People v. Finnister

• Decision Date: 28 April 1971
• Docket Number: No. 1,Docket No. 9610,1
• Citation: People v. Finnister, 189 N.W.2d 835, 33 Mich.App. 283 (Mich. App. 1971)
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Ronald FINNISTER, Defendant-Appellant
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan

Page 835

189 N.W.2d 835

33 Mich.App. 283

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Ronald FINNISTER, Defendant-Appellant.

Docket No. 9610.

Court of Appeals of Michigan, Division No. 1.

April 28, 1971.

Released for Publication Sept. 23, 1971.

Carl Ziemba, Detroit, for defendant-appellant.

Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Derengoski, Sol. Gen., William L. Cahalan, Pros. Atty., Dominick R. Carnovale, Chief, Appellate Div., Thomas M. Khalil, Asst. Pros. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Before LESINSKI, C.J., and V. J. BRENNAN and DANHOF, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Defendant was found guilty by a jury of armed robbery ¹ and was sentenced to serve 15 to 25 years in prison.

The complainant, Morris Boyd, testified that on the Sunday of April 27, 1967, at approximately 8:15 a.m., he was about to enter his apartment building in Detroit when the defendant and another man robbed him of $30 at gunpoint. Mr. Boyd made a formal complaint to the police, giving them a description of the robbers. Thereafter, Mr. Boyd chanced to observe the defendant on the street on three occasions, but it was not until the third occasion that the police were able to respond to his call in time to apprehend the defendant.

At the trial, the defendant interposed the defense of alibi. The defendant's mother and stepfather testified that defendant spent Sundays with them and that his stepfather customarily picked him up in his automobile at 7 a.m. every Sunday morning. The stepfather further testified that defendant lived in an 'apartment house' and that he rang the buzzer to let his stepson know he had arrived. The prosecution attempted to counter this testimony by producing a police officer familiar with the area who stated that defendant in fact lived in a hotel and that the buzzer system in the lobby was inoperative the day prior to trial.

On appeal, all the issues raised by defendant, save one, are either so frivolous as not to merit discussion or were waived by failure to make an objection.

The sole issue which merits discussion concerns the admissibility of the police officer's testimony that the buzzer system of the hotel was not working on February 3, 1970, the day prior to trial. A timely objection was made to this testimony on the ground that it was irrelevant, since defendant's stepfather had claimed only that the buzzer was working on April 27, 1969--over 10 months earlier. The court overruled the objection, but would not allow the prosecution to question the officer concerning his...