d e . 
T h e y were a s s e s s i n g t h e a i r w a y , g e t t i n g 
r e a d y 
t o 
go 
a h e a d 
and p u t a 
t u b e 
down h e r t h r o a t t o 
b r e a t h e f o r 
h e r and someone e l s e was c h e c k i n g 
b l o o d 
as I'm d o i n g my p h y s i c a l a s s e s s m e n t . 
And my r o l e i n 
t h a t was d o i n g t h e p h y s i c a l a s s e s s m e n t and 
y e l l i n g 
o u t t o t h e p e r s o n 
t h a t was w r i t i n g . 
When I g o t t o 
t h e w a i s t a r e a I b a s i c a l l y 
s t o p p e d 
w i t h what I saw 
and h a d e v e r y o n e t h a t was b e s i d e me t o b a c k up. And 
b a s i c a l l y s a i d d o n ' t a n y b o d y g e t n e a r 
t h i s a r e a , I'm 
g o i n g t o do an a s s e s s m e n t and I a s k e d f o r c e r t a i n 
i t e m s 
t h a t I t h o u g h t 
I w o u l d n e e d b e c a u s e a t 
t h i s 
p o i n t I saw s i g n s o f b r u i s i n g , some t r a c e b l o o d , and 
a 
d r i e d 
w h i t e 
s u b s t a n c e 
i n s i d e 
h e r t h i g h 
t h a t I 
t h o u g h t w o u l d be e v i d e n c e . 
"So I h a d a n u r s e h a n d me a s t e r i l e p a c k o f 
t w o -
b y - t w o ' s , I p u t s t e r i l e 
s a l i n e , a dab o f s a l i n e on 
7 
1080959 
t h e t w o - b y - t w o , w i p e d t h e w h i t e 
s u b s t a n c e 
t h a t was 
i n s i d e h e r t h i g h on -¬
" [ S t a t e ] : And d i d y o u s u s p e c t 
t h a t as 
b e i n g 
semen, d r i e d semen? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
Y e s . 
" [ S t a t e ] : Okay. 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
She h a d l o t o f b r u i s i n g a r o u n d t h e 
p e r i n e a l 
a r e a , 
a r o u n d t h e v a g i n a l a r e a , a n d i n s i d e 
t h e t h i g h , i t 
l o o k e d 
t r a u m a t i c . 
" [ S t a t e ] : Okay. 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
Had some s w e l l i n g w i t h 
i t . And 
t h e r e were one o r two a r e a s t h a t 
r i g h t a r o u n d 
t h a t 
t h e r e was t h e d r i e d w h i t e 
s u b s t a n c e . 
The s u b s t a n c e 
t h a t I w i p e d o f f , I t o o k t h e t w o - b y - t w o , l e t i t a i r 
d r y , 
s t i l l 
d i d n ' t l e t 
a n y b o d y n e a r me o r my 
a r e a 
u n t i l I h a d c o l l e c t e d a n d d i d 
what I n e e d e d t o do, 
and 
t h e n h a d a p h y s i c i a n t o l o o k a t t h e a r e a a n d 
g i v e me t h e o k a y t o p u t a F o l e y 
c a t h e t e r 
i n . 
We 
were 
t r y i n g t o g e t h e r t o s u r g e r y , 
she was a 
-¬
what we w o u l d 
c a l l 
a 
l e v e l one t r a u m a . 
She was 
g o i n g t o d i e 
on t h a t t a b l e r i g h t t h e n i f we 
d i d n ' t 
h u r r y up a n d g e t h e r t o s u r g e r y . 
" A f t e r I c o l l e c t e d 
my s p e c i m e n a n d 
made s u r e t h e 
p h y s i c i a n saw t h e a r e a t h a t I h a d n o t e d t o have t h e 
b r u i s i n g 
a n d t h e s w e l l i n g a n d t h e t r a u m a 
t o , I 
c o l l e c t e d my s p e c i m e n a n d made 
s u r e 
t h a t I h a d a 
p o l i c e m a n 
t o h a n d 
o f f t o 
c o n t i n u e 
my 
c h a i n 
o f 
c u s t o d y . 
A n d i t was p l a c e d i n a p a p e r e n v e l o p e a n d 
l e t d r y . I t 
was d o c u m e n t e d where i t was t a k e n 
f r o m 
and 
t h a t t i m e a n d b y who. 
" [ S t a t e ] : And h a d y o u , Ms. H e l l u m s , i n 
y o u r w o r k 
i n ER, work 
w i t h 
t h i s 
w h o l e 
p r o t o c o l as f a r as 
a s s e s s m e n t s g o e s , t h a t ' s s o m e t h i n g y o u h a d r e g u l a r l y 
done i n y o u r 
c a r e e r ? 
8 
1080959 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
E v e r y p a t i e n t t h a t comes i n t o 
t h i s 
e m e r g e n c y room 
g e t s 
an 
a s s e s s m e n t . 
E v e r y 
t r a u m a 
p a t i e n t 
g e t s 
a p r i m a r y 
and 
a s e c o n d a r y 
a s s e s s m e n t 
done on them." 
D u r i n g 
S h a r p ' s 
c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n 
o f 
H e l l u m s , 
he 
q u e s t i o n e d 
h e r 
a b o u t 
t h e 
m e d i c a l 
r e p o r t 
t h a t 
d e t a i l e d 
H e l l u m s ' s 
" r a p i d a s s e s s m e n t " o f 
t h e 
v i c t i m . 
The 
f o l l o w i n g 
o c c u r r e d : 
[ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : 
Okay. 
And 
t h i s 
c o n d i t i o n 
d e s c r i b e d h e r e , i s t h a t what y o u ' v e d e s c r i b e d as 
t h e 
wounds t o t h e v a g i n a l a r e a h e r e , d o n ' t l e t me 
--
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
I t ' s h a r d 
-¬
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : 
-- 
t r y 
t o 
d e c i p h e r 
any 
m e d i c a l 
t e r m s . 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
V a g i n a l 
o r i f i c e 
e c c h y m o t i c 
and 
e d e m a t o u s , 
d r i e d 
c l e a r 
w h i t e 
m a t e r i a l 
n o t e d 
t o 
v a g i n a , 
i n n e r 
t h i g h s , 
c u l t u r e 
f o r p o s s i b l e 
s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t . Y e s , 
t h a t w o u l d be 
-¬
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : What 
i s t h e 
l a y t e r m 
f o r 
t h i s d e s c r i p t i o n h e r e ? 
Does t h a t d e s c r i b e some k i n d 
o f 
s p e c i f i c 
c o n d i t i o n 
o r t r a u m a 
o r what does 
t h a t 
mean? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : E c c h y m o t i c i s a b r u i s i n g . E d e m a t o u s 
i s 
t h e 
s w e l l i n g . 
" [ S h a r p ' s c o u n s e l ] : Okay. Now 
y o u ' v e 
d e s c r i b e d 
b r u i s i n g 
and 
s w e l l i n g i n t h a t 
a r e a . 
And 
a m i n u t e 
ago 
you 
s a i d t h a t 
i t was 
i n t h e 
i n n e r 
t h i g h . 
Was 
t h e r e 
b r u i s i n g on 
t h e 
l e g p o r t i o n s 
o f 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] 
o r 
was 
t h e 
b r u i s i n g 
you 
d e s c r i b e d 
i n 
t h e 
-¬
s p e c i f i c a l l y 
i n t h e v a g i n a 
a r e a ? 
9 
1080959 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
No. 
I t h i n k 
I s a i d 
t h a t 
she 
had 
b r u i s i n g 
i n t h e 
p e r i n e a l 
a r e a w h i c h 
w o u l d 
be 
t h e 
l a b i a , 
t h e 
a r e a b e t w e e n 
t h e 
l a b i a 
and 
t h e 
u p p e r 
t h i g h s . 
I 
t h i n k 
t h e r e 
was 
b r u i s i n g 
-- 
I 
d o n ' t 
r e c a l l how 
f a r down t h e b r u i s i n g w e n t , b u t 
b a s i c a l l y 
what 
she 
had 
on 
t h e 
t h i g h s 
was 
t h e 
l i t t l e 
b i t o f 
d r i e d b l o o d and t h e w h i t i s h 
s u b s t a n c e . 
