Opinion ID: 1109226
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 19

Heading: whether the lower court erred in limiting the cross-examination of state's investigator

Text: ¶ 48. Tanner asserts that the trial court erred by limiting his cross-examination of Detective Brent Winstead as to his theory of the case. Specifically, Tanner argues the court erred by not allowing Tanner to question Winstead about a white truck that was seen by a neighbor at Wood's house on the night of the murder. Tanner further maintains that Winstead centered his case around Tanner because he thought Tanner owned a white truck. ¶ 49. The State, however, contends that the court properly sustained the objections upon the grounds of hearsay. The State further maintains that all information Tanner sought could have been properly put before the jury through the witnesses which had been subpoenaed. This Court agrees and finds Tanner's assertions that the court erred in limiting cross-examination of Winstead to be without merit. ¶ 50. As stated previously, relevancy and admissibility of evidence are largely within the discretion of the trial court and this Court will reverse only where that discretion has been abused. Underwood, 708 So.2d at 31. Here, Tanner was questioning Detective Winstead as to what he had been told by the neighbor, Rosemary Scheuerman. Such testimony would be hearsay and is prohibited by Rule 802 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. In fact, Tanner was allowed to question Scheuerman, and elicited the following response: Q: Now, let me back up just a moment. The personfirst of all, the vehicle that pulled in behind Mrs. Woods, was it behind her or was it partially obscured by her vehicle? A: It was partially obscured by her vehicle. Q: Could you tell what kind of vehicle it was? A: No. I jump to conclusions, and I jumped to conclusions on that vehicle.... Further, outside of the jury's presence, Tanner was allowed to question Detective Winstead about the white truck and the significance he placed on the white truck. Q: Detective Winstead, what, if any, significance did you attach to a white pickup truck in your investigation of this capital murder case? A: That Boman Tanner owned a white pickup truck. Q: Why was that significant? A: At one time Rosemary Scheuerman said that there was a white pickup pulled in next to Verna Wood's car.       Q: Have you since, I mean, is that one of the reasons why you thought Bo Tanner was a suspect because he owned and drove a white pickup truck? A: That was one of the reasons. Q: Since then you subsequently learned that he did not own a white pickup truck; is that correct? A: Right. Although the truck may have been an initial factor in Tanner's becoming a suspect, it was not the sole factor. Tanner was not arrested until the police discovered he sold Wood's missing diamonds to a pawn shop. The testimony concerning the truck was a minor point and was not the central or deciding factor surrounding Tanner's arrest. Consequently, Tanner's assertion that the court erred by limiting his cross-examination as to Detective Winstead's theory of the white truck is without merit. ¶ 51. Tanner also asserts that the court erred by not allowing him to cross-examine Detective Winstead about the time of Wood's death. At the preliminary hearing, Winstead testified that the time of death was approximately 5:00 p.m. At trial, however, the State provided testimony of a pathologist, Dr. Galvez, that the time of death was between 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. Outside the presence of the jury, Tanner was allowed to question Winstead about why he said the time of death was 5:00 p.m. at the preliminary hearing. Winstead responded that his testimony at the preliminary hearing was based solely on Coroner Robert Martin's report, which placed the time of death at 5:00 p.m. At trial, Robert Martin testified as to why he put down 5:00 p.m. as follows: Q: What time did you put there? A: 1700, which is 5 p.m. Q: All right. A: And I may explain that I always say approximately, but the computer does not have a thing to put the plus or minus ... Q: A pure approximation? A: Right.       Q: Is the time of death the determination that you referred to a while ago that the pathologist has the final say so, medically speaking. A: Yes.       Q: I think you said that you put down five o'clock p.m. was time of death, Coroner Martin? A: Yes, sir, in my opinion. Q: What did you base that on. A: Several things. In talking with family, and so forth, I understand that Mrs. Wood had gone to a dentist, and I believe left there about 3:30, or so. And in my estimation I was allowing for time if she had stopped at a store or gas to get home. And the other thing was that she apparently had on the same clothing she had at the dentist office. And in my experience, I find that most women tend to change clothes when they get home. So from the time she left the dentist office, and taking into consideration maybe traffic, maybe stopping for gas, or a store, whatever, coming into the house. I understand there was some food laid out looked like to be prepared for a meal, doing that and then maybe to change clothes, and that was what I was going by, plus the condition of the body. Martin's testimony clearly indicates that his time of death was only an approximation based on what he had been told by family and friends. At the preliminary hearing, Winstead testified the time of death was 5:00 p.m. This testimony was based solely on Martin's report because the pathology report was not yet available. Although, Tanner has an alibi at 5:00 p.m. the day Wood was killed, the testimony, taken as a whole, conclusively holds that Wood was sometime killed between 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. A narrower determination can not be made, and Tanner suffered no harm by not being able to cross-examine Winstead about his contradiction in testimony in front of the jury. The jury heard the testimony of Martin as to why he placed the time of death at 5:00 p.m. and also heard the testimony of Scheuerman, who said she saw Wood between 4:20 and 4:35 p.m. Consequently, the court did not abuse its discretion, and this issue is without merit.