Woodruff v. State
| Decision Date | 28 June 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 313 Ark. 585,856 S.W.2d 299 |
| Parties | Darren WOODRUFF, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 92-1345. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Thomas D. Deen, Dermott, for appellant.
Kent G. Holt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
This is a capital murder case. Darren Woodruff was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the capital murder of Carlos (a.k.a. "Brizzle") Bogan outside a Eudora nightclub at approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 22, 1991. Woodruff appeals on the basis that the trial court committed error in limiting the cross-examination of a State's witness and in not granting a mistrial because of prejudicial remarks made by the prosecutor. We affirm.
At trial, witnesses called by the State testified that Carlos Bogan was dancing when he swung around a pole in the club and kicked Woodruff. Testimony revealed that Bogan had a "habit" of swinging around poles. Bogan apologized and then Woodruff said, "No, you not gonna get off that easy." Woodruff reportedly went outside. Then, Kevin Leonard went to Bogan and they talked. Five minutes later, Bogan exited the club behind Leonard, presumably to meet Woodruff outside.
Woodruff's brother, Renwick Redmon, testified that, on the night of the shooting, Woodruff had told him that Carlos Bogan had been bothering him, that he and Carlos were in an argument, and that Bogan had confronted him or embarrassed him in some way. Woodruff also told Redmon that if Bogan kept bothering him, he was going to shoot Bogan in the head. Other testimony revealed that Woodruff had loaned Bogan twenty dollars which had not been repaid.
Witnesses to the shooting testified that after Kevin Leonard and Carlos Bogan exited the nightclub together, they met Woodruff behind the building. There was a verbal disagreement and some pushing. Woodruff and Bogan exchanged words, and Woodruff shot Bogan in the head with a pistol.
Woodruff testified that he carried a gun for protection since he carried cash because he did not trust banks. Woodruff admitted he was drunk when the shooting took place. He testified that Carlos Bogan made sexual advances toward him in the bathroom at the Silver Dollar the night of the shooting. Woodruff said he told his brother that if Bogan approached him again like that, he would "bust his head" with his fist, not shoot Bogan with a gun. Woodruff said he was never kicked by Bogan inside the club.
Woodruff said he went outside to throw up and encountered Carlos Bogan and Kevin Leonard. He said Bogan wanted to borrow twenty dollars, Woodruff refused, and then Bogan and Kevin Leonard got into a pushing match. Bogan asked Woodruff again if he could have the money and then Bogan threatened to forcibly take the money from Woodruff, at which time Woodruff pulled his gun out of his pocket to scare Bogan. He testified that Bogan then jumped at him and pushed him, and the gun went off as Woodruff began falling. In his words, he pulled the trigger by accident.
The autopsy report introduced into evidence revealed that Bogan died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Immediately after the shooting, Woodruff walked around to the front of the club with the gun still in his hand and then fled the scene on foot. He went to Dale Handie's house and asked for a ride across town. During that car ride, the police stopped their car, and Woodruff fled on foot.
The police officer to arrive first on the scene testified that he received a call at 2:00 a.m. to come to the Silver Dollar, which he immediately did and found Carlos Bogan on his side facing downward on the ground behind the nightclub in a dark area between the club and an abandoned building. Bogan had a weak pulse, and his vital signs quickly disappeared despite the officer's attempt to resuscitate him.
Woodruff was arrested three days later. The Chief of Police of the Eudora Police Department testified that after his rights were read to him, Woodruff voluntarily confessed to shooting Bogan and said he had just "forgot about the whole thing when he shot Carlos." Woodruff also allegedly said he didn't mean to kill Bogan, although at trial Woodruff denied making any statement to the police.
The State called a rebuttal witness, Edward Grant, to show that Woodruff had made threatening comments about Bogan before the shooting in order to rebut Woodruff's testimony that there was no intent and that the shooting was merely an accident.
In a nutshell, Grant testified that he heard Woodruff call Bogan into the street, and that Bogan got "loud with him." Grant then said he asked Woodruff what the argument was about, and Woodruff said it was about a loan, and that, "The next time I'm gonna call him out ... if he get loud, everybody gonna know about it." Grant further testified that he was outside with other parties when he heard Bogan say, "Ya'll ain't going to do nothing to me." Grant then said he saw the gun in Woodruff's hand fire and Bogan fall to the ground.
At trial, Woodruff claimed that it was error for the court to prevent him from cross-examining Grant on the fact that Grant was being held in jail pending trial on felony charges at the time he testified against Woodruff. The State replied generally that the witness should not be questioned on these issues unless there was a conviction going to his truth and veracity.
The exchange in question reads as follows:
(RECESS)
(Whereupon, the following was held at the Bench out of the hearing of the jury.)
We'll be in session now.
(Whereupon, the following was held in open court.)
MR. COLVIN: I do save my exceptions, Your Honor, just to make sure.
As a preliminary matter, Woodruff incorrectly argues that abuse of discretion is not the proper standard of review, but we repeat that it is indeed the correct standard. Sheridan v. State, 313 Ark. 23, 852 S.W.2d 772 (1993); Jarrett v. State, 310 Ark. 358, 833 S.W.2d 779 (1992). We have said that the use of cross-examination is an important tool in bringing the facts before the jury and wide latitude should be afforded by the trial court. Carmichael v. State, 296 Ark. 479, 757 S.W.2d 944 (1988); Hoback v. State, 286 Ark. 153, 689 S.W.2d 569 (1985); Trammell v. State, 193 Ark. 21, 97 S.W.2d 902 (1936). Even so, the trial court must determine when the matter has been sufficiently developed and the outer limits have been reached, and unless the trial court's discretion is abused, we will not reverse. McCorkle v. State, 270 Ark. 679, 607 S.W.2d 655 (1980).
In examining the colloquy between court and counsel relating to defense counsel's desire to cross-examine Grant concerning Grant's "present circumstances" of being in jail and "why he's charged," defense counsel said that this information "is an element of his credibility that the jury should know to determine how much ... weight to give his testimony as to credibility", we can envision several different reasons why Woodruff's counsel would want to cross-examine Grant. However, it is not apparent from the context of his questions or his statements to the trial court as to why Grant was in jail, or what possible bearing his incarceration might have on Woodruff's trial. Counsel did not furnish or suggest to the trial court any of our rules of evidence or case law which would support his questions concerning Woodruff's incarceration. Furthermore, Woodruff's counsel did not claim or even make mention to the trial court that the information he sought could have a potential of showing bias or motive on the part of Grant.
On appeal, Woodruff now states that the evidence of Grant's incarceration showed a compelling motive to slant his testimony and that impeachment for bias on the issue cannot be denied. This is a new argument, and we have long held that we will not consider arguments on appeal which were not raised below. Furman v. Holloway, 312 Ark. 378, 849 S.W.2d 520 (1993); Campbell v. State, 311 Ark. 641, 846 S.W.2d 639 (1993); Tisdale v. State, 311 Ark. 220, 843 S.W.2d 803 (1992).
Granted, we have stressed the importance of allowing wide latitude with respect to the admission of evidence relevant to the bias of the witness, see Wilson v. State, 289 Ark. 141, 712 S.W.2d 654 (1986) and Simpson v. State, 274 Ark. 188, 623 S.W.2d 200 (1981); however, the argument must be properly raised and preserved for appeal.
Woodruff further argues that his constitutional rights under the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution were violated in that the trial court had limited his cross-examination, citing Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986), Davis v. Alaska, ...
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