KENNETH RAY DILLINGHAM v. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY and ROBERT JURELL HICKS v. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

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AS KENNETH RAY RENDERED: CORRECTED: JUNE 17, 1999 JULY 13, 1999 TO BE PUBLISHED DILLINGHAM APPEAL FROM METCALFE CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE BENJAMIN L. DICKINSON, JUDGE 98-CR-08 v. COMMONWEALTH OF APPELLEE KENTUCKY TO BE HEARD WITH 98-SC-429-MR ROBERT JURELL APPELLANT HICKS APPEAL FROM METCALFE CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE BENJAMIN L. DICKINSON, JUDGE 98-CR-12 v. COMMONWEALTH OF APPELLEE KENTUCKY OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE JOHNSTONE AFFIRMING AS TO 98-SC-428-MR AFFIRMING IN PART, REVERSING IN PART, AND REMANDING AS TO 98-SC-429-MR Appellants, were convicted complicity sentenced to to convictions Kenneth Ray respectively first-degree twenty and Dillingham of first-degree robbery. years' Dillingham's and Robert Jurell robbery and Dillingham imprisonment. sentence. We and affirm However, Hicks Hicks, were both because palpable error was committed during the sentencing phase of Hicks's trial, we reverse his sentence and remand for a new sentencing hearing. The Edmonton State Bank in Center, Kentucky, was robbed at 11:30 a.m. on December 1, 1997. A neatly-dressed man walked the bank and handed a note to a clerk, Clifton Thompson. note read, the "This is a robbery. police." into The Don't push any buttons or call The man stated that he had a gun. However, according to the testimony at trial, no witness actually saw a weapon. A bank employee, Bernice Wisdom, emptied the teller drawers and handed the contents to the robber pursuant to his demands. The man placed the money in a briefcase with his left hand while keeping his right hand in his pocket. The man exited the bank, got into the passenger side of a waiting light blue Lincoln Town Car, and fled the scene. I. DIRECTED VERDICT Both Dillingham and Hicks argue that they were entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal. "On appellate review, the test of a directed verdict is, if under the evidence as a whole, it would be clearly unreasonable for a jury to find guilt, only then the defendant is entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal." Commonwealth v. Benham, Ky., 816 S.W.2d 186, 187 (1991). review of the record, the jury's verdict of guilt for each appellant was not clearly unreasonable. -2- Upon DILLINGHAM Bank employees positively Edmonton Clifton identified State Thompson Dillingham Bank. Further, as and the Bernice man Wisdom who robbed the a customer testified that he saw Dillingham in the bank just prior to the robbery. Next, while no witness testified that he or she saw a weapon, there was sufficient evidence first-degree adduced at trial to convict Dillingham of robbery. Reference to a deadly weapon coupled with a contemporaneous demand for money or other valuables is sufficient to withstand a motion for directed verdict of acquittal on a charge of firstdegree (1994). robbery. Swain v. Commonwealth, KY., 887 S.W.2d 346, 348 Dillingham handed Thompson a note that stated, "This a robbery. Don't push any buttons or call the police." testified that Dillingham told him that he had a gun. is Thompson Moreover, Dillingham kept his right hand in his pocket at all times as if the pocket contained a gun. There was no error. HICKS Almost $13,000 was stolen from the bank which included a number of twenty dollar bills in "bait money," which are bills that the bank keeps a record of the serial numbers. The bait money only is to be removed from the drawer during the course of a robbery in order to facilitate capture of the robber. Wisdom testified that on the day of the robbery each of the three teller drawers at the bank contained $200 in bait money. -3- She further testified that she emptied all three teller drawers and handed the contents to the robber. A search of Hicks's residence uncovered a coffee can filled with over $4,000 in currency of different denominations. Included with this currency were thirteen twenty dollar bills, the serial numbers of which matched the serial numbers of some of the bait money stolen from the bank. Additionally, wallet contained over $1,000 in cash, including a Hicks's twenty dollar bill the serial number of which matched one of the serial numbers on the bait money list. Finally, a search of Hicks's vehicle produced a set of clothes that were identified in court by two witnesses as being the same or similar to the clothes worn by the bank robber. The search also uncovered a Kentucky road map folded to show the Edmonton area. While the evidence against Hicks was circumstantial, it is well settled that a jury may make reasonable inferences from such Blades v. Commonwealth, Ky., 957 S.W.2d 246, 250 evidence. (1997). A burglary evidence in