Opinion ID: 1093261
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: did the trial court err in refusing to order the preparation of a transcript from the rankin county trial?

Text: Shortly after his appointment, David Stephenson moved that the court authorize the transcription of the court reporter's notes from the Rankin County trial that resulted in Fisher's acquittal. At a hearing on this motion, Stephenson said he needed the transcript so he could use it for impeachment purposes. The trial judge denied the motion, saying the transcript of the first trial in Lauderdale County was available to Stephenson and he could also consult with the lawyers and persons present during the Rankin County trial. Fisher claims that Britt v. North Carolina, 404 U.S. 226, 92 S.Ct. 431, 30 L.Ed.2d 400 (1971) required that Fisher, as an indigent, be furnished with a transcript of both the previous trials. Britt involved a defendant who was convicted of murder after his first trial for the same offense had ended in a deadlocked jury. He was denied the transcript from his first trial. The Supreme Court held that this was a violation of his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. There can be no doubt, wrote Justice Marshall for the majority, that the state must provide an indigent defendant with a transcript of prior proceedings when that transcript is needed for an effective defense on appeal. 404 U.S. at 227, 92 S.Ct. at 433, 30 L.Ed.2d at 403. Britt and the other cases cited to us all involve the denial of transcripts from prior proceedings in the same case. We do not read them as requiring the state to provide, as a matter of course, transcripts from related cases. It seems to us that in the latter case, the petitioner should be expected to show some specific need or reason for seeking the transcripts. The bare appearance of possible overlap in evidence should not, ordinarily, be enough. The state has a serious obligation to assist an indigent in getting a fair trial but it is under no duty to subsidize fishing expeditions.