Title: Hargress v. City of Montgomery
Citation: 479 So. 2d 1137
Docket Number: N/A
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: August 30, 1985

479 So. 2d 1137 (1985)
Willie Mae HARGRESS, Administratrix of the Estate of William Hargress, Deceased
v.
The CITY OF MONTGOMERY and Eula Oliver.
84-59.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
August 30, 1985.
Rehearing Denied October 25, 1985.
*1138 Oscar W. Adams III, Birmingham, and J.L. Chestnut of Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders &amp; Turner, Selma, for appellant.
Robert C. Black and Randall Morgan of Hill, Hill, Carter, Franco, Cole &amp; Black, Montgomery, for appellee.
MADDOX, Justice.
This case arises out of the shooting death of William Hargress by a Montgomery City police officer, Eula Oliver. The administratrix of Hargress's estate sued Oliver and the City of Montgomery, alleging that the agents of the City of Montgomery "negligently, wrongfully, and by omitting to do what was reasonable, wrongfully" killed Hargress. In addition, plaintiff alleged that the City was negligent in its "regulations, policies, practices and customs." The jury returned a verdict for defendants, and plaintiff appeals.
Plaintiff presents four issues for our review, as follows: (1) whether the trial judge erred in allowing the defendant to rehabilitate Oliver's partner by eliciting from him a prior consistent statement; (2) whether the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury; (3) whether the trial judge should have recused himself, and (4) whether the court erred in not allowing the introduction of plaintiff's exhibit five. After reviewing the record, we find plaintiff's contentions to be without merit.
The plaintiff attempted to impeach officer Anthony Simmons as to whether the deceased was "flailing in the air" or "swinging" at officer Oliver. The plaintiff, *1139 relying on Simmons's prior deposition, asked Simmons the following questions:
The defendants then attempted to rehabilitate Simmons by asking him whether he had previously stated that Hargress was swinging at Oliver:
Plaintiff asserts that it was error for the trial court to allow Simmons to be rehabilitated after he had been impeached. We disagree. The plaintiff chose to use a limited part of Simmons's deposition in order to try to impeach him. The defendant then questioned Simmons as to statements made in the same deposition which tended to show that Simmons's present testimony was not inconsistent with that given at the deposition hearing. Rule 32, Ala.R.Civ.P., provides, in part:
In the present case, we hold that the trial court properly allowed the defendants to question Simmons concerning additional consistent statements made in the same deposition.
Plaintiff further claims that the trial court erred in giving the following jury instruction:
Prior to recharging the jury on this issue, the following exchanges occurred between the trial court and the plaintiff's counsel:
Afterwards, the appellant's counsel objected to the consideration of self-defense by the jury in regard to both negligence and wantonness. Plaintiff here argues as reversible error only the giving of the instruction as it relates to wantonness.
Despite plaintiff's contention, the trial court did not instruct the jury that self-defense was a defense to wantonness. A review of the entire charge indicates that the trial judge did instruct the jury that self-defense was one of the factors that could be taken into consideration in its consideration of the wantonness claim. From the above quoted portion of the record, it appears that plaintiff's counsel had originally agreed that "[s]elf-defense ... [was] part of the standard of care." In any event, under Rule 51, Ala.R.Civ.P., "reversible error occurs only when that error is prejudicial, when the trial court's instructions are viewed as an entity." Underwriters National Assurance Company v. Posey, 333 So. 2d 815 (Ala.1976). Viewing the jury instruction in its entirety, we find that there has been no prejudice to the plaintiff.
Assuming, however, that the court did instruct the jury that self-defense could be a defense to the wantonness count, we, nevertheless, still hold that no error occurred.
In McGehee v. Harris, 416 So. 2d 729, 731 (Ala.1982), the Court made the following observations regarding wantonness:
In determining whether Eula Oliver was guilty of wantonness, as defined in McGehee v. Harris, the jury clearly could have considered whether she was acting in selfdefense at the time.
