People v. Squire

• Decision Date: 13 May 1983
• Docket Number: Docket No. 56859
• Citation: 123 Mich.App. 700,333 N.W.2d 333
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Russell SQUIRE, Defendant-Appellant. 123 Mich.App. 700, 333 N.W.2d 333
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

Page 333

333 N.W.2d 333

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Russell SQUIRE, Defendant-Appellant.

Docket No. 56859.

123 Mich.App. 700, 333 N.W.2d 333

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

Submitted July 15, 1982.

Decided March 8, 1983.

Released for Publication May 13, 1983.

[123 MICHAPP 701] Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Louis J. Caruso, Sol. Gen., William L. Cahalan, Pros. Atty., Edward Reilly Wilson, Deputy Chief, Appellate Asst. Pros. Atty., Civil and Appeals, and Michael F. Bakaian, Asst. Pros. Atty., for the People.

State Appellate Defender by R. Steven Whalen, Detroit, for defendant-appellant on appeal.

Before T.M. BURNS, P.J., and BEASLEY and SIMON ^*, JJ.

SIMON, Judge.

A Recorder's Court jury found defendant guilty of second-degree murder, M.C.L. Sec. 750.317; M.S.A. Sec. 28.549, and felony-firearm violation, M.C.L. Sec. 750.227b; M.S.A. Sec. 28.424(2). Defendant was sentenced to serve from 8 to 30 years imprisonment on the murder charge and to a mandatory term of two years on the felony-firearm count. He appeals his conviction and sentence by right.

Because of several errors in the trial, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

Defendant was originally charged in the Wayne County Juvenile Court with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder and felony-firearm violation. The court waived its jurisdiction and defendant was ordered to stand trial as an adult.

The facts are not in serious dispute. On the evening of December 15, 1979, a disco dance was [123 MICHAPP 702] held at the Park Avenue Club in downtown Detroit. The defendant and Patrick Perry were hired by the dance promoter, Robert Jordan, to assist in maintaining order and in collecting an admission charge. Between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m. on the morning of December 16, 1979, there was a fist fight at or near the entrance to the Club. The participants, Charles Neely (Dirty Mike) and another man called Dirty Disco, were observed by a small crowd of 15-20 persons.

During the course of the fight, the homicide victim, Richard T. Wilson (Preacher) and his friend, Hudson Ray Jr., approached the fight, apparently to observe the action. As Wilson approached, the defendant came toward him and said, "Do you remember * * * ". Soon after, witnesses heard a series of five or six shots. Minutes after that, Wilson collapsed and died inside the Park Avenue Club.

Hudson Ray, Jr., said that the defendant pushed Wilson, then shot him twice. Ray also testified that three other men with the defendant attacked him before the shots were fired. At the sound of the shooting the crowd outside the Park Avenue Club panicked and ran. Ray said that he ran and that while he was running he heard three or four more shots.

Ray ran into an attended parking lot and sought refuge in the lot caretaker's booth. While there, he saw the defendant and three or four others run by. The defendant hid behind parked cars, then ran north on Park Avenue. Feeling that matters had settled, Ray returned to the Park Avenue Club and summoned police.

Teresa Squire, defendant's sister, and her friends, Reginald Stringer and Felecia Denson, testified that they were near the entrance to the [123 MICHAPP 703] Park Avenue Club when the first shots were fired. All three witnesses testified that, as the defendant moved toward Wilson, Wilson reached into his pocket for something or made a sudden movement. All testified that both the defendant and Hudson Ray ran from the scene when the shots were fired; Ray toward Park Avenue, and the defendant east, toward Woodward Avenue.

Ms. Squire and Ms. Denson said that they saw Neely (Dirty Mike) with a gun and, after the shots were fired, they ran back into the Park Avenue Club. Witness Andrea Johnson testified that both defendant and Neely were armed. She also told the jury that Neely had threatened to shoot "someone" that night. Stephanie Taylor stated that Neely threatened to hit her with his gun. Defense counsel and the prosecution stipulated Neely (Dirty Mike) died on April 20, 1980, in an unrelated incident.

Examination of evidence collected at the scene and the autopsy conducted on the victim's body confirmed that a number of shots had been fired near the Park Avenue Club entrance. The deceased expired from two wounds to his chest. Police ballistics experts testified that the four .32-calibre slugs which were recovered from the victim and the doorway to the Park Avenue Club probably came from the same weapon.

The defense presented no witnesses at trial.

