Court Opinion

ID: 9545271
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:09:19.231255+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:14:25.618576
License: Public Domain

Fromme, J.,
dissenting. In my opinion the errors complained of on appeal do not rise to the level of reversible error and this case should be affirmed. Appellant Johnson took the stand and testified he refused to waive his rights and to talk to Sanchez. When Detective Sanchez testified on direct examination that Johnson refused to sign a waiver of rights no contemporaneous objection was made. K.S.A. 60-404 provides no judgment shall be reversed by reason of erroneous admission of evidence unless there appears of record an objection to the evidence timely interposed and so stated as to make clear the specific ground of objection. The objection interposed by defense counsel was made later when six exhibits were offered by the state including the unsigned waiver form. The objection was:
“Your Honor, I think the refusal of my man to sign a waiver of rights is really immaterial. I don’t believe it’s competent or material and I am objecting to it.”
The later objection during cross-examination of Johnson was sufficiently clear and should have been sustained but in view of what had gone before I do not feel it affected the outcome of the trial.
I consider the error in admission of this testimony cured by the subsequent instruction of the court that “no inference of guilt may be drawn from a defendant’s failure to sign a waiver of rights form or give a statement to the police.” In the absence of any *126showing otherwise, we should assume the jury followed this instruction.
In the case of Taylor, he did sign the waiver of rights form and it was introduced. I see nothing wrong with the testimony of Sanchez when he said that after Taylor signed the form he was very uncooperative. Possibly Sanchez could have phrased this statement by saying Taylor signed the waiver and then refused to talk, but in either case the meaning was the same. Again there was no contemporaneous objection lodged to this statement and K.S.A. 60-404 should be honored.
As to the field notes I wish to point out that these were not known to the prosecutor and no bad faith is suggested. At most the only information available from the field notes which was not contained in the final report of the officer was the name of a witness who said he observed the robbers leaving the premises but could not identify anybody. The witness was not called or used by the state. The cases of State v. Mans, 213 Kan. 36, 515 P.2d 810, and State v. Stafford, 213 Kan. 152, 515 P.2d 769, cited by the majority, are readily distinguishable. The “field notes” in those cases were found to be necessary in the cross-examination of the officers concerning the subject matter of the officers’ testimony on direct examination. Production under those circumstances is required by K.S.A. 22-3213 (2).
In our present case this statute is not applicable and to predicate reversible error on the failure of the state to disclose the name of a person who merely saw the robbers leave the building from a considerable distance places an impossible burden on the state. The person was known only to one investigative officer who did not consider the person had information material to either the prosecution or the defense. The state did not act in bad faith and in the absence of a request in advance of trial I do not believe this court should require the prosecution to disclose the names and addresses of such persons interviewed who are not to be called and have little or no material knowledge bearing on the crime charged.
I would affirm these convictions.
McFarland, J., joins in the foregoing dissenting opinion.