State v. Stoddard

• Decision Date: 26 July 1983
• Docket Number: No. 14086,14086
• Citation: 105 Idaho 169,667 P.2d 272
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Daniel Wayne STODDARD, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

Page 272

667 P.2d 272

105 Idaho 169

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Daniel Wayne STODDARD, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 14086.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

July 26, 1983.

David Z. Nevin, Chief Appellate Deputy, Ada County Public Defender, Boise, for defendant-appellant.

Jim Jones, Atty. Gen., Lynn E. Thomas, Sol. Gen., Fred C. Goodenough, Deputy Atty. Gen., Boise, for plaintiff-respondent.

BURNETT, Judge.

The sole question presented is whether a district court erred by denying a criminal defendant's motion for declaration of a mistrial. The defendant, Daniel Wayne Stoddard, ultimately was found guilty by a jury of stealing an automobile. Judgment of conviction was entered upon the charge of grand larceny. Because Stoddard had two prior felony convictions, the judgment also contained an adjudication that he was a persistent violator of law under I.C. § 19-2514.

At trial a police officer testified that keys to the stolen car had been found in Stoddard's possession, affixed to a key chain belonging to Stoddard. A small flashlight owned by Stoddard was also attached to the key chain. The key chain and its attachments were admitted in evidence, without objection. The prosecuting attorney then asked the officer, "Have you ever seen flashlights like that before in connection with burglaries or thefts of any sort?" The officer answered, "Yes." Defense counsel immediately objected. The district judge sustained the objection and directed the jury to disregard the testimony. Outside the presence of the jury, defense counsel also moved for mistrial. The judge denied the motion, stating, "I don't think that remark is sufficient to justify a mistrial." When the jury returned to open court, the judge re-emphasized his prior admonition:

I want the jury to disregard that last innuendo by ... [the prosecutor] that flashlights like that are used to commit burglaries and things like that. We all know that was a ridiculous remark and I want you to completely disregard it.... [M]y mother-in-law before she died used to carry a light like that and she was no burglar and I want you to give about the same kind of credence to his remark as you would any other remark not appropriately made. It doesn't have anything to do with the guilt or innocence of the defendant.

I

Stoddard argues that the district judge should not have been content with admonitions, but should have declared a mistrial. In State v. Urquhart, 104 Idaho 92, 665 P.2d 1102 (Ct.App.1983), we outlined our standard for review of refusal to declare a mistrial upon motion by a criminal defendant. We noted that rulings on mistrial motions have been characterized as discretionary. However, the exercise of such discretion necessarily is reviewed in light of the full record and the outcome of the trial. Consequently, the question on appeal is not whether the trial judge reasonably exercised his discretion in light of circumstances existing when the mistrial motion was made. Rather, the question must be whether the event which precipitated the motion for mistrial represented reversible error when viewed in the context of the full record. The trial judge's refusal to declare a mistrial will be disturbed only if that incident, viewed retrospectively, constituted reversible error.

Error is not reversible unless it is prejudicial. State v. Darrah, 92 Idaho 25, 435 P.2d 914 (1968). Certain errors may involve constitutional rights so indispensable to a fair trial that the errors are conclusively presumed to be prejudicial, and reversal automatically follows. E.g., Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963) (right to counsel); Payne v. Arkansas, 356 U.S. 560, 78 S.Ct. 844, 2 L.Ed.2d 975 (1958) (coerced confession); Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 47 S.Ct. 437, 71 L.Ed.2d 749 (1927) (impartial judge). However, with these limited exceptions, the general rule remains that constitutional error is not necessarily prejudicial error. Constitutional error does not require reversal of a conviction on appeal if the appellate court is satisfied that the error was "harmless beyond a reasonable doubt." Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967).

Neither is all error constitutional in nature. In State v. Wright, 97 Idaho 229, 231, 542 P.2d 63, 65 (1975), our Supreme Court said, "Error in the abstract does not necessarily rise to the level of constitutional dimensions unless and until a defendant properly presents a specific prejudice resulting from such error." Therefore, if no specific constitutional right has been violated, and there is no showing of specific prejudice infringing upon due process, appellate review of error is not subject to the Chapman test. It is subject to the traditional test of harmless error.

However, the...