Opinion ID: 1954490
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Detective Marll's Testimony About Charles Johnson

Text: The first issue that we shall address is whether Appellant was deprived of a fair hearing because of Detective Philip Marll's testimony regarding prosecution witness Charles Johnson. As stated in part I., supra, Charles Johnson testified for the State about inculpatory statements Appellant made to him while the two were cellmates. During cross-examination, defense counsel attempted to undermine Charles Johnson's credibility by showing he had a plan to reduce his prison time on pending charges by providing the State with information on other inmates' cases. To support this theory, defense counsel asked if he had rifled through Appellant's papers and the case files of other prisoners, but he denied doing so. Arthur Rogers and Ventura McLee testified as defense witnesses, stating that they had seen Charles Johnson looking through either their own case files or displaying to them the case documents of other prisoners. Timothy Wren also testified for the defense, stating that Charles Johnson told him he had seen Appellant's charge papers. The State then called Marll, who was one of the investigating officers in the case, as a rebuttal witness. He testified that on November 23, 1994, he was informed that Charles Johnson had contacted his unit and asked to speak with someone about the Wanda Johnson murder. Subsequently, Marll and his partner went to the detention center and brought Charles Johnson back to the police department, where they obtained his written statement. After answering questions regarding his familiarity with the charging document, police report, and affidavit in support of the search warrant, Marll testified as follows: [State's Attorney:] Now, what I am going to ask you to do, Detective, is without referring to specifics, have you had the opportunity to compare what information [Charles] Johnson gave you in comparison to the information that was in the charging papers and the affidavit in support of the search warrant? [Marll:] Yes, sir, I was. [State's Attorney:] And is there any information within the information that Mr. Johnson gave you that is above and beyond that which was contained within the charging documents and this search warrant which you were able to verify? [Marll:] Yes, sir. There was a significant number of statements that were made by Mr. Johnson, some factual statements that were made by Mr. Johnson that were not included in the application for statement of charges and/or the affidavit for the search and seizure warrants that myself and my partner obtained. These statements which I knew upon hearing them from Mr. Johnson to be truthful, and I was able to verify each and every statement that he gave us. (Emphasis added). The Appellant contends that the emphasized portion of Marll's testimony was improper and prejudicial because Marll was offering his opinion as to Charles Johnson's credibility as a witness. In support of his contention, Appellant relies primarily on Bohnert v. State, in which we stated: In a criminal case tried before a jury, a fundamental principle is that the credibility of a witness and the weight to be accorded the witness' testimony are solely within the province of the jury.... It is ... error for the court to permit to go to the jury a statement, belief, or opinion of another person to the effect that a witness is telling the truth or lying.