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : So t h e i n s i d e s o f t h e 
l e g s 
o t h e r 
t h a n 
a r o u n d 
t h a t 
i m m e d i a t e 
a r e a 
were 
n o t 
b r u i s e d ; i s t h a t 
c o r r e c t ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
You k n o w , I d o n ' t 
r e c a l l . 
I w o u l d 
h e s i t a t e 
t o 
s a y 
t h a t 
she 
d i d n ' t 
h a v e 
b r u i s i n g 
b e c a u s e she may h a v e had up u n d e r n e a t h 
t h a t I d o n ' t 
r e c a l l . 
A l l I 
c a n 
t e l l 
y o u 
i s what 
I remember 
s e e i n g . 
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : 
Okay. 
Had 
y o u 
e v e r 
s e e n 
t h a t 
c o n d i t i o n b e f o r e on a n y b o d y y o u had 
t r e a t e d ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
Y e s , s i r , s i x , s e v e n , e i g h t , n i n e 
t i m e s o f a r e a l l y t r a u m a t i c 
r a p e I ' v e s e e n 
t h a t . 
" [ S h a r p ' s c o u n s e l ] : Okay. 
And i f someone -- i s 
i t p o s s i b l e t h a t someone c o u l d have t h a t t h r o u g h 
a n y 
means e x c e p t r a p e o r do y o u know? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
No. 
I'm 
s u r e 
y o u 
c o u l d 
h a v e 
b r u i s i n g and edema f r o m a n y number o f 
t r a u m a s . 
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : 
Okay. 
And 
i t ' s p o s s i b l e 
t h a t p e o p l e c o u l d g e t t h a t 
k i n d o f b r u i s i n g and 
y o u 
w o u l d n e v e r see them b e c a u s e t h e y d i d n ' t come i n t o 
be 
-- 
t h e y w o u l d n ' t 
h a v e 
t o be 
t r e a t e d 
w i t h 
t h a t 
p a r t i c u l a r k i n d o f b r u i s i n g , w o u l d t h e y ? 
T h a t ' s 
n o t 
l i f e 
t h r e a t e n i n g , i s i t ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
W i t h 
t h a t 
t y p e 
o f 
b r u i s i n g 
and 
amount o f s w e l l i n g y o u w o u l d have a l o t o f 
p a i n . 
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : Okay. 
10 
1080959 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : Now w h e t h e r y o u c h o s e t o s t i c k i t 
o u t a t home and n o t come t o t h e 
ER [ e m e r g e n c y r o o m ] , 
I d o n ' t k n o w , I c a n ' t a n s w e r t h a t . 
B u t I c a n 
t e l l 
you 
t h a t f r o m my e x p e r i e n c e 
I have o n l y s e e n 
t h a t 
amount o f b r u i s i n g and s w e l l i n g i n t h e l a b i a f r o m a 
s e x u a l a s s a u l t . 
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : Now 
t e l l us what 
t r a i n i n g , 
i f 
a n y , you h a v e 
i n s p e c i f i c 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n s 
o f 
s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t o r s e x u a l 
c r i m e s ? 
Do you h a v e any 
s p e c i f i c 
t r a i n i n g o t h e r 
t h a n 
y o u r n u r s i n g 
t r a i n i n g 
t h a t q u a l i f i e s you t o t e l l us t h a t 
t h i s p e r s o n was 
s e x u a l l y a s s a u l t e d and t h i s p e r s o n d o e s n ' t l o o k 
l i k e 
t h e y w e r e ? 
T e l l us how you 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : Okay. 
I ' l l g i v e you a 
l i s t o f my 
c e r t i f i c a t i o n s , w h i c h 
a l l - - a l o t o f t h e t r a u m a 
c l a s s e s 
encompass 
t h e w h o l e 
a r e a 
as 
f a r as a 
p h y s i c a l 
a s s e s s m e n t and h i s t o r y . 
I h a v e a B C L S , 
w h i c h i s B a s i c L i f e S u p p o r t . 
I have a A C L S , w h i c h 
i s 
A d v a n c e d 
L i f e 
S u p p o r t . 
I have CATN w h i c h i s 
C o u r s e o f A d v a n c e d Trauma N u r s i n g . 
I have t a k e n and 
I t e a c h Trauma N u r s i n g C o r e C u r r i c u l u m . I h a v e 
t a k e n 
and I t e a c h E m e r g e n c y N u r s e P e d i a t r i c s A d v a n c e d 
L i f e 
S u p p o r t 
c o r e 
c u r r i c u l u m . 
Any 
number 
o f 
o t h e r 
c e r t i f i c a t i o n s 
f o r c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n 
c r e d i t s I 
h a v e t a k e n , t h o s e a r e t o o numerous t o c o u n t . 
B u t I 
h a v e 
b e e n 
t o 
i n - s e r v i c e i n r a p e 
and 
s p e c i m e n 
c o l l e c t i o n s . 
When [ a t ] 
t h e SANE p r o j e c t , i t ' s b e e n 
p r o b a b l y n i n e y e a r s a g o , 
I g o t c e r t i f i e d i n 
a s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t e x a m i n a t i o n 
w i t h a c a m e r a . 
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : A r e t h e r e any o t h e r f a c t o r s 
o t h e r 
t h a n 
y o u r v i s u a l 
o b s e r v a t i o n s 
t h a t you w o u l d 
use 
i n m a k i n g y o u r 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n 
t h a t 
t h i s was a 
s e x u a l a s s a u l t o r r a p e ? 
What o t h e r f a c t o r s on y o u r 
e x t e n s i v e t r a i n i n g t h e r e t h a t y o u ' v e d e s c r i b e d w o u l d 
you 
c o n s i d e r o r deem r e l e v a n t ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : W o u l d you r e p e a t t h e q u e s t i o n ? 
11 
1080959 
" [ S h a r p ' s c o u n s e l ] : What o t h e r f a c t o r s w o u l d you 
l o o k f o r o t h e r 
t h a n j u s t t h e v i s i b l e 
s i g n s 
y o u ' v e 
j u s t 
d e s c r i b e d ? 
A r e t h e r e 
any f a c t o r s 
t h a t you 
w o u l d c o n s i d e r i n m a k i n g t h a t 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : 
I f I u n d e r s t a n d what y o u ' r e 
a s k i n g 
me 
a f t e r I h a d done a c o m p l e t e 
a s s e s s m e n t 
on a 
p a t i e n t 
and 
n o t e d 
t h e 
e x t e n s i v e 
s w e l l i n g 
and 
b r u i s i n g and a s u b s t a n c e 
t h a t 
l o o k e d 
l i k e semen on 
t h e r e 
and d u c t 
t a p e 
s t i l l 
b o u n d t o t h e h a n d s and 
j u s t - - I g u e s s t h e w h o l e p i c t u r e comes down f o r me 
p e r s o n a l l y I w o u l d t h i n k 
t h a t . 
B u t I w a s n ' t - - a t 
t h i s p o i n t when I was d o i n g my a s s e s s m e n t as a r o l e , 
I was t a k i n g c a r e o f t h e p a t i e n t t o t h e b e s t o f my 
a b i l i t y 
and 
a s s e s s i n g 
and 
o b t a i n i n g 
s p e c i m e n 
c o l l e c t i o n . 
I t w a s n ' t - - i t 
w a s n ' t i n my i n t e n t a t 
t h a t p o i n t t o s a y s h e ' s b e e n r a p e d , y e s n o , I saw -¬
" [ S h a r p ' s 
c o u n s e l ] : 
B u t t h a t ' s 
y o u r 
o p i n i o n , 
i s n ' t 
i t ? 
" [ H e l l u m s ] : I f 
I c o u l d have an o p i n i o n , y e s , she 
was b r u t a l l y r a p e d . " 
The 
S t a t e a r g u e d d u r i n g 
i t s c l o s i n g a r g u m e n t : 
" A g a i n when [ t h e v i c t i m ] 
g e t s t o t h e h o s p i t a l 
K i m 
H e l l u m s 
i s t h e r e 
and she 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t she 
r e c o g n i z e d 
o r b e l i e v e d 
t h a t when [ t h e 
v i c t i m ] 
f i r s t 
came i n she was d e a l i n g 
w i t h a v i c t i m o f a 
s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t , b a s e d on y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e 
i n d e a l i n g 
w i t h 
t h i s 
t y p e o f s i t u a t i o n . 
