Opinion ID: 2539046
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Improper Rebuttal TestimonyTelephone Calls

Text: Miller contends the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce rebuttal testimony concerning two telephone calls Miller made from jail to his grandmother. Two calls made on December 13, 2007, and February 25, 2008, were played for the jury and transcripts of the calls were admitted as exhibits. On appeal, Miller argues that because these phone calls were made approximately one year or more after the homicides, they were not relevant to his state of mind at the time the murders were committed. He also argues on appeal that this evidence was not proper rebuttal because it was not responsive to any evidence presented by the defense. At trial, Miller objected to the transcripts of the calls on the basis that they were hearsay, an official record that was transcribed by someone other than a certified court reporter, and selective of the numerous such calls recorded. While Miller did inquire as to what the calls were offered to rebut, he never objected on the basis that the calls were improper rebuttal or too remote in time to be relevant to his state of mind at the time the murders were committed. An appellant cannot change the nature and scope of his argument on appeal, but is bound by the extent and character of the objections and arguments presented at trial. Tester v. State, 342 Ark. 549, 30 S.W.3d 99 (2000). Miller's argument on appeal was not raised below, and therefore is not preserved for appellate review. Green v. State, 365 Ark. 478, 231 S.W.3d 638 (2006).