Opinion ID: 1676539
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Trial Court's Statement to the Jury

Text: Mr. Dodson argues that the trial court erred in making the following statement to the jury during voir dire: ... with possession of Schedule IV controlled substance namely marijuana in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated 5-64-101, a Class C felony ... According to Ark.Code Ann. § 5-64-401(c), possession of marijuana is a class C felony only if it is the defendant's third or subsequent drug conviction. Mr. Dodson contends therefore that the trial court's reference to a class C felony effectively told the jury that he had two prior drug convictions, and thereby violated the principle that prior convictions should not be disclosed to the jury until guilt is determined. In response, the State suggests that Mr. Dodson's argument is barred because he failed to abstract the trial court's statement to the jury or his objection to the statement. We agree. The challenged statement appears for the first time in the argument portion of Mr. Dodson's brief. The record on appeal is confined to that which is abstracted and cannot be contradicted or supplemented by statements made in the argument portions of the briefs. Jones v. State, 327 Ark. 85, 937 S.W.2d 633 (1997). In addition, transcript or record references in the appellant's argument are no substitute for a proper abstract. Id. Mr. Dodson also states for the first time in the argument portion of his brief that the trial court made the statement over the objection of the Appellant, but such scattered references are not a substitute for a proper abstract. Moncrief v. State, 325 Ark. 173, 176, 925 S.W.2d 776, 778 (1996). Accordingly, we must affirm on this point without reaching the merits. 5. Admonishment by the Trial Court For his final point on appeal, Mr. Dodson asserts that the trial court improperly admonished the jury after the State made an untimely objection to Mr. Dodson's closing argument. The State responds that this point must be affirmed because Mr. Dodson did not abstract his closing argument, the State's objection, and the trial court's admonition to the jury. The State is correct. This failure to abstract precludes us from considering Mr. Dodson's final point on appeal. See Harris v. State, 322 Ark. 167, 907 S.W.2d 729 (1995). Affirmed.