She o b s e r v e d a semen 
smear on t h e i n t e r i o r 
t h i g h o f [ t h e v i c t i m ] . 
She 
o b s e r v e d s w e l l i n g and b r u i s i n g o f t h e v a g i n a l 
a r e a . 
She 
d e s c r i b e d 
t h a t c o n d i t i o n as b e i n g 
v e r y p a i n f u l . 
And 
she a l s o 
s a y s - - she u s e d 
t h a t w o r d ' b r u t a l ' 
a g a i n . 
She 
s a i d , ' I t a p p e a r e d 
t o me 
t h a t [ t h e 
v i c t i m ] h a s b e e n b r u t a l l y r a p e d . ' 
"Was 
[ t h e v i c t i m ] r a p e d t h a t d a y ? Y e s , 
she was. 
The 
e v i d e n c e i s t h e r e . " 
12 
1080959 
F i r s t , S h a r p a r g u e s 
t h a t p l a i n 
e r r o r 
o c c u r r e d when t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t a l l o w e d H e l l u m s t o t e s t i f y on d i r e c t 
e x a m i n a t i o n 
b y t h e S t a t e as an e x p e r t w i t n e s s w i t h o u t r e q u i r i n g t h e S t a t e 
t o 
e s t a b l i s h 
t h a t she p o s s e s s e d 
t h e r e q u i s i t e 
" k n o w l e d g e , 
s k i l l , 
e x p e r i e n c e , t r a i n i n g o r e d u c a t i o n " t o make 
c e r t a i n 
a s s e s s m e n t s . 
See R u l e 702 
, A l a . 
R. E v i d . 
A r e v i e w o f t h e 
S t a t e ' s 
d i r e c t 
e x a m i n a t i o n o f H e l l u m s , 
h o w e v e r , 
e s t a b l i s h e s 
t h a t t h e S t a t e d i d 
n o t p r o f f e r H e l l u m s as an e x p e r t w i t n e s s . 
The 
S t a t e 
e l i c i t e d 
t e s t i m o n y 
f r o m H e l l u m s 
as t h e n u r s e 
who 
a s s e s s e d t h e v i c t i m when t h e v i c t i m 
a r r i v e d a t t h e e m e r g e n c y 
room. 
H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y on d i r e c t e x a m i n a t i o n p r o v i d e d t h e 
j u r y w i t h i n s i g h t 
i n t o t h e i n j u r i e s H e l l u m s 
o b s e r v e d on t h e 
v i c t i m 
and t h e 
l e v e l 
o f t r a u m a 
t h e v i c t i m 
h a d 
s u f f e r e d . 
H e l l u m s ' s 
s t a t e m e n t 
t h a t 
"we 
s e e 
t h e s e 
i n j u r i e s 
a f t e r 
somebody's 
b e e n 
r e p e a t e d l y 
p o u n d e d " 
d i d n o t 
i n v a d e 
t h e 
p r o v i n c e 
o f t h e 
j u r y , 
as 
S h a r p 
a r g u e s , 
b u t 
c o n s t i t u t e d 
t e s t i m o n y 
f r o m 
a 
l a y w i t n e s s 
r a t i o n a l l y 
b a s e d 
on h e r 
p e r c e p t i o n a n d was h e l p f u l t o a c l e a r 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h e r 
t e s t i m o n y . 
I t p r o v i d e d t h e j u r y 
w i t h 
a m e a s u r e 
o f t h e 
s e v e r i t y o f t h e v i c t i m ' s 
i n j u r i e s . 
See R u l e 7 0 1 , A l a . R. 
E v i d . ( " I f t h e w i t n e s s i s n o t t e s t i f y i n g as an e x p e r t , t h e 
13 
1080959 
w i t n e s s ' s t e s t i m o n y i n t h e f o r m o f o p i n i o n s o r i n f e r e n c e s i s 
l i m i t e d 
t o 
t h o s e 
o p i n i o n s 
o r 
i n f e r e n c e s 
w h i c h 
a r e ( a ) 
r a t i o n a l l y 
b a s e d on t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e w i t n e s s and ( b ) 
h e l p f u l t o a c l e a r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e w i t n e s s ' s t e s t i m o n y o r 
t h e 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f a 
f a c t 
i n i s s u e . " ) .
2 
C f . 
B u r k e v .  
T i d w e l l , 
211 A l a . 673, 101 So. 599 
(1 
924) 
( l a y w i t n e s s 
p e r m i t t e d t o t e s t i f y t h a t a p e r s o n was " d r u n k " ) . 
P l a i n 
e r r o r 
d o e s n o t e x i s t i n t h i s 
r e g a r d . 
N e x t , 
S h a r p 
a r g u e s 
t h a t H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y 
on c r o s s -
e x a m i n a t i o n 
t h a t 
" [ i ] f I c o u l d have an o p i n i o n , y e s , she was 
b r u t a l l y r a p e d " a l s o i n v a d e d t h e p r o v i n c e o f t h e j u r y and t h a t 
p l a i n 
e r r o r 
o c c u r r e d 
when 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
a d m i t t e d 
t h e 
t e s t i m o n y 
i n t o 
e v i d e n c e . 
A c c o r d i n g 
t o 
S h a r p , 
H e l l u m s ' s 
o p i n i o n 
t h a t t h e v i c t i m h a d b e e n b r u t a l l y 
r a p e d 
i n v a d e d t h e 
2The 
A d v i s o r y 
C o m m i t t e e ' s 
N o t e s t o R u l e 
7 0 1 , A l a . R. 
E v i d . , 
s t a t e : 
"Alabama h a s l o n g r e c o g n i z e d ... t h a t a l a y w i t n e s s 
may g i v e an o p i n i o n when t h e w i t n e s s i s u n a b l e t o 
r e l a t e t h e f a c t s t o t h e j u r o r s w e l l enough t o p l a c e 
t h e j u r o r s i n as g o o d a p o s i t i o n as t h e w i t n e s s was 
i n t o r e a c h an o p i n i o n o r t o draw a c o n c l u s i o n . Some 
w o u l d c a l l t h i s t h e ' c o l l e c t i v e f a c t s ' e x c e p t i o n t h e 
o p i n i o n e v i d e n c e 
r u l e . " 
14 
1080959 
p r o v i n c e 
o f 
t h e 
j u r y 
and 
a l l o w i n g 
h e r 
t o 
so 
t e s t i f y 
c o n s t i t u t e d p l a i n e r r o r . 
The 
r e c o r d 
e s t a b l i s h e s 
t h a t 
t h e 
a l l e g e d 
e r r o r 
i n 
t h e 
a d m i s s i o n o f H e l l u m s ' s o p i n i o n t e s t i m o n y d i d n o t o c c u r b e c a u s e 
S h a r p m e r e l y r e m a i n e d s i l e n t and p e r m i t t e d 
t h e e r r o r , i f 
any, 
t o 
o c c u r . 
The 
r e c o r d 
u n e q u i v o c a l l y 
e s t a b l i s h e s 
t h a t 
S h a r p , 
h i m s e l f , c r e a t e d t h e a l l e g e d e r r o r by 
e l i c i t i n g t h e 
t e s t i m o n y . 
"'"'"'A p a r t y 
c a n n o t assume 
i n c o n s i s t e n t 
p o s i t i o n s 
i n 
t h e 
t r i a l 
and 
a p p e l l a t e 
c o u r t s 
and, 
as 
a 
g e n e r a l 
r u l e , 
w i l l 
n o t 
be 
p e r m i t t e d 
t o 
a l l e g e 
an 
e r r o r 
i n 
t h e 
t r i a l c o u r t p r o c e e d i n g s w h i c h 
was 
i n v i t e d 
by 
h i m 
o r 
was 
a 
n a t u r a l 
c o n s e q u e n c e 
o f 
h i s 
own 
a c t i o n s . ' " ' 
S l a t o n v. S t a t e , 
680 
So. 