Jackson cert denied, conviction v. was upheld Commonwealth, on somewhat similar Ky., 670 S.W.2d 828 (1984), 469 U.S. 1111, 105 S. Ct. 791, 83 L. Ed. 2d 784 (1985). The possession of stolen property is prima facie Where evidence of guilt of theft of the property. there is a breaking and entering and property taken from a dwelling and the property is found in possession of the accused, such showing makes a submissible case Because the for the jury on a charge of burglary. evidence is sufficient to support a conviction that appellant stole the property which was taken in a break-in, it follows that the evidence supports a jury -4- finding that said appellant committed which the property was stolen. the burglary in Id. at 830 (internal citations omitted). Hicks was in possession of currency taken during the robbery. It was not clearly unreasonable for the jury to find Hicks guilty of complicity to first-degree robbery on the evidence presented. II. WITNESS SEATED AT COUNSEL TABLE During the course of the trial, Detective Antle sat at the counsel table with the Commonwealth Antle was the Attorney. officer in charge of investigating the robbery. . Both Hicks and Dillingham argue that Antle should have been separated from trial pursuant to KRE 615 because the Commonwealth failed to show that Antle's presence was essential to the Commonwealth's case as required by KRE 615(3). We disagree. The error alleged in this case is identical to that raised in Justice v. Commonwealth, KY., Justice, 987 S.W.2d 306 (1999). In we held that it was proper to allow the lead investigator in that case to sit at counsel table pursuant to KRE 615(2), which states: At the request of a party the court shall order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses and it This may make the order on its own motion. rule does not authorize exclusion of: . . . . An officer or emnlovee of a party which is (2) not a natural person desisnated as its representative by its attornevE.1 Id. at 315 (emphasis added). There was no error. -5- I NO III. INVESTIGATOR By letter to the trial judge, Hicks one line request for an investigator. pertinent part, investigator be "We also appointed respectfully for us." and Dillingham made a The letter stated in request that a private As noted by the trial court, an ex parte letter to a judge is not a substitute for a properly presented motion. Thus, the issue was never properly before the trial court and is not preserved for review. Nonetheless, we feel it appropriate to reach the merits of the issue based on the particular facts of this case. Even though the trial judge stated that the court only would entertain properly presented motions, the trial judge did hear arguments on most of the issues raised in the letter in question. This was acknowledged by the trial court in writing: "This case is before the Court on numerous motions filed by the defendants, pro se, and letters written to the Court which in some instances the Court will consider as motions in the above actions." dated March 3, 1998. St, Finally, Appellants proceeded at Order, trial pro in which case they are not to be held to the same standards as legal counsel. Beecham v. Commonwealth, Ky., 657 S.W.2d 234, 226 (1984). KRS 31.110 states in pertinent part: (1) A needy person who is being detained by a law enforcement officer, on suspicion of having committed, or who is under formal charge of having committed, or is being detained under a conviction of, a serious crime, is entitled: -6- (b) To be provided with the necessary services and facilities of representation including investigation and other The courts in which the preparation. defendant is tried shall waive all costs. Under the rule, necessary reasonably 837, 838 necessary. (1984), are appeal, Ky., that KY., 469 U.S. 1040, 670 are S.W.2d 105 S. Ct. 521, 83 Review of a trial court's denial of funds under the statute is abuse of discretion. Commonwealth, those Hicks v. Commonwealth, cert. denied, L. Ed. 2d 409 (1984). services Sommers v. 843 S.W.2d 879, 888 (1992). Further, on our review of a trial court's denial of funds pursuant to KRS 31.110 is limited to the reasons actually presented to the trial 395 court. (1988), See Simmons v. Commonwealth, KY., cert. denied, 746 S.W.2d 393, 489 U.S. 1059, 109 S. Ct. 1328, 103 L. Ed. 2d 596 (1989). Even though the standards are relaxed for pro se litigants, nonetheless, pro se "pleadings must give at least fair notice of the claim for relief to be sufficient." 