State v. Abbott, O--75--487
| Decision Date | 27 January 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. O--75--487,O--75--487 |
| Citation | 545 P.2d 792 |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
| Parties | The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellant, v. James ABBOTT, Appellee. |
This is an appeal from the District Court, Pottawatomie County, Case No. CRF--74--476, wherein James Abbott, hereinafter referred to as defendant, was charged with the crime of Possession of Stolen Vehicle, in violation of 47 O.S.1971, § 4--103. After the presentation of the State's evidence the defendant demurred to the evidence which was sustained by the trial court and the court directed the jury to render a verdict in favor of the defendant which was so entered. Prior to the presentation of the State's evidence, the defendant presented an oral motion to exclude certain testimony anticipated to be introduced by the State and such motion was granted with the State giving notice of intent to appeal the trial court's ruling on said motion. From the trial court's order granting the defendant's oral motion to exclude certain testimony, the State now perfects a timely appeal to this court upon a reserved question of law as provided by 22 O.S.1971, § 1053, 3.
The question reserved by the State for this Court's review deals with the ruling in the trial court which sustained the defendant's motion to exclude certain evidence which the defendant anticipated the State would seek to introduce which connected the defendant with crimes other than the one charged. The motion was presented orally to the trial court outside the hearing of the jury prior to the presentation of the State's evidence in chief. The defendant requested the court to prohibit the State from introducing testimony to the effect that certain other automobiles, other than the automobile upon which the charge was filed, were found in the possession and on the property of the defendant.
We turn first to the character of the defendant's motion. From the scant record before us we must conclude that the defendant's oral motion was not a motion to suppress predicated upon an illegal search or seizure of the other automobiles, but that the defendant's motion was a motion in limine or preliminary motion to assure the exclusion of evidence which in its nature would be prejudicial to the defendant.
The possible prejudicial nature of the evidence emanates from the defendant's assertion that the specific evidence of other crimes, i.e., possession of additional stolen vehicles other than the vehicle for which the defendant was charged, does not fall within one of the well recognized exceptions which allow the admission of evidence of other crimes, and thus, the evidence should be inadmissible. See, Moulton v. State, Okl.Cr., 476 P.2d 366 (1970).
This Court has implicitly recognized the propriety of the motion in limine as a procedural device in judicial administration. See, Haury v. State, Okl.Cr., 533 P.2d 991 (1975). We also note in Burrus v. Silhavy, Ind.App., 293 N.E.2d 794 (1973) and 63 A.L.R.3d 304:
'A 'motion in limine' is a necessary adjunct to the trial court's inherent power to admit and exclude evidence. The trial court may issue protective orders against prejudicial questions or statements which could be uttered before a jury and thereby prevent a fair and impartial jury trial. As stated in Davis, Motions in Limine, 15 Clev.--Mar.L.Rev. 255, 256--257 (1966):
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Young v. State
...counsel. Therefore this Court is precluded from determining whether or not the trial court abused its discretion. See, State v. Abbott, Okl.Cr., 545 P.2d 792 (1976). Defendant's second assignment of error asserts that he was denied due process of law by the use of prior felony convictions f......
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Teegarden v. State, F--76--911
...We are of the opinion that defendant thereby failed to preserve his objections and they are thus waived. In the case of State v. Abbott, Okl.Cr., 545 P.2d 792 (1976), we had occasion to deal with motions in limine. In Abbott, the State perfected an appeal on a reserve question of law, where......