2d 
879, 
900 
( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 
1 9 9 5 ) , 
a f f ' d , 
680 
So. 
2d 
909 
( A l a . 
1 9 9 6 ) , 
c e r t . 
d e n i e d , 
519 
U.S. 
1079, 
117 
S.Ct. 
742, 
136 
L . E d . 2 d 
680 
( 1 9 9 7 ) , 
q u o t i n g 
C a m p b e l l 
v. 
S t a t e , 
570 
So. 
2d 
1276, 
1282 
( A l a . 
C r i m . 
App. 
1 9 9 0 ) . 
As 
we 
h a v e 
s a i d 
i n 
a p p l y i n g 
t h e 
i n v i t e d - e r r o r 
d o c t r i n e , 
' " I t w o u l d 
be 
a 
s a d 
c o m m e n t a r y upon 
t h e 
v i t a l i t y 
o f 
t h e 
j u d i c i a l 
p r o c e s s 
i f 
an 
a c c u s e d c o u l d 
r e n d e r 
i t i m p o t e n t 
by 
h i s own 
c h o i c e . " ' 
M u r r e l l 
v. 
S t a t e , 
377 
So. 
2d 
1102, 
1105 
( A l a . C r i m . A p p . ) , c e r t . 
d e n i e d , 
377 
So. 
2d 
1108 
( A l a . 
1 9 7 9 ) , 
q u o t i n g 
A l d r i d g e 
v. 
S t a t e , 
278 
A l a . 
470, 
474, 
179 
So. 
2d 
51, 
54 
15 
1080959 
( 1 9 6 5 ) . 
'The 
i n v i t e d 
e r r o r 
r u l e 
has 
b e e n 
a p p l i e d 
e q u a l l y 
i n 
c a p i t a l 
c a s e s 
and 
n o n c a p i t a l 
c a s e s . ' 
R o g e r s v . S t a t e , 630 So. 
2d 78, 84 ( A l a . C r i m . App. 
1 9 9 1 ) , 
r e v ' d on o t h e r g r o u n d s , 
630 So. 
2d 
88 
( A l a . 1 9 9 2 ) , 
a f f ' d 
on 
remand, 
sub 
nom. 
M u s g r o v e 
v .  
S t a t e , 
638 
So. 
2d 
1347 ( A l a . 
C r i m . App. 1 9 9 2 ) , 
a f f ' d , 
638 So. 
2d 
1360 
( A l a . 
1 9 9 3 ) , 
c e r t . 
d e n i e d , 
513 U.S. 
845, 115 S . C t . 
136, 130 L . E d . 2 d 78 
( 1 9 9 4 ) . " 
" ' P e r k i n s v. S t a t e , 808 So. 2d 1041 ( A l a . 
C r i m . App. 
1 9 9 9 ) , 
a f f ' d , 
80 
8 So. 2d 1143 
( A l a . 2 0 0 1 ) . 
"'An i n v i t e d e r r o r i s w a i v e d , 
u n l e s s 
i t r i s e s 
t o t h e 
l e v e l 
o f 
p l a i n 
e r r o r . ' " 
W i l l i a m s v . 
S t a t e , 
710 
So. 
2d 
1276, 
1316 ( A l a . 
C r i m . App. 1 9 9 6 ) , 
a f f ' d , 
710 So. 2d 1350 ( A l a . 
1 9 9 7 ) , 
c e r t . 
d e n i e d , 
524 U.S. 
929, 118 S . C t . 2325, 141 L . E d . 2 d 
699 ( 1 9 9 8 ) , q u o t i n g Ex p a r t e B a n k h e a d , 585 
So. 2d 112, 126 ( A l a . 
1 9 9 1 ) . 
"To 
r i s e t o 
t h e l e v e l o f p l a i n e r r o r , t h e c l a i m e d 
e r r o r 
must 
n o t 
o n l y 
s e r i o u s l y 
a f f e c t 
a 
d e f e n d a n t ' s 
' s u b s t a n t i a l 
r i g h t s , ' 
b u t i t 
must a l s o h a v e an u n f a i r 
p r e j u d i c i a l 
i m p a c t 
on 
t h e 
j u r y ' s 
d e l i b e r a t i o n s . " 
Hyde 
v . 
 
S t a t e , 778 So. 2d 199, 209 ( A l a . C r i m . App. 
1 9 9 8 ) , 
a f f ' d , 778 So. 2d 237 
( A l a . 2 0 0 0 ) , 
c e r t . d e n i e d , 532 U.S. 907, 121 S . C t . 1233, 
149 L . E d . 2 d 142 
( 2 0 0 1 ) . ' 
"McNabb v . S t a t e , 887 So. 2d 929, 892-93 ( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 2 
0 
0 1 ) . " 
C l a r k v . S t a t e , 896 So. 2d 584, 640-41 ( A l a . C r i m . App. 2000) 
( o p i n i o n 
on 
r e t u r n 
t o 
remand 
and 
on 
a p p l i c a t i o n 
f o r 
r e h e a r i n g ) . 
16 
1080959 
"The 
U n i t e d S t a t e s Supreme C o u r t has 
s t a t e d 
t h a t 
t h e 
p l a i n 
e r r o r 
d o c t r i n e 
s h o u l d 
be 
u s e d 
i n 
t h o s e 
s i t u a t i o n s 
t h a t 
' " s e r i o u s l y 
a f f e c t 
t h e 
f a i r n e s s , 
i n t e g r i t y 
o r 
p u b l i c 
r e p u t a t i o n 
o f 
j u d i c i a l 
p r o c e e d i n g s . . . . " ' 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
v. Y o u n g , 470 
U.S. 
1, 
15, 
105 
S.Ct. 
1038, 
1046, 
84 
L . E d . 2 d 
1 
( 1 9 8 5 ) , 
q u o t i n g 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
v. 
A t k i n s o n , 
297 
U.S. 
157, 
160, 
56 
S.Ct. 
391, 
392, 
80 
L.Ed. 
555 
( 1 9 3 6 ) . " 
K n i g h t v. 
S t a t e , 
675 
So. 
2d 
487, 
496 
( A l a . C r i m . App. 
1 9 9 5 ) . 
The 
C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s i n L e w i s v. S t a t e , 
[Ms. 
CR-
0 3 - 0 4 8 0 , November 2, 
2 0 0 7 ] ___ 
So. 
3d 
___ 
( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 
2 0 0 6 ) ( o p i n i o n 
on 
r e t u r n 
t o r e m a n d ) , a d d r e s s e d 
t h e 
u l t i m a t e -
i s s u e r u l e i n a p l a i n - e r r o r c o n t e x t , 
s t a t i n g : 
" L e w i s 
a l s o a r g u e s 
t h a t 
'the 
S t a t e 
i m p r o p e r l y 
e x a m i n e d 
[ e y e w i t n e s s 
A p r i l ] 
H a r g e d o n . ' 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , 
L e w i s c o n t e n d s 
t h a t 
t h e 
S t a t e 
s h o u l d 
n o t 
h a v e a s k e d H a r g e d o n what F r e e 
and 
L e w i s 
'were 
g o i n g 
t o 
do 
w i t h 
Kaye 
[ t h e 
v i c t i m ] , ' b e c a u s e 
t h e 
q u e s t i o n 
c a l l e d f o r ' s p e c u l a t i o n , s t a t e o f m i n d , 
and 
v i o l a t e d 
R u l e 
7 0 4 [ , 
A l a . 
R. 
E v i d . , ] 
i n 
t h a t 
i t 
v i o l a t e s 
t h e 
u l t i m a t e 
i s s u e 
r u l e . ' 
( L e w i s ' s 
b r i e f , 
p. 
35.) 
B e c a u s e t h i s c l a i m was 
n o t 
r a i s e d b e l o w , 
we 
r e v i e w i t f o r p l a i n e r r o r . 
