People v. Martin

• Decision Date: 23 September 1966
• Docket Number: No. 39660,39660
• Citation: People v. Martin, 220 N.E.2d 170, 35 Ill.2d 289 (Ill. 1966)
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Ronald George MARTIN, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 170

220 N.E.2d 170

35 Ill.2d 289

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Ronald George MARTIN, Appellant.

No. 39660.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Sept. 23, 1966.

Dario A. Garibaldi, Flossmoor, appointed by the court, for appellant.

William G. Clark, Atty. Gen., Springfield, and Daniel P. Ward, State's Atty., Chicago (Fred G. Leach, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Elmer C. Kissane and James Zagel, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for appellee.

UNDERWOOD, Justice.

A jury in the criminal court of Cook County found the defendant, Ronald George Martin, guilty of murder and he was thereafter sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of 25 to 50 years. The judgment of conviction was affirmed by the appellate court, (People v. Martin, 62 Ill.App.2d 203, 210 N.E.2d 798,) and while we are in accord with that court's determination and disposition of the majority of the issues raised on review, we have granted defendant's petition for leave to appeal to more fully examine his contentions: (1) that the trial court erred in refusing to permit his counsel to examine a certain police record; and (2) that evidence of an oral confession by defendant was improperly admitted into evidence.

Facts concerning the crime, which involved the slaying of a tavern keeper after his place of business had been closed at midnight, are fully stated in the opinion of the appellate court and need not be repeated. One witness for the prosecution was Robert Centner, chief of police in the municipality where the homicide occurred, who was examined and exhaustively cross-examined concerning his investigation on the night of the crime and the days which intervened until defendant's arrest. Seeking to rely upon our decision in People v. Scott, 29 Ill.2d 97, at 110--112, 193 N.E.2d 814, defendant asserts that Centner refreshed his memory from a notebook during his testimony and contends that reversible error occurred when the trial court refused to permit defense counsel to examine such notebook. We recognize the validity and effect of the rule of evidence upon which defendant relies; however, we do not find that the record permits its application in this case.

The first and last mention of a notebook occurred when defense counsel was cross-examining Chief Centner concerning a conversation in which the wife of the homicide victim had told the witness that a man named Walters had been in the tavern on the night in question and had departed shortly after midnight. When queried about the exact time reported to him, Centner fixed it as being between 12:10 and 12:20 A.M., and further testified that he had made a note of the time reported to him, that he believed the notation was in the police file and that he had such file with him. Following this, at the specific request of defense counsel, Chief Centner started to look through a notebook he had kept in connection with the case looking for the notation as to time. As he was doing so, defense counsel asked to see the notebook but the request was denied when the prosecution objected. Cross-examination then continued during which the witness admitted that he had found no notation in the notebook, and that he had been mistaken when he said that he had noted the time in 'that book.'

We cannot say on these facts that the witness 'spoke' from the notebook, (see: Wigmore on Evidence, 3rd ed., vol. III, sec. 762, p. 108,) or so used it to refresh his memory as to entitle the defense to examine it. Had he stated that he found the time notation in the notebook and given testimony concerning it, a different situation would...