State v. Steadman, 67861
| Decision Date | 09 July 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 67861,67861 |
| Citation | 855 P.2d 919,253 Kan. 297 |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Clifford D. STEADMAN, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. The admissibility of opinion testimony on the ultimate issue or issues has its limitations. Opinion testimony is admissible only if it will aid the jury in the interpretation of the facts or assist in understanding the evidence. Where the normal experience and qualification of the jurors permit them to draw conclusions from given facts and circumstances, opinions and conclusions of the witnesses are inadmissible.
2. In a criminal trial, the defendant has the right to have the jury determine from the evidence whether the defendant is guilty or not. The police witnesses can testify from their experience as to a role the defendant played in an illegal enterprise--they cannot testify that in their opinion the defendant was guilty of the crime. The admission of witnesses' testimony that in their opinion the defendant was guilty of the crime and exhibited the pressure felt by a guilty person, other persons interviewed were not guilty of the crime, and there was sufficient probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant for the defendant's residence deprived the defendant of his right to a fair trial.
3. The trial court may exclude gruesome photographs and other evidence which are unduly prejudicial and which are offered solely to prejudice the mind of the jury. Evidence need not be excluded, however, merely because it portrays a gruesome crime. Such evidence offered to prove the elements of the crime, the fact and manner of death, and the violent nature of the death and to corroborate the testimony of other witnesses is relevant and admissible.
4. The admissibility of physical evidence lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and is to be determined on the basis of its relevance in connection with the accused and the crime charged. State v. Nicholson, 225 Kan. 418, 419-20, 590 P.2d 1069 (1979). Relevant evidence is evidence having any tendency in reason to prove any material fact. K.S.A. 60-401(b).
5. When constitutional grounds are asserted for the first time on appeal, they are not properly before the appellate court for review. The defendant cannot raise these points on appeal because they were not presented to the trial court.
Libbie A. Moore, County Atty., argued the cause, and Robert T. Stephan, Atty. Gen., was with her on the brief, for appellee.
Thomas Jacquinot, Sp. Appellate Defender, argued the cause, and B. Kay Huff, Sp. Appellate Defender, and Jessica R. Kunen, Chief Appellate Defender, were on the brief, for appellant.
Defendant Clifford D. Steadman appeals his convictions of second-degree murder and robbery, claiming the district court (1) erred in allowing police officers who were not expert witnesses to testify that in their opinion the defendant was guilty and others investigated were not guilty of the crime; (2) admitted gruesome evidence that had no probative value and was highly prejudicial; (3) allowed the jury to be informed that the defendant had claimed his Fifth Amendment right when questioned by law enforcement officers; and (4) erred in refusing to instruct on lesser included offenses.
Steadman was convicted of the second-degree murder and robbery of William Earle Haislip. Steadman was an acquaintance of Haislip. Haislip, who was 74 years of age, was beaten and strangled on or about September 18, 1990, the day his body was found in his trailer home in Great Bend, Kansas.
Steadman had been working as a confidential informant for the police after the police had found marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and some cocaine in his house. Steadman had been wired with a transmitter and made several buys for Detective Whistler from September 8 through September 17, 1990.
At approximately 9:15 p.m. on September 18, 1990, Steadman knocked on the door of Ambra Chism, a neighbor of Haislip, and asked if she had seen Haislip that day. Chism did not recall seeing Haislip. Steadman told her he had not seen Haislip all day and was worried about him, although at trial, Steadman testified he had been in Haislip's trailer earlier that day and found Haislip, became frightened, and left. Chism and her son, James Johnson, and Steadman went to Haislip's trailer to check on him.
When no one answered her knock at the trailer, Chism stepped just inside the door. Chism thought she saw something in the living room, walked in, and saw Haislip lying on the floor with some kind of blue fabric covering the upper part of his body. There was blood on the fabric. Chism became frightened and exited the residence. Steadman and Johnson had remained outside. The three returned to Chism's residence. Chism telephoned 911 for help. An ambulance and police arrived about 10 minutes later.
