Court Opinion

ID: 9560051
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:42:13.001265+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:01.569271
License: Public Domain

Sognier, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. On two occasions this court, in a full bench decision, has ruled that when a defendant’s evidence tended to show bad character, his “good” character was not in issue so as to authorize rebuttal evidence of bad character by the State. Carroll v. State, 143 Ga. App. 796, 798 (2(b)) (240 SE2d 197) (1977); Starling v. State, 168 Ga. App. 680 (310 SE2d 234) (1983). With the exception of Holloway v. State, 164 Ga. App. 589, 590 (2) (298 SE2d 296) (1982), this court has consistently followed the rule set forth in Carroll, supra. Lester v. State, 145 Ga. App. 847, 849 (3) (244 SE2d 880) (1978); Burke v. State, 159 Ga. App. 26-27 (282 SE2d 682) (1981); Starling, supra. Holloway does not distinguish the facts in that case from those present in Carroll, Lester and Burke.
The State is allowed to introduce evidence of a defendant’s bad character in two instances. First, to rebut evidence of good character introduced by the defendant, and secondly, to impeach a false statement made by the defendant. Lester, supra. Since there was no evidence of good character to rebut in the instant case, and no false statement to impeach, I am constrained to follow the rule enunciated by this whole court in Carroll and Starling. To overrule Carroll and Starling would rob our rulé of its fundamental fairness.
Other views in support of the majority judgment would allow introduction of evidence of the prior conviction on the basis that it is the legitimate result of cross-examination on a subject first raised by the defendant. However, when the inquiry involves a prior conviction, it appears prohibited by the very verbiage of OCGA § 24-9-20 (b), which provides, in pertinent part: “If a defendant . . . wishes to testify ... he may so testify in his own behalf. If a defendant testifies *834he . . . may be examined and cross-examined as any other witness, except that no evidence of general bad character or prior convictions shall be admissible unless and until the defendant shall have first put his character in issue.” (Emphasis supplied.) To me, Lehman v. State, 165 Ga. App. 15 (299 SE2d 88) (1983) marks the outer limits of the scope of cross-examination in such cases. Accordingly, I would reverse, and would overrule Division 2 of Holloway.