Thompkins v. State, 47313

Decision Date14 July 1972
Docket NumberNo. 47313,No. 3,47313,3
Citation191 S.E.2d 555,126 Ga.App. 683
PartiesRobert W. THOMPKINS v. The STATE
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

Glenn Zell, Atlanta, for appellant.

Lewis R. Slaton, Dist. Atty., Joel M. Feldman, Morris H. Rosenberg, Atlanta, for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

DEEN, Judge.

1. It appears from the record that the defendant requested a charge on entrapment; that the court did charge on entrapment; that the charge given was a correct definition of the term, and that when specifically questioned by the court defendant's counsel stated that he had no objection to the charge as given. Although we recognize that there is no burden on defense counsel in a criminal case to object to an instruction as a condition precedent to enumerating it as error (Ga.L.1968, pp. 1072, 1078), we think his affirmative action in stating that he had no objection to the charge points up the fact that the likelihood of a misunderstanding of its import by any of the jurors is indeed minimal. There was no substantial error in the charge on entrapment. If it was in the language requested, or if he prepared but subsequently withdrew a requested instruction, he cannot now complain. Daniel Contracting Company, Inc. v. Bob Johnson Homes, Inc., 122 Ga.App. 621, 178 S.E.2d 541. If the charge as given differed from his request but he acceded to it, the same result obtains. 'A party cannot during the trial ignore what he thinks to be an injustice, take his chance on a favorable verdict, and complain later.' Cochran v. State, 21o Ga. 706(2), 100 S.E.2d 919.

2. 'The possession of drugs in violation of the Georgia Drug Abuse Control Act, and the selling of the same drugs, are in law separate and distinct crimes and each is punishable.' Gee v. State, 225 Ga. 669(5), 171 S.E.2d 291. The same is true of possessing and of selling drugs prohibited by the Uniform Narcotic Drug Act, and the crimes are subject to differing penalties. Code § 79A-9911. The situation is the same as obtains in the possession and the sale of nontax-paid liquor. Vellis v. State, 28 Ga.App. 468, 111 S.E. 683. The conviction on each count of a two-count indictment charging possession and sale respectively of heroin is not illegal, since each offense contains an element not essential to the other. As pointed out in Vellis, supra, one may possess a commodity without selling it, and may sell the commodity without having it in actual possession.

3. The evidence was sufficient to...

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10 cases
  • McCorquodale v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • December 3, 1974
    ...related to the charge on voluntary manslaughter. See Gearin v. State, 127 Ga.App. 811, 813, 195 S.E.2d 211 and Thompkins v. State, 126 Ga.App. 683, 684, 191 S.E.2d 555. We also note that there was ample evidence to support the conviction without the confession, including the testimony of tw......
  • State v. Woods
    • United States
    • Kansas Supreme Court
    • May 11, 1974
    ...912, 92 Cal.Rptr. 82; State v. Booker, 86 N.J.Super. 175, 206 A.2d 365; State v. Vallejos, 89 Ariz. 76, 358 P.2d 178; Thompkins v. State, 126 Ga.App. 683, 191 S.E.2d 555; 28 C.J.S. Supp. Drugs and Narcotics § 171, p. Before concluding this opinion we wish to call attention to State v. Culbe......
  • Burns v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • January 11, 1973
    ...effective date of the Criminal Code of Georgia (Ga.L.1968), pp. 1249, 1267). Consequently, the decision rendered in Thompkins v. State, 126 Ga.App. 683, 191 S.E.2d 555, which relies on Gee v. State, supra, is erroneous and is specifically Accordingly, the court erred in charging the jury th......
  • Mitchell v. State, 51086
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • October 7, 1975
    ...take his chance on a favorable verdict, and complain later." Scott v. State, 229 Ga. 541, 547, 192 S.E.2d 367, 371; Thompkins v. State, 126 Ga.App. 683(1), 191 S.E.2d 555; Reid v. State, 129 Ga.App. 41(3), 198 S.E.2d 358. Accordingly, this enumerated error can not be reviewed, as the trial ......
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