"'The 
q u e s t i o n 
o f 
a d m i s s i b i l i t y o f e v i d e n c e 
i s 
g e n e r a l l y 
l e f t t o t h e d i s c r e t i o n o f t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t , 
and 
t h e 
t r i a l c o u r t ' s d e t e r m i n a t i o n 
on t h a t 
q u e s t i o n 
w i l l 
n o t 
be 
r e v e r s e d 
e x c e p t upon a c l e a r s h o w i n g 
o f 
a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n . ' 
Ex p a r t e 
L o g g i n s , 771 
So. 
2d 
1093, 
1103 
( A l a . 2000 ). 
R u l e 
704, 
A l a . 
R. 
E v i d . , 
p r o v i d e s 
t h a t 
' t e s t i m o n y 
i n t h e 
f o r m o f 
an 
o p i n i o n 
o r i n f e r e n c e 
o t h e r w i s e a d m i s s i b l e 
i s t o be 
e x c l u d e d 
i f 
i t e m b r a c e s 
an 
u l t i m a t e 
i s s u e 
t o be 
d e c i d e d 
by 
t h e 
t r i e r 
o f 
f a c t . ' 
'An 
u l t i m a t e 
i s s u e 
has 
b e e n 
d e f i n e d as t h e 
l a s t q u e s t i o n 
t h a t must be 
d e t e r m i n e d 
by 
t h e 
j u r y . 
See 
B l a c k ' s 
Law 
D i c t i o n a r y 
[1522 
( 6 t h 
17 
1080959 
e d . 
1 9 9 0 ) ] . ' 
Tims v. S t a t e , 711 So. 2d 1118, 1125 
( A l a . C r i m . App. 
1 9 9 7 ) . 
"As t h e S t a t e c o r r e c t l y p o i n t s o u t , 
t h e u l t i m a t e 
i s s u e i n t h i s c a s e was w h e t h e r L e w i s p a r t i c i p a t e d i n 
t h e 
i n t e n t i o n a l 
k i l l i n g 
o f Tim K a y e , a n d , i f 
s o , 
w h e t h e r t h e m u r d e r o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f a 
f i r s t - d e g r e e 
k i d n a p p i n g . 
As 
s e t o u t 
i n o u r 
r e c i t a t i o n o f f a c t s , 
H a r g e d o n 
t e s t i f i e d a t l e n g t h 
r e g a r d i n g t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s 
s u r r o u n d i n g 
L e w i s 
and 
F r e e ' s b e a t i n g o f t h e v i c t i m , T i m K a y e . 
D u r i n g h e r 
t e s t i m o n y , H a r g e d o n 
t o l d how L e w i s came o u t o f 
h i s 
m o b i l e home c a r r y i n g a s h o t g u n . 
H a r g e d o n 
r e c o u n t e d 
h e r 
f e a r and t h e n e e d t o ' g e t o u t o f t h e r e 
... 
[ b ] e c a u s e 
t h e y were 
f i g h t i n g and t h e r e were g u n s . ' 
(R. 239.) H a r g e d o n was a s k e d : 'What were [ L e w i s and 
F r e e ] 
g o i n g 
t o do 
t o Tim K a y e ? ' 
t o w h i c h 
she 
r e s p o n d e d : 
' I g u e s s 
f i n i s h 
i t . 
I d o n ' t know.' (R. 
239.) 
"We 
do n o t c o n s i d e r 
H a r g e d o n ' s 
t e s t i m o n y t o 
c o n s t i t u t e a comment on t h e u l t i m a t e i s s u e o f f a c t . 
H a r g e d o n ' s 
t e s t i m o n y was 
n o t h i n g more 
t h a n 
a l a y 
o p i n i o n 
b a s e d 
on 
h e r 
p e r s o n a l 
k n o w l e d g e 
and 
o b s e r v a t i o n s o f what h a p p e n e d t h a t n i g h t . 
R u l e 7 0 1 , 
A l a . R. E v i d . , p r o v i d e s : 
" ' I f t h e w i t n e s s i s n o t t e s t i f y i n g as 
an e x p e r t , t h e w i t n e s s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y i n 
t h e 
f o r m o f an o p i n i o n o r i n f e r e n c e i s l i m i t e d 
t o t h o s e 
o p i n i o n s o r i n f e r e n c e s w h i c h a r e 
(a) 
r a t i o n a l l y b a s e d on t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f 
t h e 
w i t n e s s 
and (b) h e l p f u l 
t o a 
c l e a r 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e w i t n e s s ' s t e s t i m o n y o r 
t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f a f a c t i n i s s u e . ' 
" H a r g e d o n ' s 
o p i n i o n was 
r a t i o n a l l y 
b a s e d 
on h e r 
p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e e v e n t s 
t h a t o c c u r r e d 
t h a t 
n i g h t 
and h e r k n o w l e d g e o f t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s 
s u r r o u n d i n g 
K a y e ' s m u r d e r . As s u c h , i t 
was h e l p f u l t o a 
c l e a r 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h e r t e s t i m o n y . See, e . g . , G a v i n v .  
S t a t e , 
891 So. 2d 907 
, 969-70 
( A l a . 
C r i m . 
App. 
18 
1080959 
2 0 0 3 ) , 
c e r t . d e n i e d , 891 So. 2d 998 
( A l a . 2 0 0 4 ) . 
We 
do n o t 
c o n s i d e r 
H a r g e d o n ' s t e s t i m o n y an 
o p i n i o n 
as 
t o 
L e w i s ' s 
g u i l t 
o r 
as 
t o how 
h i s c a s e 
s h o u l d 
be 
r e s o l v e d . 
M o r e o v e r , we 
f i n d i t u n l i k e l y t h a t any 
o f 
t h e j u r o r s w o u l d h a v e s u b s t i t u t e d H a r g e d o n ' s 
o p i n i o n 
f o r 
t h e i r own 
j u d g m e n t . 
Thus, H a r g e d o n ' s 
t e s t i m o n y 
d i d n o t v i o l a t e t h e u l t i m a t e - i s s u e 
r u l e . " 
So. 
3d a t 
. 
We 
c o n c l u d e 
t h a t 
t h e 
a d m i s s i o n 
o f 
H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y 
t h a t 
t h e 
v i c t i m had b e e n b r u t a l l y r a p e d 
d i d n o t 
c o n s t i t u t e 
p l a i n e r r o r . 
L i k e t h e w i t n e s s ' s t e s t i m o n y i n L e w i s , w h i c h d i d 
n o t comment on an u l t i m a t e 
i s s u e o f f a c t , H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y 
d i d n o t embrace an u l t i m a t e i s s u e o f f a c t . 
H e r e , t h e 
u l t i m a t e 
i s s u e f o r t h e j u r y t o d e t e r m i n e was w h e t h e r S h a r p m u r d e r e d t h e 
v i c t i m 
a n d , 
i f s o , w h e t h e r 
t h e m u r d e r 
o c c u r r e d 
d u r i n g 
t h e 
c o u r s e 
o f t h e 
r a p e . 
H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y 
d i d n o t 
i m p l i c a t e 
S h a r p , n o r d i d i t o f f e r an o p i n i o n on w h e t h e r he was 
g u i l t y o r 
how 
t h e c a s e 
s h o u l d be 
r e s o l v e d . 
Thus, H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y 
d i d n o t v i o l a t e t h e u l t i m a t e - i s s u e r u l e , and e r r o r , i f any, i n 
i t s a d m i s s i o n d i d n o t 
r i s e t o t h e 
l e v e l o f p l a i n e r r o r . 
B a s e d 
on 
o u r 
r e v i e w 
o f 
t h e 
e n t i r e 
r e c o r d , 
we 
f u r t h e r 
c o n c l u d e 
t h a t 
e r r o r , 
i f any, 
i n 
t h e 
S t a t e ' s 
o p e n i n g 
and 
c l o s i n g a r g u m e n t s d i d n o t 
r i s e t o t h e 
l e v e l o f p l a i n e r r o r . 
" ' I n B e r g e r v. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 2 
95 
U.S. 
78, 55 S.Ct. 
629, 79 L.Ed. 
