State v. Cole

• Decision Date: 05 March 1971
• Docket Number: No. S,S
• Citation: State v. Cole, 50 Wis.2d 449, 184 N.W.2d 75 (Wis. 1971)
• Parties: STATE of Wisconsin, Respondent, v. Janice Marie COLE, Appellant. tate 75.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

Page 75

184 N.W.2d 75

50 Wis.2d 449

STATE of Wisconsin, Respondent, v.Janice Marie COLE, Appellant.

No. State 75.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

March 5, 1971.

At about 7:30 p.m. on July 9, 1968, two women and a man entered the Polly Prim Cleaners in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.The man was masked, wearing a blue scarf over his face.The women were not masked.The man displayed a long-barreled pistol and ordered the clerk, Espinolia Cobb, to lie down in back.He then ordered a customer to open a cash register.When the customer encountered difficulty with the cash register, she was told to lie down in back and Espinolia Cobb was ordered to come in and open the cash register; she did so.She was then ordered to lie down as before.She soon heard the man tell one of the women to take the phone off the wall.

After waiting approximately five minutes, Espinolia Cobb rose and went across the street to phone the police.

On the following day, July 10th the defendant and three male companions were driving in a station wagon on Walnut street in Milwaukee.One of the companions picked up a small hand gun which was in the car and, after inquiring whether it was loaded, pulled the trigger; the gun went off.Shortly thereafter, the four were stopped by police and a search of the car disclosed the gun.The police took all four to the Safety Building.

The arresting police officer testified that he informed defendant that she was under arrest for the robbery of the Polly Prim Cleaners, as well as for disorderly conduct, although he did state that the defendant was told of the armed robbery arrest approximately a half-hour or forty-five minutes after she was taken into custody.This was before any identification of defendant was made by Espinolia Cobb.

The defendant testified that after her arrest she was questioned solely concerning the gunshot and that the police then took her picture with a polaroid camera, following which she was taken upstairs where she spent the night.

That evening at approximately 11:30 p.m., the police called Espinolia Cobb and told her that they had 'a couple of suspects' and asked her to come and look at them.The police picked her up and took her to the Safety Building where she was shown four photographs: three males and the defendant.The police did not tell the witness that these people were involved in the robbery.She then identified the defendant's picture (which appeared to have been taken by a polaroid camera) as being that of one of the women involved in the robbery.

Very shortly after this, she identified another picture of defendant from among a larger collection hanging on a wall rack in a nearby room.After seeing the pictures, she also saw defendant in person in another room.The record is silent concerning the details of this identification.Sometime after this date she also saw the defendant at the district attorney's office and in the 'magistrate's office.'

At the trial, Espinolia Cobb identified the defendant as being one of the women involved in the holdup.She testified that one of the women was about 5 6 , wore a black sweater and was a little heavier than the other; the second female was about 5 2 , wore a light-colored skirt.Both wore head scarves.She also testified that the man had a blue scarf over his face.This prevented her from identifying any of the males in the pictures shown as being the man who robbed her.When she saw the defendant at the police station, the defendant was wearing a light-colored skirt and a gold or yellow sweater.(The record is silent as to whether defendant gave the police any description of the robbers when she notified them after the robbery.)

She testified that her in-court identification of the defendant was based on seeing her at the time of the robbery and was not as a result of the pictures she was shown.

Defendant appeals from the judgment of conviction and from the order denying her postconviction motions.

Shellow & Shellow, Robert H. Friebert, Milwaukee, for appellant.

Robert W. Warren, Atty. Gen., Madison, E. Michael McCann, Dist. Atty., Lee Edward Wells, Asst. Dist. Atty., Milwaukee County, Milwaukee, for respondent.

WILKIE, Justice.

The first contention of defendant on this appeal is that the out-of-court identification procedure was in violation of defendant's constitutional rights in that she was denied counsel during the identification procedure.She also urges that the photographic identification procedure was 'so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.'¹

To reach this contention we must first determine whether or not this defendant waived these objections.

