Opinion ID: 1663845
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Parmalee's Statements

Text: Parmalee's statements were provided five or six days before trial. The production of Parmalee's statements to the police clearly did not violate the forty-eight hour rule. However, waiting four days before trial to provide his statement to the grand jury investigating the shooting of Britt Bell violated the spirit, if not the letter, of RCr 5.16(3), which provides in pertinent part, any person indicted by the grand jury shall have a right to procure a transcript of any stenographic report or a duplicate of any mechanical recording relating to his or her indictment.... (emphasis added). Gosser first requested a copy or a tape of the grand jury testimony on March 1, 1996. The transcript of Parmalee's testimony to the grand jury was not provided to the defense until September 2, 1997. While it is not clear from the record when a copy of the rest of the grand jury testimony was provided to Gosser, it apparently was provided much earlier in time. The Commonwealth has offered absolutely no justification or reason that it delayed providing the defense with Parmalee's testimony to the grand jury. While the failure to do so is indefensible, it is not reversible error under the facts of this case. Whether a continuance is appropriate in a particular case depends upon the unique facts and circumstances presented. Snodgrass v. Commonwealth, Ky., 814 S.W.2d 579 (1991). A ruling on a motion for a continuance will not be overturned without a showing of abuse of discretion. Bagby v. Commonwealth, Ky., 424 S.W.2d 119 (1968). In denying Gosser's motion for a continuance, the trial court stated that, while it found defense counsel's argument to be compelling, it also found that trying the case as scheduled would not substantially prejudice the defense. Gosser argues that notice of the Commonwealth's deal with Parmalee and the tardily provided written statements necessitated defense counsel reformulating the case. While possibly true, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in denying Gosser's motion for a continuance, especially in light of the fact that this case previously had been continued twice because of scheduling conflicts.