Title: Swindle v. State

State: mississippi

Issuer: Mississippi Supreme Court

Document:

502 So. 2d 652 (1987) William Paul SWINDLE & Steven Wayne Anderson v. STATE of Mississippi. No. 56239. Supreme Court of Mississippi. February 4, 1987. Rehearing Denied March 4, 1987. John B. Farese, Farese, Farese & Farese, Ashland, Jimmy D. Shelton, Tupelo, and Ronald W. Lewis, Holcomb, Dunbar, Connell, Chaffin & Willard, Oxford, for appellant. Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Atty. Gen. by Harold H. Brittain, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee. Before ROY NOBLE LEE, P.J., and PRATHER and ANDERSON, JJ. ROY NOBLE LEE, Presiding Justice, for the Court: William Paul Swindle and Steven Wayne Anderson were jointly indicted, tried and convicted in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Mississippi, on a charge of possessing *653 more than one (1) kilogram of marijuana with intent to distribute. Swindle was sentenced to twelve (12) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and was fined fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). Anderson was sentenced to sixteen (16) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and was fined fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). They have appealed the judgment of conviction and sentences to this Court and have assigned four (4) errors in the trial below. Appellants were indicted at the August 1983 Term of the Lee County Circuit Court and a trial was held upon the indictment, resulting in a mistrial when the jury was unable to agree upon a verdict. The case was tried a second time in April, 1984, and the trial judge sustained appellant's motion for a mistrial when narcotics agent Clay McDonald, a witness for the State, testified contrary to an order of the court entered on a motion in limine. During that trial, a juror reported to the court that one Andy Wilson had offered her two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the purpose of influencing her verdict in the case. Thereupon, the jury was sequestered until the motion for mistrial was sustained upon another ground. The case was set for retrial on June 11, 1984, and was tried June 12-13, 1984. Prior to the June, 1984, trial, the lower court made known its intention to sequester and keep confidential the names of jurors and jury lists drawn for jury service beginning the week of June 11, 1984, and ordered the circuit clerk to summons the jurors by mail. The court held a hearing on the matter and the defense and prosecuting attorneys were given full opportunity to present their views, objections and arguments. The appellants strenuously objected to keeping the jury list confidential, apparently thinking that the prosecuting attorney and the sheriff's office would know the names of the jury lists. The court advised all attorneys that the order of confidentiality and sequestration provided that no person would have information as to the jurors summoned except the clerk and deputy who actually prepared the mail summonses. The jury list would not be made public until the jurors reported at 8:00 a.m. on the morning when court convened and the juror information sheets would be made available to the Bar after the juries were seated and impaneled. (This refers to juries impaneled for the week). Appellants filed a motion for continuance because of the court sequestering the jury list. In denying the motion, the lower court set out the procedure in impaneling juries in the First Circuit Court District, which was strictly followed in the present case: On the hearing for confidentiality of the jury list, an indictment charging Andy Wilson with jury tampering was introduced in evidence. The lower court refused to permit the appellants to call Andy Wilson to testify about the charge. Although Valentine v. State, 396 So. 2d 15 (Miss. 1981), was reversed on other grounds, the Court did discuss the question of sequestering the jury list as was done here. The Court said: 396 So. 2d at 17. At the sequestration hearing in the case sub judice, the court found the following: The lower court determined that a sensitive situation existed, when the present case came on for trial in June, 1984. It made no difference to the court on whose behalf the man Andy Wilson was tampering with the jury. The court's concern was to insure that a fair and untainted jury heard the case. Only the clerk knew the names on the jury list. No other persons knew the names of the potential jurors. Neither side had an advantage over the other. Under the circumstances here, we are of the opinion that the lower court followed the statute and the guidelines set forth in Valentine v. State, supra. Appellants' counsel were given unlimited time in voir dire of the jury. All parties apparently were satisfied with the jury as selected.