Opinion ID: 1259852
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Other Enumerations

Text: 2. The state's evidence, including evidence of Pryor's confession, supported the verdicts. Lowe v. State, 225 Ga. 56 (165 SE2d 861) (1969). (Enumerations 2 and 3). 3. There is no merit to Enumeration 4, arguing that the court erred in failing to instruct the jury to purge their minds of testimony to the effect that certain fingerprints used for comparison purposes were Pryor's. The court instructed the jury that they were to consider this testimony only if the prosecutor later connected it up. Pryor did not request cautionary instructions nor move for a mistrial. The claim that the court erred in allowing the state to plead surprise and entrapment of its witness is similarly without merit. The witness was Pryor's great grandfather, and the question was whether or not Pryor was living at the witness' house at the time the prosecutor and the sheriff came to the residence to conduct a search for the murder weapon. The witness' power to consent to a search of the residence was critical. It is clear from reading the transcript that the witness had in fact previously told the prosecuting attorney that Pryor was not living there at the time in question but had abandoned his former room; but prior to being cross examined by the prosecutor the witness testified that Pryor was living there. The witness' responses to questions indicated difficulty communicating with the questioner, and it does indeed appear from the cross examination that he did not actually intend to deny that Pryor had moved out. His first testimony was a surprise and was damaging, and under Code Ann. § 38-1801 the prosecutor was correctly allowed to cross examine him. In any event, the prosecutor is not required to show that the witness' testimony is a total surprise, nor that it is affirmatively damaging. Wilson v. State, 235 Ga. 470 (219 SE2d 756) (1975). In both instances the testimony was merely cumulative of properly admitted evidence and Pryor suffered no harm from its admission. Welch v. State, 237 Ga. 665, 676 (229 SE2d 390) (1976); Bryant v. State, 236 Ga. 790 (225 SE2d 309) (1976). 4. In Enumeration 5, Pryor claims three errors. (a) During the cross examination of Sheriff Pope, Pryor's attorney asked, Can you tie this gun to the fatal wounds of Mrs. Broome? We find no error in the trial court's ruling that the response would call for a legal conclusion by the sheriff. Mitchell v. State, 236 Ga. 251 (223 SE2d 650) (1976). Whether the state's evidence showed the shotgun to be the murder weapon was an issue for the jury to determine; Pryor confessed that it was. In any event, it was the crime lab's job, and not the sheriff's, to tie the weapon to the crime. (b) The court allowed State's Exhibits Nos. 18 and 18A (the evidence bag and certain shotgun shells) to be admitted into evidence over Pryor's objection that continuity of possession had not been established from the shotgun owner's residence to the crime laboratory. Under our holding in Painter v. State, 237 Ga. 30, 33 (226 SE2d 578) (1976) that circumstances must establish a reasonable assurance of the identity of the evidence but need not exclude every possibility of tampering, the evidence in this case establishes a sufficient chain of custody to authorize the admission of the shotgun shells into evidence. (c) Pryor's great grandfather testified that the officers asked if they could come in and search, and he said yes. This evidence was properly admitted over defense objection that the response involved hearsay as to what the officers asked. It is difficult to understand Pryor's argument here. The testimony was relevant to show consent which was freely and voluntarily given by one with custody of a home, validating a search and seizure. Welch v. State, supra. Additionally, since Pryor had moved before the search took place, he had no standing to challenge it. See Phillips v. State, 237 Ga. 623 (229 SE2d 407) (1976). Enumeration 5 is without merit. 5. In Enumeration 6, Pryor alleges the court erred in denying his pre-trial motion for discovery and to compel disclosure, without holding an in camera inspection, (which Pryor did not request). Denial of an in camera inspection is not automatically error. Hicks v. State, 232 Ga. 393, 396 (207 SE2d 30) (1974). Discovery as such is not available to an accused in criminal cases in Georgia. Hicks v. State, 232 Ga. 393, supra. Brown v. State, 238 Ga. 98 (231 SE2d 65) (1976), contains an analysis of discovery as applied to criminal cases. We held there that a motion to produce books, writings or other documents or tangible things pursuant to Georgia Code Ann. §§ 38-801 (g) and 38-802 is applicable to criminal cases. (a) Pryor complains that he was not informed by the state of what would turn out to be crucial evidence by the state's fingerprint expert