During the course of trial, the prosecutor established that Teresa Squire, Felecia Denson and Reginald Stringer had not told police about seeing Neely (Dirty Mike) with a gun at the time of the shooting or that they had seen the defendant run before the shooting commenced. The prosecutor argued that the three res gestae witnesses "conveniently surfaced just before the trial". However, [123 MICHAPP 704] Squire and Stringer had testified on cross-examination that they both told this version of the shooting to defendant's court-appointed attorney in the juvenile court proceedings, John Minock.

To rebut the inference made by the prosecutor that the defendant's sister and her friends had fabricated the story about Neely's being armed, defense counsel sought to have defendant's appointed attorney in the juvenile court proceedings testify concerning his conversation with Squire, Denson and Stringer.

When Attorney Minock first appeared in court, the trial judge instructed him that if he took the witness stand the testimony he gave could not and would not be limited to conversations with the witnesses but that Minock would be required to answer all prosecution questions on cross-examination. The court discussed at length concerning its view of the attorney-client privilege. When Mr. Minock again appeared with his attorney present, the court and Minock's attorney had a long discussion regarding the waiver of defendant's attorney-client privilege if Minock took the stand. ¹

[123 MICHAPP 705] Judge Moore ruled that, if Attorney Minock testified, the prosecution could cross-examine him on matters within the attorney-client privilege. Minock did not testify. On appeal defendant urges that the actions and ruling of the trial court were erroneous and we agree.

[123 MICHAPP 706] Michigan has long recognized that a party does not waive the attorney-client privilege by presenting his or her attorney as a witness to testify regarding matters not communicated by the client. Steketee v. Newkirk, 173 Mich. 222, 232, 138 N.W. 1034 (1912); In re Dalton Estate, 346 Mich. 613, 620-621, 78 N.W.2d 266 (1956). Here, defense counsel sought the testimony of Attorney Minock to rebut the prosecutor's argument that the testimony of the defendant's sister and her two friends was a recent fabrication, dreamed up for the trial. Given the fact that the three were eyewitnesses to the shooting and that their testimony directly contradicted the testimony of witness Hudson Ray, Jr., we find that the error cannot be harmless.

While prior consistent statements of a witness are not admissible as substantive evidence, such statements are admissible to support the witness's testimony in rebuttal of an allegation of a recent fabrication. People v. DeLeon, 103 Mich.App. 225, 233, 303 N.W.2d 447 (1981). Thus, the testimony of Attorney Minock, relevant and probative concerning what the defendant's sister and her friends told her they had seen at the scene of the shooting, was, we find, improperly excluded by the trial court's ruling that, if Mr. Minock testified, defendant would waive the attorney-client privilege.

Coercion of this type, for whatever reason, by the prosecutor or by the court is not permitted. People v. Pena, 383 Mich. 402, 406, 175 N.W.2d 767 (1970); People v. Collier, 105 Mich.App. 46, 53, 306 N.W.2d 387 (1981); People v. Jackson, 114 Mich.App. 649, 661-662, 319 N.W.2d 613 (1982). See also, Webb v. Texas, 409 U.S. 95, 93 S.Ct. 351, 34 L.Ed.2d 330 (1972).

During defense counsel's opening statements, he told the jury:

[123 MICHAPP 707] "You're also going to hear that my client is seventeen years old and has never been in trouble, never been convicted of a crime before.

"MR. BAKER: Objection, Your Honor. Never been in trouble.

"THE COURT: Yes, sir. You should not have said that counsel. I'm going to allow for there to be inquiry into that. That is not a true statement and you should not have made it, counsel, to this jury.

"MR. KRIGER: You will hear, ladies and gentlemen, that my client has never been convicted of a crime. Never been found guilty of any crime in his entire life.

"Perhaps, I misspoke myself when I said he has never been in trouble. My apologies to that. I didn't mean to represent that hes [sic ] never been in trouble but you'll see that hes [sic ] never been found guilty of any crime at anytime in his life."

Following this opening statement, out of the jury's presence, defense counsel called his error to the trial judge's attention:

"MR. KRIGER: One other thing for the record. In my opening statement I stated that my client had never been in trouble.

"THE COURT: Right.

"MR. KRIGER: Perhaps I misspoke myself and before I had an opportunity to correct it the Court interjected that that wasn't a true statement, that in fact, he was going to let them go into that. I don't think that was proper.

"THE COURT: All right, counsel, your objection is the record."

The Court later held that defendant's character as a law-abiding citizen had been placed in issue and defendant could be cross-examined as to his "trouble" if he took the stand. Later, defense counsel said defendant would not take the stand for reasons clearly on the record.

From our review of the record, we are convinced [123 MICHAPP 708] that defendant's counsel's misstatement, corrected by him, in the jury's presence, did not place this defendant's character as a law-abiding citizen in issue. Counsel's immediate correction,...