Opinion ID: 1721671
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: did the prosecution improperly comment on shell's failure to communicate his testimony to law enforcement officials prior to trial, in violation of doyle v. ohio ?

Text: On direct examination, Shell testified that on more than one occasion he had tried to tell the Sheriff about seeing three people run out of Mrs. Johnson's house on the evening of June 8. On cross-examination the prosecuting attorney then asked: Today is the first time you have told any official the version that you've given today? Shell responded that it was not. He now contends under this assignment of error that the prosecution's question on cross-examination constituted an improper comment on his right to remain silent and to consult with an attorney. He is incorrect in these assertions. Once again, the State correctly points out in their brief that no objection was made by defense counsel to this question, and therefore, the point is procedurally barred under the authority of Cole and Pinkney, supra . Turning nonetheless to the merits of the claim, Shell's reliance on Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 96 S.Ct. 2240, 49 L.Ed.2d 91 (1976), and U.S. v. Shavers, 615 F.2d 266 (5th Cir.1980), is misplaced because each of those cases is distinguishable from this one on a factual basis. Doyle addressed an attempt to impeach the defendant with his prior silence and Shavers dealt with the issue of whether the silence occurred pre- or post-arrest. In the case at bar, Shell testified to a version of the events of the morning of June 8 that had never before been given to the Sheriff's office, and in so doing Shell opened himself up to impeachment. The record reflects that Shell did in fact give the Sheriff four other versions of the story. Once he related this new sequence of events on direct examination, the prosecution was well within its rights on cross-examination to inquire further about the novelty of the story. Shell opened this door on direct examination of his own accord, and he should not be allowed to derive an unfair advantage (in effect, penalizing the prosecution) by having done so. There is no merit to this assignment of error.