[1] We find no reversible error here. During the State's case-in-chief, narcotics agents Clay McDonald and Bill Benyo testified that on August 2, 1983, they saw appellant Swindle's pickup truck in Tupelo. After receiving a tip from their confidential informer, they observed a marijuana "drop" from that vehicle in a rural area outside the city. Both agents testified that they recognized Swindle's truck in Tupelo and later in the rural area. Agent McDonald recognized appellant Swindle as the driver of the truck in the vicinity of the drop. He was unable to identify the passenger in the vehicle. Agent Benyo testified that he saw appellant Anderson get out of the pickup truck and deposit a plastic garbage bag near a tree, and that appellant Swindle was the driver of the pickup. Appellants relied upon the defense of alibi. They testified that they left Tupelo around 11:30 a.m. en route to an automobile auction in Baldwyn, Mississippi, and that they were at the auction sale during the time Agents Benyo and McDonald claimed to have seen them drop the marijuana. In rebuttal, the State called Tupelo Police Officer Ken Valentine to the stand. Valentine testified that he saw Swindle with a person, whom he could not identify, driving a pickup truck on Longdale Street, i.e., the same street in Tupelo where Agents McDonald and Benyo claimed to have seen it on the same day. Valentine's testimony corroborated the testimony of the narcotics agents and rebutted the appellant's alibi defense. The appellants specifically objected to Officer Valentine's testimony under Rule 4.07, Uniform Criminal Rules of Circuit Court Practice, which provides that, upon written demand of the prosecuting attorney, a defendant shall serve upon the State a written notice of his intention to offer the defense of alibi and state the specific place where the defendant claims to have been at the time of the alleged offense, together with the names and addresses of the witnesses upon whom he intends to rely for the alibi. Within ten (10) days thereafter, the prosecuting attorney is required to serve upon the defendant or his attorney written notice stating the names and addresses of the witnesses upon whom the state intends to rely to establish the defendant's presence at the scene of the alleged offense and to rebut testimony of the defendant's alibi witnesses. In the present case, the prosecuting attorney did not make written demand upon appellants' attorneys as to whether the alibi defense would be used. The State very well may have anticipated using the witness Valentine for some purpose other than that of rebutting an alibi.[2] *656 In discussing the effect of Rule 4.07, this Court said in Shavers v. State, 455 So. 2d 1299, 1302 (Miss. 1984): We are of the opinion that the lower court did not err in admitting the testimony of Officer Valentine as a rebuttal witness. The prosecuting attorney made the following comments in closing argument: The appellants made no objection to the above comments by the prosecuting attorney. The appellants are now procedurally barred from raising an objection to those remarks for the first time on appeal. Cummings v. State, 465 So. 2d 993 (Miss. 1985). The prosecuting attorney repeated the second statement later during his argument and an objection was made and sustained by the court. Without conceding that the statement was prejudicial, the trial court, after sustaining the objection, admonished the jury to disregard the statement. In Holifield v. State, 275 So. 2d 851 (Miss. 1973), the Court held that: 275 So. 2d at 856. Also, see Fairley v. State, 467 So. 2d 894, 900 (Miss. 1985). An additional comment by the prosecutor follows: Appellants objected to the above remark and the court sustained the objection, but denied a motion for mistrial. The appellants rely upon Fulgham v. State, 386 So. 2d 1099 (Miss. 1980), in support of their argument that the comment constituted reversible error. We are of the opinion that Fulgham v. State is distinguished from the present case and comment of the prosecuting attorney. In Fulgham, the argument linked the jury with the criminal justice system as a chain, involving law enforcement and grand jury, and referred to the petit jury as a part of law enforcement. The remark of the prosecuting attorney here did not constitute the jury as a link in a chain of law enforcement. Further, the lower court sustained the objection, although it was not asked to instruct the jury to disregard the remarks. Instances where statements of the prosecuting attorney along similar lines have been held not to be error follow: Appellant Swindle filed a motion in limine requesting that the prosecution be prohibited from asking questions of witnesses about conversations they may have had with confidential informants relating to the following subjects: (a) that defendant Swindle had in the past been involved in the sale of narcotics or used narcotics; (b) that defendant Swindle had used this locality as a "drop" place in the past; (c) that defendant Swindle would be operating a certain vehicle in the Plantersville area on the date in question. The same motion was sustained at the previous trial, and the court reaffirmed its earlier ruling without argument. In his opening remarks, the prosecutor stated the following: There was no objection to this statement or a later reference to the tip. Thus, the contemporaneous objection rule applies again. On direct examination, Agent McDonald testified: The defense objected on grounds of hearsay and attack on reputation and character in violation of the right under the Sixth Amendment and Art. 3, § 26, Miss. Const. 