Court Opinion

ID: 9855895
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:33:40.987485+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:37:16.551530
License: Public Domain

McMurray, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
I concur fully with Divisions 1 and 3 of the majority opinion. But I cannot agree with Division 2 and the judgment of affirmance.
Defendant’s sole defense at his trial was that of entrapment. The substance of the evidence by the state and the defendant is somewhat similar in many instances although there are many differences in the testimony. An undercover agent had been brought into the county for the purpose of buying marijuana. This witness testified he approached the defendant because the agent witness and another had “made an undercover drug buy” from the defendant’s brother. At the residence of the brother and the defendant he asked the defendant where the brother was that night and finding that he was out of town asked the defendant if he knew of a location where he could purchase a quantity of marijuana. He and the defendant then proceeded to another location in the defendant’s car allegedly to obtain a quantity of marijuana. The state’s witness then established the purchase of the marijuana. See Division 1 of the majority opinion.
*632The defendant on direct examination admitted that this undercover agent witness, whom he knew as Nathan or Nate and had seen on several other occasions, had requested him to buy him some beer which he did and then asked “for some marijuana, reefer,” but that he did not know where he could “find a reefer.” But in riding around with him and approaching a crowd of people the agent requested him to ask these people if they knew where he could find some marijuana, and “we ask them about the marijuana. So, one of the dudes said, ‘Yes, I have got some marijuana,’ said ‘It’s going to cost you $35.00,’ Nathan gave me $35.00... He gives me the $35.00.1 give the $35.00 to the man. The man give me the bag of reefers. I give the reefers to Nathan.”
The first and second enumerations of error complain that the trial court committed harmful error in allowing the state, over timely objection, to place the defendant’s character into evidence without his first having placed same into issue and thereafter in overruling defendant’s motion for mistrial based upon the same situation. In my opinion these alleged errors are meritorious. The majority, upon reviewing the facts, has placed its construction on defendant’s response during cross examination as constituting a denial that he had ever been involved in any offenses involving marijuana. I, therefore, must point out the chain of events here involved.
During direct examination of the defendant in the defense phase of the case, defendant testified, after admitting the purchase of the marijuana for the undercover agent, as shown above, that the undercover agent witness had given him one of the beers out of the six-pack purchased “and so he left and I seen him five or six times after that. He always asked me did I know where he could get some marijuana, and I would always say, ‘Naw, I don’t know where you can get no marijuana, I just don’t know where you can get none. I don’t mess with it. I don’t know where you can get any marijuana.” Clearly, this evidence involved activities by and between the undercover agent and the defendant after the purchase of the marijuana in question, not prior to the purchase, nor did defendant claim he did not ever “mess” with marijuana.
On cross examination thereafter defendant’s answer to a question by the district attorney that “you made the statement to the question by your lawyer,.. ., that you didn’t sell any marijuana and that you didn’t fool with it, is that right?” was “Yes, sir.” He was then asked the question, “You don’t fool with marijuana?” to which he replied, “No, sir.” He was then asked, “You never have in your life?” Whereupon objection was made that this was an improper question.
After considerable colloquy in the absence of the jury, a motion for mistrial was made inasmuch as the court, defense counsel and the *633district attorney were aware that some five years before in 1975 the defendant had been convicted of possessing less than one ounce of marijuana for which he was sentenced to confinement for a period of 12 months. The trial court construed the defendant to have answered “I don’t have any marijuana, and I don’t fool with it,” and that this “opened the door enough for him [district attorney] to ask the question about this,” the district attorney contending that he had proof that he does fool with it.
However, the testimony to which the defendant had testified was that since the alleged sale of marijuana the undercover agent witness had returned to ask him to get some more marijuana to which he had replied that he did not know where he could get any marijuana, that is, “I don’t mess with it, I don’t know where you can get any marijuana.”
The general character of a defendant on trial for the commission of a crime and his character in other transactions is irrelevant unless the defendant himself chooses to put his character in issue. See Code §§ 38-201, 38-202; Bacon v. State, 209 Ga. 261, 262 (71 SE2d 615); Brown v. State, 118 Ga. App. 617, 618 (1) (165 SE2d 185).