The state did not offer evidence of any identification prior to that made at trial.All of the evidence we have already detailed concerning the out-of-court identifications was brought out by the defense on cross-examination.Therefore, the right to raise these objections on this appeal may be deemed waived.²

Defense counsel was well aware of the circumstances surrounding the out-of-court identification since he brought them out on cross-examination.Therefore, we consider that his failure to object was a matter of deliberate strategy.This would effectuate a waiver even under defendant's position taken at oral argument that there can be no waiver of constitutional right other than for strategic purposes.³

We see no reason why in view of this waiver this court, in our discretion, should consider defendant's objections on this point on this appeal.

The second major contention of defendant is that the in-court identification made by Espinolia Cobb was tainted by the out-of-court identification so as to render the in-court identification unreliable.

The witness testified that her in-court identification was based on her observations during the robbery, not on the out-of-court identification made at the request of the police.There is evidence to support her testimony.During the twelve to twenty minutes that the robbery actually took place she had good opportunity to observe and remember the participants; the store was lighted and the witness stood in close proximity, at least twice, to the three participants in the robbery.Further, her recounting of various other details such as the description she gave of the gun, the way the participants were dressed, the conversation that took place, supports the state's position.

Again, there was no objection to the in-court identification and the right to pursue the objection now asserted by defendant has been waived and we see no reason in our discretion to consider these objections.

Other issues presented on this appeal are as follows:

1.Did the state fail to disclose to the defense certain information in its possession which was exculpatory?

2.Was the evidence sufficient to support a finding of guilt?

3.Should a new trial be awarded in the interest of justice?

4.Should the sentence imposed be reviewed?

1.Failure of state to disclose exculpatory evidence.The defendant was arrested while riding with three male companions in a light-colored Ford station wagon when a gun was discharged by one of these young men.

Defendant contends that the state was in possession of exculpatory evidence which it failed to disclose to defendant(1) that the car in which the robbers made their escape was identified by a witness as being a 1960 or 1961 Dodge wagon, but the car in which defendant was arrested was a Ford station wagon; and (2) that the gun used in the robbery was a large revolver with a long barrel, while the gun discharged in the car when defendant was arrested was a snub-nosed pistol.Defendant argues that the failure of the state to inform the defense that both the car and gun involved in the arrest were different from the car and gun involved in the robbery was a failure to disclose exculpatory evidence as required by decisions of the United States Supreme Court⁴ and of this court.⁵

In Brady v. Maryland⁶ the court stated:

'We now hold that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.'(Emphasis supplied.)⁷

In Brady two men were charged with murder.At trial, the appellant admitted his participation, but claimed his co-participant did the actual killing.Defense counsel had requested all of the out-of-court statements of the co-participant and were given all of them except one in which he admitted the act.The court affirmed the Maryland Court of Appeals which held the evidence should have been disclosed since it might have affected the jury's determination of the punishment to be imposed.

This rule of Brady v. Maryland was not changed by Giles v. Maryland, ⁸ a later United States Supreme Court case involving the same general subject.In Giles three brothers were convicted of raping a sixteen-year-old girl.At trial they testified that the 'victim' had not only consented but had in fact invited the act and that she informed them of numerous previous such acts.The evidence allegedly suppressed was (1) a similar complaint of rape which occurred between the event involved and the trial, which charges were later withdrawn by the girl, and admissions by her to police that she had previously had relations with numerous boys and men, many of whom she did not know; (2) a formal recommendation by a social worker of probation for the girl because she was beyond parental control; (3) a hearing resulting in commitment of the girl by juvenile authorities for 'protective custody' because of harassment by young men and a suicide attempt.In this case also the defense attempted to inquire into these matters and was, for various reasons, prevented from doing so.

The United States Supreme Court remanded the matter to the Maryland courts, noting:

'* * * we...