1890, to confront one's accusers. The trial judge overruled the objection on the ground that the agent could give an explanation as to his presence at the scene. The court cautioned the State not to inquire about what had taken place at the scene in the past. The defense again objected to the statement, moved for a mistrial, and in the alternative, asked the court to instruct the jury to disregard the question and answer. The objection was overruled, and the prosecutor resumed with the following question: The conversation of an informant is generally inadmissible as hearsay where it is a part of the State's development of its proof on the merits in a criminal case, but not in other circumstances where probable cause for an arrest or search is at issue. Ratcliff v. State, 308 So. 2d 225, 227-228 (Miss. 1975). See McVeay v. State, 355 So. 2d 1389, 1391 (Miss. 1978). However, an informant's *658 tip is admissible to the extent required to show why an officer acted as he did and was at a particular place at a particular time: McGowan v. State, 375 So. 2d 987, 990 (Miss. 1979). It is elemental that a police officer may show that he has received a complaint, and what he did about the complaint without going into the details of it. Tolbert v. State, 407 So. 2d 815 (Miss. 1981). The defense asked for the right to cross-examine on the matter of the informant. Later, on cross-examination, Agent McDonald denied stopping, interrogating and arresting someone that day on the Plantersville road, other than appellees. When pressed as to whether he stopped and interrogated anyone, the witness said, "Your Honor, that would help in an elimination process." The trial judge conducted a confidential examination of the witness. Agent McDonald testified that the informer was observed by a third party talking to him (McDonald) that day on the road and that the informant had told appellant Swindle that he had been stopped by the police and searched and arrested. The informant did this in order to protect himself. The witness stated that he would have to say that he stopped but did not search and arrest someone on the road that day. The trial court held that the information would be sufficient for the appellants to identify the confidential informant, stating that although to some extent the appellant would be deprived of the right to cross-examine, the public interest in maintaining secrecy of the informant's identity should prevail. Objections to similar questioning were sustained again two other times. The "informer's privilege" enables the prosecution to withhold the informer's identity. "In order for the trial court to require the identity of an informant be revealed, he must have been a participant in the crime or an eyewitness to the offense which would cause the confidential informant to become a material witness." Breckenridge v. State, 472 So. 2d 373, 377 (Miss. 1985). There is no evidence that the informant here was a participant in, or an eyewitness to, the offense. Disclosure of such a witness is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Id. Id. [quoting Daniels v. State, 422 So. 2d 289 (Miss. 1982)]. See Garvis v. State, 483 So. 2d 312, 316 (Miss. 1986). This Court has ruled the same where the informant was not a participant in the crime, but he personally saw drugs at a residence and related such information to the police, Read v. State, 430 So. 2d 832, 836 (Miss. 1983), and *659 where the informant apparently advised the police officers that they could purchase marijuana from the defendant, Young v. State, 245 So. 2d 26, 27 (Miss. 1971). In both the instant case and Ward v. State, 293 So. 2d 419, 421 (Miss. 1974), the appellant contended "that the failure to reveal the identity of the cooperating individual deprived him of the opportunity to determine the credibility of that individual and the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of confrontation and cross-examination of the witness against him." Id. The court said: Id. The assignment is rejected. We are of the opinion that the appellants received a fair trial and that there is no reversible error in the record. The judgment of the lower court is affirmed. AFFIRMED. WALKER, C.J., HAWKINS, P.J., and DAN M. LEE, PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN, ANDERSON and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur. [1] (BY APPELLANT SWINDLE'S COUNSEL): Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have about five minutes. With your indulgence, I have two things to take [sic] up. I appreciate the fact that you've listened. I think if I were tried, I'd like for your [sic] 12 people to try me. [2] If the appellants had intended to use the alibi defense on the third trial, they could have served notice upon the State that they so intended and then could have demanded to know the names and addresses of all witnesses to be used by the State in rebuttal of the alibi. That was not done.