Generally, evidence which in any manner shows or tends to show that the accused has committed another crime wholly independent from that for which he is on trial even though it be a crime of the same sort, is irrelevant and inadmissible unless the witness has placed his character in other transactions in issue. See Brown v. State, 118 Ga. App. 617, 619, supra, and cases cited therein; Cawthon v. State, 119 Ga. 395, 396 (4-6), 409-411 (46 SE 897); Cox v. State, 165 Ga. 145 (1) (139 SE 861). The defendant had not placed his character in evidence. Consequently, if there is evidence of an independent crime allowed in evidence which is irrelevant and inadmissible it is naturally prejudicial and requires the grant of a new trial. See Stanley v. State, 94 Ga. App. 737 (1), 740-743 (96 SE2d 195); Wiggins v. State, 80 Ga. App. 258 (2), 260 (55 SE2d 842); Folds v. State, 90 Ga. App. 849, 852 (2) (84 SE2d 584); Sikes v. State, 76 Ga. App. 883 (1), 884 (47 SE2d 677). The misdemeanor conviction in no way contradicted the testimony of the defendant here. Carroll v. State, 77 Ga. App. 251, 253 (48 SE2d 491).
The trial court denied the motion for mistrial, stating in the colloquy, “I think that opened the door enough for him to ask the question about this.” In this instance, the defendant was speaking of the present and not of the past. This- would not authorize a question that “You never have fooled with marijuana?” Whereupon the court ruled, “I am going to let the State put in that record of his previous plea to rebut an earlier statement that he made on direct examination.” At that particular point in time the court was not even *634aware that the state intended to put defendant’s previous conviction in the record in rebuttal of his statement that he did not “mess with marijuana.”
When the jury returned to the courtroom after the recess the defendant was asked if he remembered being tried earlier in the court on the “28th day of April, 1975 by a Jury” (this apparently was a reference to the earlier conviction of possessing less than one ounce of marijuana), to which the defendant answered, “Yes, sir.” Another motion for mistrial was made and denied, at which time the court, without any presentation of the earlier conviction, instructed the jury that his arrest and conviction for the sale of less than one ounce of marijuana would be admitted “for the purpose of contradiction, if it does contradict, what the witness said with respect to marijuana and the Court is admitting the sentence of the Court in April of 1975 for the possession of marijuana, and that is being admitted for the limited purpose of rebutting the Defendant’s testimony. Whether it does rebut it is a question for the Jury to decide. Now, it is not being admitted for the purpose of illustrating the Defendant’s guilt of the charge now before the Jury, but it is being admitted only for rebuttal purposes and the Jury will not consider it for any other purpose.” The district attorney only then, at this point during the trial, tendered into evidence a certified copy of the sentence and the indictment with the verdict and sentence in 1975 as to the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, at which time the redirect examination of the defendant continued. It is noted, however, that at no time did the defendant deny his arrest and trial but answered forthwith, “Yes, sir.” Consequently, there was nothing to rebut or impeach, and the trial court erred in allowing copies of this indictment, conviction and sentence in evidence here.
The cases of Hughes v. State, 141 Ga. App. 506, 507 (2) (233 SE2d 872) (burglary), and Favors v. State, 145 Ga. App. 864, 865 (244 SE2d 902) (motor vehicle theft), are inapposite inasmuch as in the Hughes case the defendant had responded that he was not a criminal and was not the type to commit a burglary; and in the Favors case the defendant responded he had “never dealt with anything like that before.” In such a situation the witness may be impeached by disproving facts testified to by him. A felony conviction being one involving moral turpitude because of the infamy of the offense, it may be used to impeach the testimony of a defendant as a witness. See Lewis v. State, 243 Ga. 443, 446 (254 SE2d 830), wherein other cases involving moral turpitude have been cited such as Gaddis v. State, 239 Ga. 238, 241 (7) (236 SE2d 594). However, it is clear here that the conviction was that of a misdemeanor not involving moral turpitude and could not be used to impeach the testimony wherein the *635defendant did not state that he never did “mess with” or “fool with” marijuana. Here he admitted he purchased the marijuana for the undercover agent as his sole defense was entrapment. The trial court erred in allowing the testimony as to his arrest, conviction and sentence as well as a certified copy thereof in evidence against him. In my opinion, both enumerations of error are meritorious, requiring a new trial. See Brown v. State, 118 Ga. App. 617, 621, supra, wherein the cases of Reid v. State, 56 Ga. App. 112, 115 (191 SE 657); Lewis v. State, 59 Ga. App. 387, 388 (1 SE2d 62); Felton v. State, 93 Ga. App. 48 (1), 49 (90 SE2d 607); and Smoot v. State, 146 Ga. 76 (1), 80 (90 SE 715), are cited in support of the ruling as to the proper handling of motions for mistrial in similar situations.
Here the trial court allowed the document in evidence before the state’s counsel completed the cross examination and even before state’s counsel elicited a reply to a question that he (defendant) had been found guilty of possession and having control of less than one ounce of marijuana, the defendant having only been asked at that point in time if he remembered being tried in 1975 by a jury.
As I would reverse the conviction here, I therefore respectfully dissent.