State v. Payne
| Decision Date | 07 July 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 66A85,66A85 |
| Citation | 357 S.E.2d 612,320 N.C. 138 |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Randy Joe PAYNE. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen. by Ralf F. Haskell, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen., Raleigh, for the State.
Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender by Louis D. Bilionis, Asst. Appellate Defender, Raleigh, for defendant-appellant.
Randy Joe Payne, pro se.
The defendant contends, inter alia, that the trial court committed reversible error by communicating with the jurors out of open court and in the absence of the defendant, counsel, or a court reporter. We agree and hold that the defendant is entitled to a new trial. Because the defendant's other assignments of error are not likely to arise upon retrial, we do not reach or discuss them.
A complete review of the evidence is not necessary to an understanding of the legal issues involved in this case. Briefly, the State's evidence tended to show that the victim was killed with a hatchet and had been penetrated vaginally shortly before death. A man was seen running from the victim's house into a nearby barn. Police arrived and found the defendant in the barn's loft.
At the conclusion of jury selection, the trial court told the court reporter:
THE COURT: You may show that I am giving the jury a break and that I am going to administer my admonitions to them in the jury room.
As there is no indication of record to the contrary, we must assume that the trial court caused the record to speak the complete truth in this regard, and that the trial court actually took the steps indicated.
Article I, section 23 of the Constitution of North Carolina provides: "In all criminal prosecutions, every person charged with crime has the right to be informed of the accusation and to confront the accusers and witnesses with other testimony...." The sixth amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives an accused the same protection. Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 85 S.Ct. 1065, 13 L.Ed.2d 923 (1965). This protection guarantees an accused the right to be present in person at every stage of his trial. State v. Moore, 275 N.C. 198, 208, 166 S.E.2d 652, 659 (1969). "[I]t is well established in this State that an accused cannot waive his right to be present at every stage of his trial upon an indictment charging him with a capital felony...." Id. In capital cases such as the present case, "it is the duty of the court to see that he is actually present at each and every step taken in the progress of the trial." State v. Jenkins, 84 N.C. 812, 814 (1881). Furthermore, the trial court's admonitions to the jury came at a critical stage in the present case, because the defendant's presence at that time could have had a reasonably substantial relation to his ability to present a full defense. See Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 105-106, 54 S.Ct. 330, 332, 78 L.Ed. 674, 678 (1934).
State v. Taylor, 280 N.C. 273, 280, 185 S.E.2d 677, 682 (1971). See N.C.G.S. § 15A-1443(b) (1983). The State cannot meet its burden of showing that the trial court's error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in the present case, however, because the defendant, counsel, and the court reporter all were absent during the ensuing admonitions. See Graves v. State, 377 So.2d 1129 (Ala.Crim.App.1979) (); People v. Heard, 388 Mich. 182, 200 N.W.2d 73 (1972) (same); State v. Murphy, 17 N.D. 48, 115 N.W. 84 (1908) (same); State v. Mims, 306 Minn. 159, 235 N.W.2d 381 (1975) (same); Graham v. State, 73 Okl.Crim. 337, 121 P.2d 308 (1942) (same); State v. Elmore, 279 S.C. 417, 308 S.E.2d 781 (1983) (same); State v. Wroth, 15 Wash. 621, 47 P. 106 (1896) (same). Cf., State v. Moya, 138 Ariz. 12, 672 P.2d 964 (1983) (); Smith v. Commonwealth, 321 S.W.2d 786 (Ky.1959) (). Therefore, the defendant is entitled to new trial. See State v. Bailey, 307 N.C. 110, 296 S.E.2d 287 (1982) (); State v. Mettrick, 305 N.C. 383, 289 S.E.2d 354 (1982) ().
We do not doubt that the action of the trial court was taken in good faith and resulted from its concern for the efficient conduct of the trial and for the comfort of the jurors who faced a long and arduous task in this capital case. Nevertheless, we must hold that the trial court's ex parte admonitions to the jury amounted to error requiring a new trial of the defendant for these charges.
NEW TRIAL.
The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and of rape and received the death sentence for the murder and a life sentence for the rape. The record reflects that the murder was brutal and that the evidence against the defendant was overwhelming. Unlike the majority, I am unwilling to overturn defendant's convictions by "assuming" that the trial judge had an ex parte communication with the jury for the purpose of admonishing them. Not only does the majority assume that the admonitions actually took place, but that the defendant, counsel, and court reporter were not present.
The record in this case does not affirmatively show that the trial judge administered an admonition to the jury ex parte or, if he did so, who was present. The majority "assumes" that he did so because he stated his intention to do so and because "there is no indication of record to the contrary." At this stage, no one is able to say what actually happened or who was present. Trial judges often have second thoughts on such matters and catch such possible mistakes before they actually commit them. In this instance, the majority should act upon what the record shows, not what it fails to show. Rather than acting on assumptions, this Court should remand this case to the trial division to establish a record of precisely what transpired, as we have done in a legion of similar cases. It is unfair to the trial judge to fail to do so.
Even if a remand for findings should confirm that the...
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