Court Opinion

ID: 9850259
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:54:13.893288+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:34.032963
License: Public Domain

PARKS, Judge,
concurring in part, dissenting in part.
I concur in the results of this case except for the treatment of the comments made by District Attorney Don Wood set forth in the opinion by Judge Bussey in footnote 1.
It is clear that this line of questioning was an attempt to reveal to the jury evidence of other improper acts or other crimes allegedly committed by the appellant, clearly in an effort to inflame or prejudice the jury. They are in no way “fleeting” comments, but were calculated to circumvent the rules of evidence and proper trial conduct. This type of questioning is patently improper, and could have caused reversal had the trial court not properly admonished the jury to disregard it.
So prejudicial were the District Attorney’s remarks that I would find the sentence imposed excessive because of the prejudicial impact of the questioning. I would reduce the sentence to fifteen (15) years for each count to run concurrently.