Sears v. State, 63125
| Decision Date | 04 March 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 63125,63125 |
| Citation | 161 Ga.App. 515,288 S.E.2d 757 |
| Parties | SEARS v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
J. H. Affleck, Jr., Legal Aid and Defender Soc., Athens, for appellant.
Harry N. Gordon, Dist. Atty., Athens, for appellee.
The sole enumeration of error in this appeal is that the trial court committed reversible error by allowing the state to introduce evidence over properly and timely objection in contravention of Code Ann. § 27-1303. Held :
The appellant Rena Sears admitted at trial that she obtained cocaine from a person named Glenn and sold it to the undercover agent as a favor. A month prior to trial, the appellant requested copies of all scientific reports under Code Ann. § 27-1303, the methodology and data supporting the same, and the names and qualifications of the individuals handling or testing the substances. The state produced a report which simply concluded that the seized substances were cocaine. Appellant's counsel requested information as to whether a certain type of analytic test had been performed on the substance; two weeks before trial the prosecution through counsel's answering service advised counsel of the number of tests run and that enough substance remained for appellant's own expert to examine it but for security reasons did not disclose to the answering service operator the names of the tests used. Appellant's counsel did not procure independent expert analysis, did not contact the crime lab for further information, and did not obtain expert defense witnesses until the morning of the trial. The prosecution continued to try to reach the defense attorney personally to relay the names of tests used. The night before trial, prosecuting counsel did advise defense counsel that the particular analytic test inquired about by defense counsel had been performed, but refused to reveal to counsel what other tests had been performed.
At trial, the defense expert witness was permitted to remain in the courtroom during the testimony of the state's experts, notwithstanding the rule of sequestration, and the defense expert was allowed to review all the data used by the state crime lab experts in their testimony.
There was no violation of Code Ann. § 27-1303 in this case. The appellant asked for and got the scientific reports she was entitled to under that code section. If a defendant ought to be entitled to any particular information in a scientific report, it is a matter for the legislature to decree and not for the judiciary to decide upon an interpretation of Code Ann. § 27-1303. Hartley v. State, 159 Ga.App. 157, 282 S.E.2d 684.
2. The defendant's rights in pretrial discovery do not extend to "a complete and detailed accounting to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Williams v. State
...and work products of a state's expert do not fall within the purview of OCGA § 17-7-211 (Code Ann. § 27-1303). Sears v. State, 161 Ga.App. 515, 516, 288 S.E.2d 757, 759 (1982); Hartline v. State, 161 Ga.App. 847, 849(2), 288 S.E.2d 902 (1982); Hartley v. State, 159 Ga.App. 157, 159(2)(e), 2......
-
Williams v. State
...position is contrary to our recent decisions such as Hartley v. State, 159 Ga.App. 157, 158-160(2), 282 S.E.2d 684; and Sears v. State, 161 Ga.App. 515, 288 S.E.2d 757, but urges us to overrule these decisions. We decline to do so and note that our Supreme Court has cited these cases with a......
-
Heard v. State
...the creation of a report if none exists." Ramsey v. State, 165 Ga.App. 854, 856(2), 303 S.E.2d 32, supra. See also Sears v. State, 161 Ga.App. 515, 516, 288 S.E.2d 757. 11. We next consider defendant's contention that the trial court erred by allowing into evidence state exhibits 24, 30 and......
-
Ramsey v. State
...him in testifying do not constitute a "scientific report." Hartley v. State, 159 Ga.App. 157(2), 159, 282 S.E.2d 684; Sears v. State, 161 Ga.App. 515, 516, 288 S.E.2d 757; Hartline v. State, 161 Ga.App. 847(2), 288 S.E.2d We likewise find no error in the admission of Cornett's testimony. He......