A pillow covered the head and part of Haislip's upper body. A plastic-covered cable and stereo speaker wire were wrapped tightly around his neck several times. More stereo speaker wire lay underneath the body, along with a bloodstained matchbook. (A fingerprint in blood on the matchbook was later identified as matching Steadman's left thumbprint.) There were lacerations on Haislip's head. One of Haislip's trouser pockets had been turned inside out and there was loose change on the floor.
Later, Steadman called Detective Whistler's residence and left a message for Whistler to call him. When the officer returned his call, Steadman advised him that Haislip kept a blue bank bag on the table and carried a wallet. Neither the wallet nor the bank bag was ever found. He also said that Haislip had offered him a check for $300 on September 17. After he refused to accept the check, Haislip tore up the check. Whistler went to the trailer and looked for a check but did not find the check or the pieces, and Haislip's check registry did not indicate a check was missing or unrecorded. Throughout the investigation, Steadman maintained his story about the check.
Police eventually found that Haislip had erred and recorded his checks as being one number higher than the number of the check he had actually written. One check was unaccounted for. Steadman suggested to Detective Whistler that he perform an indentation test. The KBI did an indentation test on the check register and undertook a handwriting analysis. The expert concluded that Haislip had written a check to Steadman for $300, and found no indication that Steadman had forged the check.
On September 19, 1990, stereo wire similar to that found in Haislip's trailer was found in the street directly in front of Steadman's driveway. A search warrant was obtained, and Steadman's residence was searched that evening. A similar stereo speaker wire was found. On October 1, 1990, Steadman's residence was searched a second time. During that search, more speaker wire resembling the wire around Haislip's neck was found.
On October 1, 1990, during an interview with Steadman, Detective Whistler told Steadman that one of his fingerprints had been found near the body and that the print was in blood. Shortly after that, Steadman said he wanted to call his attorney. Whistler ended the interview and placed Steadman under arrest for the murder of Haislip.
Steadman was charged with felony murder and premeditated murder in the alternative, and with aggravated robbery. He was convicted of second-degree murder and robbery and now appeals his convictions.
Steadman claims first the trial court erred in permitting witnesses to state that in their opinion the defendant was guilty. Detective Whistler testified it was his opinion that Steadman killed Haislip and that only guilty suspects feel the enormous pressure Steadman felt during interrogation. Detective Bailey testified he thought Steadman was guilty because other suspects were "honest" and that police lacked probable cause to arrest anyone other than Steadman and there was sufficient probable cause to obtain a search warrant.
With regard to defendant's contention that the trial court erred in allowing Detective Whistler to state in his opinion that Steadman killed Haislip, the trial transcript reflects:
"Q. (By [county attorney] Ms. Moore) Sir, who first requested the indentation test on the check?
A. Mr. Steadman.
Q. In your opinion, sir, is there any way the defendant could be as adamant as he was about the indentation showing that that was the last check written?
A. In my opinion he killed Mr. Haislip and he knew that that was the check that was written and that would be the only way that he would know that that was--
MS. KITTS [defense attorney]: Your Honor, I object to that.
A. --that that was there, the indentation was there.
Q. (Ms. Moore) Could he have been certain any other way?
A. Not in my opinion, no."
Whistler's opinion testimony that only guilty suspects feel the enormous pressure Steadman felt occurred as follows:
"Q. [Ms. Moore] Detective Whistler, Ms. Kitts inquired of you whether people who are interviewed at the Police Department ever feel some pressure and, in this particular case could the defendant have possibly felt enormous pressure. In your experience do innocent people feel as much pressure as guilty ones?
A. Yes, they do, anytime people have contact with the Police Department most of the time it creates some anxiety with them.
Q. But can you compare the pressure level of an innocent person to a guilty person?
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