Court Opinion

ID: 9562338
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:26:42.767513+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:18.157151
License: Public Domain

Ruffin, Judge,
concurring specially.
I agree with Chief Judge Beasley that in this case sexual battery is a lesser included offense of child molestation and therefore concur with the affirmance of the judgment. I write separately because I believe the induced error doctrine, relied on by the majority, has no application under the circumstances of this case.
The issue of “induced error” developed when the trial judge asked counsel whether sexual battery is a lesser included offense of child molestation. Shepherd’s attorney answered that it “[djepends on the facts. It’s not as a matter of law. It can be.” From this response the majority concludes that Shepherd “induced” the error he complains about here and is therefore not entitled to relief. While I agree with the majority that Griffith v. State, 188 Ga. App. 789 (374 SE2d 359) (1988) suggests such conclusion, I believe that Griffith should be distinguished. In Griffith, the defendant submitted a request for the court to charge a different offense, clearly inducing the error. In the instant case, however, Shepherd’s counsel simply answered the judge’s question, which even if answered incorrectly, does not constitute induced error. Moreover, regardless of whether Shepherd’s counsel erred in answering the question, I do not believe the “induced error” doctrine should extend so far as to effect a forfeiture of the fundamental right at stake in this case.
At the outset I concede that the doctrine of “induced error” has grown gray in the law; nevertheless, it should continue to have a place in our jurisprudence. It cannot be disputed that even defendants charged with the most heinous crimes are entitled to due process. The fundamental right to due process is one of our national givens and “ ‘[i]t is axiomatic that a conviction upon a charge not made . . . constitutes a denial of due process.’ Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 314 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).” Crawford v. State, 254 Ga. 435, 438 (1) (330 SE2d 567) (1985). See also Ross v. State, 214 Ga. App. 385 (448 SE2d 52) (1994) (It is an elementary principle of criminal law that no person can be convicted of any offense not charged in the indictment.) The purpose of the requirement is to put the defend*897ant on notice of the crimes he is charged with so that he can prepare for and defend against those crimes at trial and not be surprised by the evidence offered against him. See Crawford, supra; McCrary v. State, 252 Ga. 521 (314 SE2d 662) (1984). In cases where a defendant is convicted of a lesser included offense, it can be said that he was on notice of the convicted offense because either the elements or the facts of the convicted offense are necessarily included in the charged offense. Id.
Again, due process of law is one of our national givens. See In re Winship, 397 U. S. 358 (90 SC 1068, 25 LE2d 368) (1970); Jackson v. Virginia, supra. “It is axiomatic that a conviction upon a charge not made or upon a charge not tried constitutes a denial of due process. Cole v. Arkansas, 333 U. S. 196, 201 (68 SC 514, 92 LE 644) [(1947)]; Presnell v. Georgia, 439 U. S. 14 (99 SC 235, 58 LE2d 207) [(1978)]. These standards no more than reflect a broader premise that has never been doubted in our constitutional system. . . .” (Emphasis supplied.) Jackson v. Virginia, supra at 570. But equally as important as being a national given in our scheme of healthy federalism, due process is also a given recognized by our state since 1861. See Katz, “The History of the Georgia Bill of Rights,” 3 Ga. State Law Rev. 83, 107 (1986-1987).
The United States Supreme Court has stated with certainty the importance of the due process right at stake here. In Cole v. Arkansas, supra, the Court stated that “[n]o principle of procedural due process is more clearly established than that notice of the specific charge, and a chance to be heard in a trial of the issues raised by that charge, if desired, are among the constitutional rights of every accused in a criminal proceeding in all courts, state or federal. [Cits.]” Id. at 201. “It is as much a violation of due process to send an accused to prison following conviction of a charge on which he was never tried as it would be to convict him upon a charge that was never made.” Id. (citing DeJonge v. Oregon, 299 U. S. 353, 362 (57 SC 255, 81 LE 278) (1936)).
I do not believe that a defendant can forfeit such right by “induced error” in the circumstances of this case. It is primarily and ultimately the duty of the courts to protect a defendant’s constitutional rights. See Davis v. Passman, 442 U. S. 228 (99 SC 2264, 60 LE2d 846) (1979); Byars v. United States, 273 U. S. 28 (47 SC 248, 71 LE 520) (1927). See also 16 CJS 542, 543, § 169. If we say that a defendant forfeits the due process right involved here simply because his attorney answered a question posed by the judge, we are allowing the trial court to disclaim one of its most fundamental duties. Even though this court has previously decided that such right can be forfeited by induced error, I do not believe that induced error is present in the circumstances of this case and the above authority, that the *898United States Supreme Court intended that to be the rule, or that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Art. I, Sec. I, Par. I of the Georgia Constitution allow it. The error, if any, was midwifed into this case, not self-induced.
Decided July 14, 1995.
David A. Lamalva, for appellant.
Cheryl F. Custer, District Attorney, S. Dabney Yarbrough, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.