236. Beecham, 657 S.W.2d at In the case at bar, Hicks and Dillingham in no way established in the letter or in argument before the trial court that funds for an expert were reasonably necessary. error. -7- There was no IV. RIGHT TO CONFRONT OUT-OF-STATE WITNESSES Hicks moved the trial court to certify four Indiana residents as material witnesses pursuant to the Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Within or Without a State in KRS Criminal Proceedings ("the 421.230-270. The Uniform Act"), motion was granted, which is codified at and the certification was forwarded to the appropriate court in Indiana. the certification included the grounds upon which trial court found each witness to be material. We note that the Kentucky Subsequently, three days before the trial was to begin, the Superior Court, Criminal Division which found: of Marion County, Indiana, entered an order (1) that two of the witnesses were not material; and (2) that ordering the two witnesses to attend the Kentucky trial would cause them undue hardship. Additionally, the order found that another witness had not been properly subpoenaed by the Commonwealth. It is not clear from the order what the Indiana court meant by this last finding. the fourth witness; The order makes no mention of however, that witness did testify at trial. The Uniform Act is a reciprocal statute that provides a mechanism for a party to a criminal proceeding to compel attendance of out-of-state witnesses. It has been adopted by all fifty states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Act requires, as a first step, The Uniform that a motion be made with the trial court to certify a witness as being material and necessary to the proceeding. KRS 421.250(l). The proponent of the witness has the burden of showing materiality. -8- Mafnas v. State, 254 S.E.2d 409, 412 (Ga. App. 1979). The certification should state the facts upon which the trial court found the witness to be material and/or a summary of the witness's anticipated testimony. See State v. Closterman, 687 S.W.2d 613, 621 (MO. Ct. App. 1985). If certified, the certification is forwarded to a court of record in which the witness is found. KRS 421.250(l). Once the certification is presented to a court of record in which the witness is found, that court "shall fix a time and place for a hearing, and shall make an order directing the witness to appear at a time and place certain for the hearing." KRS 421.240(l). While the trial court in the requested state must make an independent determination as to whether the witnesses is material and as to whether compelling the witness to attend would cause undue "[iln hardship, any such hearing the certificate shall be prima facie evidence of all the facts stated .* KRS 421.240(2). therein." Hicks argues that the Indiana court failed to conduct a hearing as required by the Uniform Act, failed to make findings as required by the Act, and failed to treat the Kentucky trial court's certification the witnesses' the Sixth of materiality materiality. Amendment's These Compulsory as "prima errors, Process he facie argues, evidence" of violated Clause. We cannot consider as error on appeal the actions of a court from a foreign non-materiality review. jurisdiction. and Moreover, undue The hardship Indiana are court's beyond our findings powers the breadth of a defendant's right to -9- of of compulsory process is no wider than the jurisdictional reach of The the sovereign in which the defendant is tried. Commonwealth has no power to subpoena witnesses over which it has no jurisdiction. Hev this Further, v. Emerson, jurisdictional Ky., 135 limitation S.W. 294 on state's a (1911). ability to compel the attendance of witnesses in a criminal trial does not violate the right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Minder v. Georgia, 183 U.S. 559, 562, 22 S. Ct. 224, Amendment. 225, 46 L. Ed. 2d 328 (1902). The trial court certified the witnesses in question as being material and necessary to the criminal proceeding in the case at bar. statement were the trial court included with the certification a Further, of facts material. supporting its conclusion During the trial, Hicks that never the brought witnesses the Indiana court order to the attention of the trial court, nor did he inform the trial court that these witnesses were not present in court. There is no action or inaction by the trial court for us to review. There is simply nothing for us to c0nsider.l There is no error. V. WITNESS IDENTIFICATIONS The police showed the witnesses to the bank robbery an array of six photographs, which Dillingham. included a photograph of Dillingham moved the trial court to suppress any For I-Of course, Hicks could have preserved the error. example, he could have requested a continuance pursuant to RCr 9.04, the denial of which would have been within our scope of review. -lO- witness identifications extensive suppression derived from hearing, the photo After array. an the trial court found that the array was not unduly suggestive and denied the motion. "A conviction based pretrial identification right due to process on identification violates whenever the the testimony defendant's pretrial following constitutional identification procedure is so 'impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial Thispen V. