Chatom v. State
| Citation | 348 So.2d 843 |
| Decision Date | 26 July 1977 |
| Docket Number | 1 Div. 688 |
| Parties | Jerre CHATOM v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
The Supreme Court reversed our decision on the original appeal wherein we reversed the trial court for failure to exclude the results of an atomic absorption test for lack of a proper predicate. The Supreme Court, in a plurality opinion (with four justices dissenting) held that the trial court did not err in refusing to exclude the test results. Four justices based their opinion on the fact that Chatom's attorney only objected to the accuracy of the test and not to the operator's qualifications. Justice Beatty joined in the result with a special concurrence on the ground that the appellant's motion to exclude was made after the witness had testified to the test results, and that an objection should have been made earlier. The Supreme Court did not pass upon the sufficiency of the evidence because this Court did not pass on that issue in our earlier opinion. On remandment it is necessary that we address ourselves to that question in light of the admissibility of the atomic absorption test results.
In our initial opinion, we pointed out several obvious weaknesses in the State's evidence, for consideration of the prosecution and trial court in the event of a new trial. Without going again into detail, we simply call attention to our original opinion as to those points.
The State's brief was based primarily on the theory that, "Appellant acted as co-conspirator during the commission of criminal acts and thus that the two parties would be equally guilty and responsible for the acts of the other." The conspiracy, according to the State's brief, was the firing upon the police car at the beginning of the episode, "during an attempt to escape from police authorities." We take the word "escape" to mean "elude" since neither of the fleeing parties had been in legal custody prior to the chase.
The State's theory on appeal was grounded upon Stokley v. State, 254 Ala. 534, 49 So.2d 284 (1950). Stokley is the landmark case, cited in most conspiracy cases reaching this Court, although it is more often cited for its dictum than for its application to the peculiar facts of that case. See: Howell v. State, Ala.Cr.App., 339 So.2d 138 (1976). We cannot indulge in the convenience of citing "boiler plate" propositions of law without reviewing fact situations from which the proposition originally arose. By simply citing Stokley the State ignored the question of whether the earlier "conspiracy" had been...
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Johnson v. Nagle, CV-93-N-1121-S.
...the shooting occurred. See generally Chatom, 348 So.2d 828 (Ala.Crim.App. 1976), rev'd 348 So.2d 838 (Ala.1977), on remand 348 So.2d 843 (Ala.Crim.App. 1977). Thus, the introduction of the atomic absorption test constituted a pivotal point in the trial in that it had the potential to reason......
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Chatom v. State, 1 Div. 114
...conviction was subsequently affirmed. Chatom v. State, 348 So.2d 828 (Ala.Cr.App.1976), rev'd, 348 So.2d 838 (Ala.); on remand, 348 So.2d 843 (Ala.Cr.App.1977). The appellant then petitioned for writ of habeas corpus in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. On October......
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Chatom v. White
...are adequately described in Chatom v. State, 348 So.2d 828 (Ala.Crim.App.1976), rev'd 348 So.2d 838 (Ala.1977), on remand 348 So.2d 843 (Ala.Crim.App.1977). The state's entire case against Chatom consisted of circumstantial evidence which sought to prove that either Chatom fired the gun whi......