1314 
( 1 9 3 5 ) , t h e 
19 
1080959 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
Supreme 
C o u r t 
s t a t e d 
t h e 
f o l l o w i n g 
c o n c e r n i n g 
a 
p r o s e c u t o r ' s 
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y : 
"'"The 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
A t t o r n e y 
i s t h e 
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e 
n o t 
o f an 
o r d i n a r y 
p a r t y 
t o a 
c o n t r o v e r s y , b u t o f a s o v e r e i g n t y 
whose 
o b l i g a t i o n 
t o 
g o v e r n 
i m p a r t i a l l y 
i s as c o m p e l l i n g 
as 
i t s 
o b l i g a t i o n t o g o v e r n a t a l l ; 
and whose i n t e r e s t , t h e r e f o r e , i n 
a 
c r i m i n a l 
p r o s e c u t i o n 
i s n o t 
t h a t 
i t s h a l l 
w i n a 
c a s e , 
b u t 
t h a t 
j u s t i c e 
s h a l l be d o n e . 
As 
s u c h , 
he 
i s i n a 
p e c u l i a r and 
v e r y 
d e f i n i t e 
s e n s e t h e 
s e r v a n t 
o f t h e l a w , t h e t w o f o l d 
a i m o f 
w h i c h 
i s t h a t 
g u i l t 
s h a l l 
n o t 
e s c a p e o r i n n o c e n c e 
s u f f e r . 
He 
may 
p r o s e c u t e 
w i t h 
e a r n e s t n e s s 
and 
v i g o r - - i n d e e d , 
he 
s h o u l d 
do 
s o . 
B u t , w h i l e 
he may 
s t r i k e 
h a r d b l o w s , he i s n o t a t 
l i b e r t y 
t o 
s t r i k e 
f o u l 
o n e s . 
I t i s as 
much 
h i s d u t y 
t o 
r e f r a i n 
f r o m 
i m p r o p e r 
methods 
c a l c u l a t e d t o 
p r o d u c e a w r o n g f u l 
c o n v i c t i o n as 
i t 
i s t o u s e 
e v e r y 
l e g i t i m a t e 
means t o b r i n g a b o u t a j u s t one. 
" ' " I t 
i s 
f a i r 
t o s a y 
t h a t 
t h e a v e r a g e j u r y , i n a g r e a t e r o r 
l e s s d e g r e e , has c o n f i d e n c e 
t h a t 
t h e s e 
o b l i g a t i o n s , 
w h i c h 
so 
p l a i n l y r e s t upon t h e p r o s e c u t i n g 
a t t o r n e y , 
w i l l 
be 
f a i t h f u l l y 
o b s e r v e d . 
C o n s e q u e n t l y , i m p r o p e r 
s u g g e s t i o n s , 
i n s i n u a t i o n s 
a n d , 
e s p e c i a l l y , 
a s s e r t i o n s 
o f 
p e r s o n a l 
k n o w l e d g e 
a r e a p t t o 
c a r r y 
much 
w e i g h t 
a g a i n s t 
t h e 
20 
1080959 
a c c u s e d when t h e y s h o u l d p r o p e r l y 
c a r r y n o n e . " 
"'295 
U.S. 
a t 
88 , 
55 
S.Ct. 
62 9. 
"'A 
p r o s e c u t o r ' s 
s t a t e m e n t 
must be 
v i e w e d 
i n 
t h e 
c o n t e x t 
o f 
a l l 
o f 
t h e 
e v i d e n c e 
p r e s e n t e d 
and 
i n 
t h e 
c o n t e x t 
o f 
t h e 
c o m p l e t e 
c l o s i n g a r g u m e n t s t o t h e 
j u r y . ' " 
R e e v e s v. S t a t e , 807 So. 2d 18, 44-45 ( A l a . 
C r i m . 
App. 
2000 ), 
c e r t . 
d e n i e d , 
534 
U.S. 
1026, 
122 
S.Ct. 
558, 
151 
L . E d . 2 d 
433 
( 2 0 0 1 ) , 
q u o t i n g R o b e r t s 
v. 
S t a t e , 735 
So. 
2d 1244, 
1253 
( A l a . C r i m . App. 
1 9 9 7 ) . 
The 
s t a n d a r d f o r e v a l u a t i n g t h e p r o p r i e t y o f a 
p r o s e c u t o r ' s 
a r g u m e n t 
i s 
w h e t h e r 
t h e 
a r g u m e n t 
"so 
i n f e c t e d 
t h e 
t r i a l 
w i t h 
u n f a i r n e s s 
as 
t o 
make 
t h e 
r e s u l t i n g 
c o n v i c t i o n 
a 
d e n i a l 
o f 
due 
p r o c e s s . " 
D a r d e n 
v. 
W a i n w r i g h t , 
477 
U.S. 
168, 
106 
S.Ct. 
2464, 91 L . E d . 2 d 144 
( 1 9 8 6 ) . 
"'"'A 
p r o s e c u t o r 
may 
a r g u e 
i n 
c l o s i n g 
any 
e v i d e n c e 
t h a t 
was 
p r e s e n t e d 
a t 
t r i a l . 
He 
may 
a l s o 
" ' p r e s e n t 
h i s 
i m p r e s s i o n s 
f r o m 
t h e e v i d e n c e . 
He may 
a r g u e 
e v e r y 
m a t t e r 
o f 
l e g i t i m a t e 
i n f e r e n c e 
and 
may 
e x a m i n e , 
c o l l a t e , 
s i f t , 
and 
t r e a t t h e e v i d e n c e 
i n h i s 
own 
way.'" 
W i l l i a m s 
v. 
S t a t e , 
601 
So. 
2d 1062, 
1073 
( A l a . C r . 
App. 
1 9 9 1 ) , a f f ' d w i t h o u t o p i n i o n , 
662 
So. 
2d 
929 
( A l a . 1 9 9 2 ) , 
q u o t i n g 
Donahoo 
v. 
S t a t e , 
505 
So. 
2d 
1067, 
1 0 7 3 . ' " 
" ' B r o a d n a x v. 
S t a t e , 
825 
So. 
2d 
134, 
208 
( A l a . 
C r i m . App. 
2 0 0 0 ) , q u o t i n g W i l l i a m s v.  
S t a t e , 
627 
So. 
2d 
994 
( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 
1 9 9 2 ) , a f f ' d , 
627 
So. 
2d 999 
( A l a . 1 9 9 3 ) . ' 
21 
1080959 
" T u r n e r v. S t a t e , 924 So. 2d 737, 766-67 ( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 
2 
0 
0 2 ) . " 
Ex p a r t e W a l k e r , 
972 So. 2d 737, 744-45 
( A l a . 2 0 0 7 ) . 
The 
S t a t e ' s 
s t a t e m e n t s 
w i t h 
r e g a r d t o H e l l u m s and h e r 
t e s t i m o n y 
d u r i n g 
i t s o p e n i n g 
and 
c l o s i n g 
a r g u m e n t s , 
when 
v i e w e d i n c o n t e x t , do n o t r i s e t o t h e l e v e l o f p l a i n 
e r r o r 
t h a t so i n f e c t e d t h e t r i a l w i t h u n f a i r n e s s as t o make 
S h a r p ' s 
c o n v i c t i o n a d e n i a l o f due p r o c e s s . 
I n d e e d , as i l l u s t r a t e d b y 
t h e f o l l o w i n g s t a t e m e n t s o f S h a r p ' s c o u n s e l d u r i n g h i s c l o s i n g 
a r g u m e n t , 
S h a r p 
r e c o g n i z e d H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y f o r what i t 
was: 
"Then we 
h e a r d 
f r o m 
N u r s e 
H e l l u m s . 
Now i n 
t h i r t e e n 
y e a r s o f 
t r y i n g 
c r i m i n a l 
c a s e s 
I 
d o n ' t 
t h i n k 
I ' v e e v e r 
h e a r d 
what 
i s s u p p o s e d 
t o be 
u n b i a s e d m e d i c a l o b j e c t i v e t e s t i m o n y b r o u g h t t o you 
q u i t e 
l i k e N u r s e H e l l u m s d i d . And t h e r e a s o n i s 
she 
knew 
[ t h e v i c t i m ] . 
She t o l d you t h a t . 
And t h e 
j u d g e i s g o i n g t o i n s t r u c t you on when you w e i g h t h e 
c r e d i b i l i t y 
o f w i t n e s s e s and 
t h e i r 
t e s t i m o n y and 
w h a t e v e r 
w e i g h t 
y o u ' r e 
g o i n g t o g i v e t o them 
t h a t 
you c a n c o n s i d e r what 
k i n d o f b i a s a w i t n e s s may 
h a v e . 
