Court Opinion

ID: 9624636
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 07:12:21.881305+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:51.876996
License: Public Domain

Bell, Chief Judge, and Quillian, Judge,
dissenting. We disagree with Division 4 of the majority opinion. We would affirm the trial court. Following is the way we would have written that division of the opinion:
Error is urged to this extract of the charge: "In the event you should find Garland L. Thompson committed a wrongful act which was not justified under the law and if you find such wrongful act was the proximate cause of the death of Herman 'Charles’ Hunter, then and in that event the complainant would be entitled to recover.” On appeal the argument is that the charge eliminated the issue as to whether the perpetrators of the act under suit were acting within the scope of their authority. The objection as made *184to the trial court was phrased as follows: "In the course of the court’s charge, the court charged the jury that if you find that the wrongful act of Garland Thompson was the proximate cause of the death of Herman Hunter, then the plaintiff may recover. Of course, the court also gave in charge the alternative, if you find that it was a justifiable act, that the defendant should recover but we lodge an exception to the giving of the statement that if you find that the wrongful act of Thompson caused the death of the plaintiff then in that event the complainant would be entitled to recover, by the giving of that charge the court has eliminated from its cause the question of scope of employment. Now, it is true that after the plaintiff amended her petition and after counsel in examining witnesses removed from the case the element of wilfulness and wantonness and evil design, that we stated that on those circumstances we conceded and admitted that these agents were acting within the scope of their authority when they were seeking to arrest Willie B. Hunter. In the argument to the jury counsel for the plaintiff sought to reinstate that issue in the case and told this jury they went out there for this specific purpose to kill Herman Hunter and they accomplished that purpose. Under that argument to the jury we lodge an exception to the giving of that charge. . .”
In essence the objection to the trial court was that a stipulation volunteered by the defendant that the perpetrators of the act under suit were acting within the scope of their employment was abrogated by argument of plaintiff’s counsel that "They went down there and killed him, that was the purpose they had when they went down there. They knew they were going to kill him when they went down there.” This, they reasoned, was the result because the argument had the effect of reinstating the issue of "malice” ruled out by a previous appellate court decision and subsequently eliminated by amendments. It is thus to be noted that the grounds of the objection to the charge as given to the trial court during the trial, is far different from the argument urged on appeal to this court. Under the objec*185tion originally made the trial court’s attention was brought only to the contention that the charge was objectionable only because the argument of plaintiff’s counsel had the dual effect of reinstating the issue of malice and of annulling the stipulation of the perpetrators acting within the scope of their agency. The court’s failure to honor this objection is amply supported by the record. Firstly, assuming arguendo that the argument of plaintiff’s counsel was indeed improper, there was no objection made to it. When an improper argument is made to the jury, the adversary must act by interposing an objection. Failure to object amounts to a waiver of the misconduct. Saxon v. Toland, 114 Ga. App. 805 (2) (152 SE2d 702); Brooks v. State, 183 Ga. 466, 468 (188 SE 711, 108 ALR 752); Woodland Hills Co. v. Coleman, 73 Ga. App. 409, 413 (36 SE2d 826). Secondly, the transcript reveals the following colloquy between the trial judge and defendant’s counsel. This colloquy was initiated by defendants themselves and took place in the presence of the jury. "The Court: 'You contend now that your people were agents and acting within the scope of their employment?’ Defendant’s counsel: 'Yes, Sir, Your Honor, in going out there to pick up Willie B. Hunter they were entirely within the scope of their employment. That was their job.’” Furthermore, the defendant in its brief, with reference to this colloquy, makes the admission that it "had the effect of eliminating from the case the issue of scope of employment.” This admission cannot be affected by the full language of the sentence from which this extract is lifted, which reads: "However, following these stipulations, which had the effect of eliminating from the case the issue of scope of employment and that of wilful homicide, the plaintiff once again interjected these issues into the suit.” Issues cannot be made, or solemn stipulations and admissions repudiated, merely by improper argument of counsel to which no objection is interposed. The extract from the charge was not erroneous (1) as the issue of "scope of employment” was by the volunteered stipulation of the defendant’s counsel eliminated from the case and (2) the objection *186urged on appeal was different from that urged on trial.
For an objection to a charge "to be reviewable the objection must be unmistakable in its purport in directing the attention of the trial court to the claimed error and must point out distinctly the portion of the charge challenged. The grounds of error urged must be stated with sufficient particularity to leave no doubt as to the portion of the charge challenged or as to what the specific ground of challenge is. . . Ga. Power Co. v. Maddox, 113 Ga. App. 642 (1) (149 SE2d 393).” Wright v. Dilbeck, 122 Ga. App. 214 (17) (176 SE2d 715).
To be reviewable "the objection must be sufficiently specific to bring into focus the precise nature of the alleged error so that it can be reasonably understood by the trial court.” Royal Frozen Foods v. Garrett, 119 Ga. App. 424, 427 (167 SE2d 400), reversed on other grounds in Garrett v. Royal Bros. Co., Inc., 225 Ga. 533 (170 SE2d 294). "These were the only grounds of objection stated on the trial. 'Although on appeal plaintiffs argue additional grounds of objection to this charge, review of the charge enumerated as error is limited under Code Ann. § 70-207 (a) strictly to the ground of objection stated on the trial.” City of Macon v. Smith, 117 Ga. App. 363, 377 (160 SE2d 622), a full bench decision.