Title: State v. Kidwell
Citation: 199 Kan. 752, 434 P.2d 316
Docket Number: 44,977
State: Kansas
Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court
Date: November 13, 1967

199 Kan. 752 (1967)
434 P.2d 316
STATE OF KANSAS, Appellant,
v.
THOMAS M. KIDWELL, Appellee.
No. 44,977

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed November 13, 1967.
Robert D. Hecht, County Attorney, argued the cause and Robert C. Londerholm, Attorney General, was with him on the brief for the appellant.
Ernest J. Rice, of Topeka, argued the cause and Arthur E. Palmer, of Topeka, was with him on the brief for the appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
FROMME, J.:
This appeal is by the state from an order granting a new trial following defendant's conviction of first degree murder.
After verdict of guilty Thomas M. Kidwell filed a motion for new trial alleging nine grounds of error. All but two of these grounds were overruled. The two remaining were:
The motion was argued and taken under advisement. Pertinent portions of the order read:
We note that the trial court in giving the basis for granting a new trial did not discuss insufficiency of the evidence.
On appeal the state argues that the scope of the cross-examination of the character witness was within proper bounds and it was manifest error to grant a new trial.
The defendant contends the cross-examination was improper under the provisions of K.S.A. 60-447. Defendant further contends that this appeal falls within the cases in which this court has said granting of a new trial lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and its ruling will not be disturbed in the absence of a showing of an abuse of discretion or other manifest error.
The abstract of appellant sets out the testimony of Jean Moffitt, a witness for defendant. She testified that the defendant had a *754 very good reputation in her community. On cross-examination the county attorney inquired as follows:
"A. The crime?
"Q. Did you consider that fact?
"A. Yes, sir.
"MR. THOMPSON: Objection, Your Honor.
..............
"THE COURT: Overruled.
..............
"A. I'm afraid I don't understand you, sir.
"A. Are you referring to the wife desertion?
"A. Yes, sir.
"A. Of my own knowledge, no, sir, I don't know.
"Q. Were you on his bond?
"A. No, I wasn't on his bond.
When a defendant in criminal proceedings calls a witness to testify to his good reputation in the community he does so in an effort to convince the jury that it is improbable that a person of such reputation would be guilty of the crime charged. In such case the prosecution is entitled to cross-examine the character witness as to knowledge of certain specific reports of misdeeds by defendant for *755 the purpose of testing the reliability of the testimony as to the reputation of defendant. This is not permitted to establish the truth of the reports. It is permitted only to determine if the witness is in a position to know and evaluate the defendant's general reputation and to point out bias or prejudice of the witness. (State v. McDonald, 57 Kan. 537, 46 Pac. 966; State v. Yeater, 95 Kan. 247, 147 Pac. 1114; State v. McKee, 131 Kan. 263, 291 Pac. 950; State v. Earley, 192 Kan. 144, 386 P.2d 221; Wharton's Criminal Evidence, 12th Ed. Vol. 3, § 865.)
The provisions of K.S.A. 60-447 do not limit cross-examination of a character witness as defendant suggests. The purpose of inquiry as to known reports, arrests or convictions is limited to testing the credibility, bias or prejudice of the witness. In such case the evidence is not for the purpose of proving conduct of the defendant. It is not for the purpose of proving a trait of defendant's character. The inquiry is permitted solely for the purpose of enabling the jury to determine what weight should be given to the testimony. Reputation is the issue, not conduct, not guilt or innocence. Therefore the limitations on evidence imposed by the above statute do not apply in the present case. (See Gard  Kansas Code of Civil Procedure § 447; Vernon's Kansas Statutes Annotated Vol. 4, § 60-447.)
We note that the state by cross-examination did not attempt to determine this witness' knowledge as to a particular known report or charge. The first question referred to a charge of "crime" in Sedgwick county. When the witness asked "what crime" no further explanation was forthcoming. Later when the witness asked the county attorney if he was referring to "wife desertion" the county attorney again failed to point out the certain specific charge about which he inquired. The redirect examination by defense counsel sheds no light upon this matter. It is true the witness assumed to know the crime referred to by the attorney. She stated she was aware the defendant was charged with a "crime." Such a general question and answer would not be helpful to a jury in determining credibility, bias or prejudice.
When evidence is introduced for a limited purpose the trial court should explain the limitation to the jury and limit its application to that purpose. (Griffith v. Railroad Co., 100 Kan. 500, 166 Pac. 467; See also 53 Am. Jur. Trial § 670; K.S.A. 60-406; PIK 2.40.)
The abstract furnished by appellant does not indicate that this limitation was properly explained to the jury. The purpose of the *756 inquiry is to determine whether the character witness is in a position to know and evaluate the defendant's reputation in the community. The jury should have been advised of this limitation. The instructions to the jury are not included in the abstract.
The ruling on defendant's motion for new trial clearly indicates that the trial court felt quite strongly that defendant did not have a fair trial because the jury was left "with the unfair and prejudicial inference that Kidwell was an ex-convict."
This court has followed the rule that the granting of a motion for new trial lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and its ruling thereon will not be disturbed in the absence of a showing of an abuse of discretion or other manifest error. (State v. Jolly, 196 Kan. 56, 62, 410 P.2d 267; State v. Clark, 171 Kan. 734, 237 P.2d 255; State v. Miller, 154 Kan. 267, 118 P.2d 561.)
In the present case the question of abstract law on the propriety of cross-examination of the character witness is discernible, but the question of manifest error is not so readily discernible from this printed record. The trial court expressed its opinion that the jury was left with an unfair and prejudicial inference that the defendant was an ex-convict. The specific reason behind the trial court's opinion is not clear from the record. It may have been because of what it believed to be improper questions on cross-examination of the witness. It may have been because of the court's failure to require the particular report, arrest or conviction to be identified with sufficient certainty to enable the cross-examination to proceed. It may have been because of failure to make clear to the jury the limited purpose for which such examination was permitted. Under these circumstances we cannot say that error was manifest.
For the foregoing reasons no abuse of discretion or other manifest error has been made to appear and the order granting defendant a new trial is affirmed.