You c a n c o n s i d e r t h a t 
l e g a l l y i n y o u r w e i g h t 
o f 
t h e i r t e s t i m o n y . 
You c a n c o n s i d e r i f t h e r e ' s a 
d e g r e e o f k i n s h i p o r f r i e n d s h i p o r w h a t e v e r 
i n t e r e s t 
i n t h e outcome one may have i n t h e c a s e . 
"Now K i m H e l l u m s t e s t i f i e d as a S t a t e ' s w i t n e s s . 
And she s o u n d e d v e r y much 
l i k e a S t a t e ' s w i t n e s s . 
She e v e n u s e d a t e r m t y p i c a l l y r e s e r v e d f o r p o l i c e , 
' I was g o i n g t o p r e s e r v e t h e c h a i n o f c u s t o d y o f 
t h i s 
s a m p l e . ' 
And t h e n she t e s t i f i e d t o s o m e t h i n g 
a 
l i t t l e u n u s u a l . 
She's on t h e s t a n d t a l k i n g 
a b o u t 
22 
1080959 
h e r o b j e c t i v e o b s e r v a t i o n s 
and 
she s a i d [ t h e 
v i c t i m ] 
had 
a b e a u t i f u l h e a d o f 
h a i r . 
What d o e s t h a t h a v e 
t o do w i t h h e r o b s e r v a t i o n 
m e d i c a l l y o f t h a t l a d y 
a t 
t h e h o s p i t a l t h a t d a y ? 
O t h e r t h a n t o show s h e ' s 
so 
e m o t i o n a l l y w r a p p e d up 
i n t h i s 
t h a t s h e ' s g o i n g 
t o 
s a y w h a t e v e r she n e e d s t o s a y . 
And 
I g u e s s t h e most 
t r o u b l i n g 
p a r t 
o f Ms. 
H e l l u m s ' s 
t e s t i m o n y , 
b e c a u s e 
she g o t a l i t t l e 
h o s t i l e when p r e s s e d a b o u t 
a n y t h i n g 
t h a t r a n 
c o n t r a r y 
t o what she 
had 
t o s a y . 
I n 
f a c t , 
I a s k e d h e r a b o u t h e r 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and 
she 
r a t t l e d 
o f f 
h e r 
resume o f 
a l l o f 
h e r 
t r a i n i n g 
t o make 
t h e 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n 
t h a t 
t h i s was 
a s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t . 
" W e l l , h e r w o r d s were ' [ I ] t was 
one 
o f t h e most 
t r a u m a t i c 
t h i n g s 
I've 
e v e r s e e n . ' 
[The 
S t a t e ] 
j u s t 
s a i d she u s e d t h e w o r d 
' b r u t a l . ' 
And 
t h e n t h e 
o n l y 
q u a l i f i e d m e d i c a l 
d o c t o r 
[Dr. S t e p h e n P a s t l i n i k ] 
i s 
p u t 
on 
t h e 
s t a n d 
and 
he 
t e l l s 
you 
t h e 
c o m p l e t e 
o p p o s i t e . 
Dr. 
P a s t l i n i k has p e r f o r m e d a l m o s t 
t h r e e 
t h o u s a n d 
a u t o p s i e s 
and 
he 
g e t s 
on 
t h a t 
s t a n d 
as 
a 
h i g h l y q u a l i f i e d p h y s i c i a n , m e d i c a l e x a m i n e r , a p r o , 
and 
he 
does 
a 
t h o r o u g h , 
o b j e c t i v e , 
p h y s i c a l 
e x a m i n a t i o n . 
And 
h i s 
e x a c t 
w o r d s 
w r i t t e n 
i n 
h i s 
r e p o r t a r e 
t h a t t h e v a g i n a l a r e a 
and 
t h e 
l a b i a 
a r e a 
were f r e e o f t r a u m a . 
F r e e o f t r a u m a . 
T h a t d o e s n ' t 
e v e n r e m o t e l y 
f i t what Kim 
H e l l u m s 
s a i d . 
And 
t h e 
S t a t e 
t r i e d t o c l e a n t h a t up, 
w e l l t h e r e may 
be some 
m e d i c a l 
r e a s o n f o r i t n o t 
-- t h a t r u n s a f o u l o f e v e n 
what Dr. 
P a s t l i n i k 
s a i d when I a s k e d h i m 
a b o u t 
how 
b r u i s i n g 
t a k e s 
p l a c e 
and 
how 
i t can 
be 
m a i n t a i n e d 
a f t e r 
someone's 
d e a t h . 
And 
p r o b a b l y 
t h e 
most 
t e l l i n g q u e s t i o n 
i n t h i s w h o l e t r i a l was 
I a s k e d 
Dr. 
P a s t l i n i k i f someone t e s t i f i e d 
j u s t b e f o r e 
you 
h e r e 
t h a t 
t h a t 
was 
t h e 
most 
t r a u m a t i c 
s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t 
e v i d e n c e t h e y ' d e v e r s e e n , w o u l d t h a t be 
c o n s i s t e n t 
w i t h y o u r f i n d i n g s ? 
And 
he s a i d , ' [ H ] e c k no.' 
Heck 
no. 
Who 
a r e 
you 
g o i n g 
t o b e l i e v e ?
[
3
] " 
3 T h e 
r e c o r d 
i n d i c a t e s 
t h a t 
on 
c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n 
Dr. 
P a s t l i n i k 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t 
t h e 
v i c t i m ' s 
l a b i a 
m a j o r a , 
l a b i a 
m i n o r a , 
c l i t o r i s , 
and 
v a g i n a l 
e n t r u m were 
f r e e 
o f 
t r a u m a . 
23 
1080959 
When t h e s t a t e m e n t s o f t h e S t a t e a r e r e v i e w e d i n 
t h e 
c o n t e x t o f t h e r e c o r d i n 
i t s 
e n t i r e t y , e s p e c i a l l y t h e o p e n i n g 
and 
c l o s i n g a r g u m e n t s o f b o t h t h e S t a t e 
a n d S h a r p , i t i s 
a p p a r e n t 
t h a t 
any e r r o r 
i n t h e S t a t e ' s 
a r g u m e n t d i d 
n o t 
s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t t h e f a i r n e s s o r i n t e g r i t y o f S h a r p ' s t r i a l o r 
s u b s t a n t i a l l y p r e j u d i c e 
S h a r p . 
P l a i n e r r o r d i d 
n o t o c c u r . 
S h a r p f u r t h e r c o n t e n d s t h a t h i s 
d u e - p r o c e s s r i g h t s were 
v i o l a t e d when t h e S t a t e 
u s e d i t s 
p e r e m p t o r y 
c h a l l e n g e s 
t o 
remove A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s f r o m t h e j u r y v e n i r e , t h u s 
v i o l a t i n g 
B a t s o n v . K e n t u c k y , 476 U.S. 79 
( 1 9 8 6 ) . 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , he 
a r g u e s 
t h a t 
p l a i n e r r o r 
o c c u r r e d 
d u r i n g t h e j u r y 
s e l e c t i o n 
when, he s a y s , t h e S t a t e 
f a i l e d t o s t r i k e 
p r o s p e c t i v e 
w h i t e 
When a s k e d by S h a r p ' s c o u n s e l i f 
t h e i n j u r i e s t o t h e v i c t i m ' s 
g e n i t a l i a were t r a u m a t i c , he 
s t a t e d t h a t t h e v i c t i m h a d two 
l a c e r a t i o n s t o t h e b o t t o m o f h e r v a g i n a b u t t h a t he w o u l d n o t 
" c a l l t h a t t r a u m a t i c . " 
On r e d i r e c t e x a m i n a t i o n , D r . P a s t l i n i k 
s t a t e d t h a t t h e i n j u r i e s t o t h e v i c t i m ' s b o d y were 
c o n s i s t e n t 
w i t h 
i n j u r i e s s u f f e r e d b y o t h e r 
v i c t i m s o f s e x u a l 
a s s a u l t a n d 
t h a t when he e x a m i n e d t h e v i c t i m ' s b o d y 
l i v i d i t y may h a v e 
o b s c u r e d 
some o f t h e b r u i s i n g 
H e l l u m s h a d o b s e r v e d . 