*1141 We believe that Alabama law is clear to the conclusion that self-defense can be pleaded in an action for wrongful death. In Breed v. Atlanta, B. &amp; C.R. Co., 241 Ala. 640, 4 So. 2d 315 (1941), the plaintiff filed suit under three counts, the first two alleging negligence and the third alleging "wanton, willful, or intentional conduct." The Court held, on rehearing, that any contention that a defendant is precluded under the homicide act from pleading selfdefense is clearly without merit. There, the Court held:
241 Ala. 640, 645, 4 So. 2d 315.
Additional authorities are: Ashworth v. Alabama Great Southern R. Co., 211 Ala. 20, 99 So. 191 (1924) (self-defense was pleaded as a defense to complaints alleging that the death was a "wrongful act" and that the intestate was "wrongfully and intentionally" shot, and the Court wrote, "In [a] ... civil action the burden of proof in establishing the several elements of self-defense is as declared for a criminal case"); Kuykendall v. Edmondson, 208 Ala. 553, 94 So. 546 (1922) (self-defense allowed in an action alleging that the decedent was "wrongfully" killed); Suell v. Derricott, 161 Ala. 259, 49 So. 895 (1909) (self-defense was recognized as a defense to the plaintiff's action which alleged wrongful death resulting from the decedent's having been "unlawfully and intentionally" shot).
Based on the foregoing authority, we hold that the court did not err in instructing the jury that it could consider self-defense "as part of the standard of care"; nor would there have been error in instructing the jury that self-defense was a defense to wantonness.
Plaintiff further complains that the court failed to give requested jury charges No. 19 and 21. The record indicates that the plaintiff failed to object to the failure of the court to give jury charge No. 19, and that regarding jury charge No. 21, the plaintiff's counsel failed to state the specific grounds of his objection.
Plaintiff failed to sufficiently preserve any error as to either requested charge. Ala.R.Civ.P., Rule 51; Barksdale v. Pendergrass, 294 Ala. 526, 319 So. 2d 267 (1975).
Plaintiff asserts that because the trial judge once represented the City of Montgomery, he should have recused himself. Plaintiff states in her brief:
We hold that the trial judge was not disqualified from hearing the case. It is settled in Alabama that a mere accusation of bias unsupported by substantial facts does not require disqualification of the judge. Ross v. Luton, 456 So. 2d 249 (Ala. 1984). It is thus incumbent upon the party alleging bias to bring forth evidence to support his contention. Taylor v. Taylor, 387 So. 2d 849 (Ala.Civ.App.1980). In the present case, plaintiff merely alluded to a possible bias, without any supporting evidence; we therefore find that the trial judge did not err in refusing to recuse himself.
Plaintiff assigns as error the trial court's refusal to admit plaintiff's exhibit number five. The exhibit, according to plaintiff's brief, consisted of a "memorandum to Chief C.E. Swindall of the Montgomery Police Department from Major Sam Hicks, Jr." She says "the memorandum recommended that Officer Eula Oliver be dismissed because, as an officer, in Major Hicks's opinion, she could not properly perform her duties, having been engaged in voodoo activities, and he believed it would be impossible to get anyone to work with her without giving them a direct order."
The trial judge stated that he would allow plaintiff to introduce the fact that Oliver had been evaluated, but he would not allow evidence of voodoo activities to be admitted. The trial judge ruled that the probative value of Oliver's possible involvement in such activities was outweighed by its prejudicial value.
We do not believe the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to admit plaintiff's exhibit.
This Court, in Phoenix Ins. Co. of New York v. Leonard, 270 Ala. 427, 119 So. 2d 217 (1960), quoting Judge McElroy on The Law of Evidence in Alabama, held:
270 Ala. at 430, 119 So. 2d  at 219.
For all of the above-stated reasons, the judgment of the trial court is due to be affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
TORBERT, C.J., and JONES, SHORES and BEATTY, JJ., concur.