and firearms expert. However, Pryor was furnished these witnesses' names prior to trial, and could have determined their testimony by questioning them. This complaint shows no error. Weatherford v. Bursey, ___ U. S. ___ (No. 75-1510, decided February 22, 1977). Moreover, their evidence was not favorable to Pryor, which is required before he has any right to compel the state to disclose it. Hicks v. State, supra. (b) His claim that he was not advised that one state's witness had been jailed for driving without a license is without merit. For impeachment purposes conviction of a crime of moral turpitude is required. (c) A tape recording of his confession, running several hours, and a typed transcript of it, are claimed to have been erroneously denied under the discovery motion. Neither the tape nor the transcript was introduced into evidence. Pryor's counsel were permitted before trial to hear the tape; however, they argue here that the tapes they heard contained erasures, whereas the transcript was complete. We are thus inferentially invited to conclude that exculpatory matter appeared on the transcript. The burden is on Pryor to show that he was denied beneficial evidence which was so important that its absence prevented his receiving a fair trial. Carter v. State, 237 Ga. 617, 619 (229 SE2d 411) (1976). The appellant has the burden of showing how his case has been materially prejudiced, even when the trial court declines to make an in camera inspection. Hicks v. State, supra, 232 Ga. at 396. Pryor has not carried that burden, and his claim of error is without merit. Coachman v. State, 236 Ga. 473, 475 (224 SE2d 36) (1976). 6. Pryor was tried on indictment number 5075; there was an earlier, untried indictment charging him with the victim's murder. Under Division 1 hereof, No. 5075 was not duplicitous for any reason claimed. The pendency of another indictment related to the same transaction does not vitiate his conviction. Appleby v. State, 9 Ga. App. 570 (71 SE 876) (1911). 7. In Enumeration 8 Pryor alleges the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial. During opening argument, the district attorney stated: We expect to show you that the defendant admitted at that time that he had indeed slain Mrs. Grace Broome, that he was very bitter, that he slew her without any justification, any cause, other than his own bitterness. Pryor objected, and the court instructed the jury, The jury will understand that this is what the District Attorney says he expects to prove and you will not consider any statement the District Attorney makes as evidence. Under the facts of this crime, showing a wholly unprovoked abduction and killing, the jury was entitled to infer malice. We see nothing inherently damaging in the use of the word bitterness. We cannot agree with Pryor's argument that since he was black and the victim white, the word bitterness encourages the jury to see racial overtones in his motivation. Assuming arguendo that the argument was improper, it was cured by the judge's corrective instruction. See Watkins v. State, 237 Ga. 678 (229 SE2d 465) (1976). 8. In Enumeration 9, Pryor claims error in the court's allowing witnesses to testify for the state whose names were not furnished him before arraignment after timely demand was made under Code Ann. § 27-1403. In the case of both witnesses the district attorney stated in his place that the evidence was newly discovered and that the state was not aware of the evidence at the time Pryor was furnished with a list of witnesses. The trial court did not err in permitting these witnesses to testify. See Code Ann. § 27-1403; Welch v. State, 237 Ga. 665, 677, supra; Butler v. State, 226 Ga. 56, 58-59 (172 SE2d 399) (1970). 9. Pryor contends that the testimony of Deputy Dean was not the best evidence of his confession because the confession was taped and the tape subsequently transcribed. He does not challenge the voluntariness of the statement and, indeed, a hearing under Jackson v. Denno, 378 U. S. 368 (1964) was held at trial. There appears to be no contest concerning the content of the statement, whether from memory of Deputy Dean, recorded on tape, or transcribed. The best evidence rule Code Ann. §§ 38-203, 38-701 applies only to writings ( Smith v. State, 236 Ga. 5, 8 (222 SE2d 357) (1976)), and only where the contents of the writings are in issue. Springer v. State, 238 Ga. 81 (230 SE2d 883) (1976). This claim is without merit. 10. Pryor's claim that his confession was inadmissible because the arrest warrant in his case was invalid under Connally v. Georgia, ___ U. S. ___ (97 SC 546, 50 LE2d 444), because it was issued by a justice of the peace for a fee, is irrelevant. Although the evidence is unclear as to whether the warrant was issued before or after the confession, it is clear that the defendant had not been placed under arrest at the time he confessed.