He 
f u r t h e r 
s t a t e d 
t h a t t h e l a c e r a t i o n s t o t h e v i c t i m ' s 
r e c t u m 
were 
an 
i n d i c a t i o n o f 
p e n e t r a t i v e 
t r a u m a 
t o t h e r e c t u m 
s u f f e r e d 
a t o r n e a r 
t h e t i m e 
o f d e a t h . 
On 
r e - c r o s s -
e x a m i n a t i o n , 
D r . 
P a s t l i n i k 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t 
he 
c o u l d 
n o t 
d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e i n j u r i e s were t h e r e s u l t o f c o n s e n s u a l 
o r n o n c o n s e n s u a l 
i n t e r c o u r s e . 
24 
1080959 
j u r o r s 
f o r 
t h e same r e a s o n s 
i t s t r u c k 
p r o s p e c t i v e 
A f r i c a n -
A m e r i c a n j u r o r s . 
" ' " ' F o r p l a i n e r r o r t o e x i s t i n t h e 
B a t s o n 
c o n t e x t , t h e r e c o r d must r a i s e an 
i n f e r e n c e 
t h a t 
t h e 
s t a t e 
[ o r t h e d e f e n d a n t ] 
e n g a g e d 
i n 
" p u r p o s e f u l 
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n " 
i n 
t h e 
e x e r c i s e o f i t s p e r e m p t o r y c h a l l e n g e s . 
See 
Ex 
p a r t e W a t k i n s , 
509 
So. 
2d 
1074 
( A l a . ) , 
c e r t . d e n i e d , 
484 
U.S. 
918, 
108 
S. C t . 2 69, 
98 L . E d . 2 d 226 
( 1 9 8 7 ) . ' " ' 
" S m i t h 
v. 
S t a t e , 
756 
So. 
2d 
8 
92 , 915 
( A l a . 
C r i m . 
App. 
1 
9 9 8 ) , 
a f f ' d , 
756 
So. 
2d 
957 
( A l a . 
2 0 0 0 ) ( q u o t i n g 
R i e b e r 
v. 
S t a t e , 
663 
So. 
2d 
985, 
991 
( A l a . 
C r i m . 
App. 
1 9 9 4 ) , 
q u o t i n g 
i n 
t u r n 
o t h e r 
c a s e s ) . " 
Ex p a r t e W a l k e r , 
972 
So. 
2d a t 
742. 
F o l l o w i n g 
t h e 
s t r i k e s 
f o r 
c a u s e , 
14 
A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s 
r e m a i n e d on 
t h e v e n i r e . 
The 
S t a t e had 
30 p e r e m p t o r y 
s t r i k e s 
t o 
e x e r c i s e ; 
S h a r p 
had 
29. 
The 
S t a t e 
u s e d 
i t s p e r e m p t o r y 
s t r i k e s t o remove 11 o f t h e 14 A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n 
v e n i r e m e m b e r s . 
S h a r p s t r u c k two A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n 
v e n i r e m e m b e r s . 
One A f r i c a n -
A m e r i c a n v e n i r e m e m b e r s e r v e d 
on S h a r p ' s j u r y . 
The 
S t a t e 
m a i n t a i n s 
t h a t 
no 
i n f e r e n c e 
can 
be made f r o m 
t h e 
r e c o r d 
t h a t 
i t e n g a g e d 
i n 
p u r p o s e f u l 
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n 
b e c a u s e , i t s a y s , t h e r e c o r d c o n t a i n s r a c e - n e u t r a l r e a s o n s f o r 
s t r i k i n g 
t h e 
11 
A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n 
v e n i r e m e m b e r s . 
We 
h a v e 
r e v i e w e d 
t h e 
v o i r 
d i r e 
and 
t h e 
j u r y 
q u e s t i o n n a i r e s 
o f 
t h e 
25 
1080959 
v e n i r e m e m b e r s .
4 
Some o f t h e v e n i r e m e m b e r s a n s w e r e d 
q u e s t i o n s 
d u r i n g 
v o i r 
d i r e ; 
o t h e r s 
d i d 
n o t . 
The 
r e c o r d 
s u p p o r t s 
S h a r p ' s c o n t e n t i o n t h a t t h e S t a t e s t r u c k some 
A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n 
j u r o r s whose r e s p o n s e s 
t o 
t h e 
q u e s t i o n s 
p o s e d 
i n t h e 
j u r y 
q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were s i m i l a r t o t h e r e s p o n s e s o f w h i t e 
j u r o r s , 
a l t h o u g h 
i t d i d n o t 
s t r i k e 
t h e w h i t e 
j u r o r s . 
T h e r e f o r e , 
t h e 
r e c o r d c r e a t e s 
an i n f e r e n c e o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n on t h e p a r t 
o f 
t h e S t a t e . 
A l t h o u g h 
t h e S t a t e may 
have r a c e - n e u t r a l and 
non-
d i s c r i m i n a t o r y r e a s o n s f o r i t s a c t i o n s , i t was 
n e v e r r e q u i r e d 
t o 
a r t i c u l a t e them on t h e r e c o r d , and 
t h e r e c o r d on 
i t s f a c e 
i s n o t a d e q u a t e f o r us t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r a B a t s o n 
v i o l a t i o n 
o c c u r r e d . 
T h e r e f o r e , 
a l t h o u g h 
we 
r e a l i z e 
t h a t t h e 
C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s d i d n o t have b e f o r e 
i t and 
was 
n o t 
r e q u i r e d 
t o 
r e v i e w 
t h e 
j u r o r 
q u e s t i o n n a i r e s , 
we 
c o n c l u d e 
t h a t 
i t i s 
n e c e s s a r y 
t o r e v e r s e i t s j u d g m e n t and remand t h i s c a s e t o 
t h e 
C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s f o r i t t o o r d e r f u r t h e r 
p r o c e e d i n g s 
c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h i s o p i n i o n . 
See 
F l o y d v. S t a t e , 
[Ms. CR-05-
0 935, 
S e p t e m b e r 
28, 
2007] 
So. 
3d 
( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 
4 T h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e s w e r e n o t 
i n c l u d e d 
i n t h e 
r e c o r d 
on 
a p p e a l . 
See R u l e 1 0 ( a ) ( 6 ) , A l a . R. App. 
P. 
However, p u r s u a n t 
t o 
R u l e 
1 8 . 2 ( b ) , 
A l a . 
R. 
C r i m . 
P., 
we 
r e q u e s t e d 
t h a t 
t h e 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t 
c l e r k 
f o r w a r d 
t o 
t h i s 
C o u r t 
t h e 
j u r o r 
q u e s t i o n n a i r e s 
t o 
f a c i l i t a t e 
o u r 
p l a i n - e r r o r 
r e v i e w . 
26 
1080959 
2 0 0 7 ) ; 
L e w i s v . S t a t e , s u p r a . 
I f t h e S t a t e c a n n o t 
p r o v i d e 
r a c i a l l y 
n e u t r a l 
r e a s o n s 
f o r t h e u s e o f i t s p e r e m p t o r y 
c h a l l e n g e s a g a i n s t A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n v e n i r e m e m b e r s , S h a r p must 
r e c e i v e a new 
t r i a l . 
Ex p a r t e B a n k h e a d , 585 So. 2d 112 
( A l a . 
1 9 9 1 ) ; Ex p a r t e J a c k s o n , 516 So. 2d 768 ( A l a . 1 9 8 6 ) . 
REVERSED AND REMANDED. 
Cobb, C . J . , and W o o d a l l , 
S m i t h , 
B o l i n , and P a r k e r , 
J J . , 
c o n c u r . 
L y o n s and M u r d o c k , J J . , c o n c u r i n t h e r e s u l t . 
Shaw, J . , r e c u s e s 
h i m s e l f . * 
* J u d g e Shaw was a member o f t h e C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s 
when t h a t c o u r t c o n s i d e r e d 
t h i s 
c a s e . 
27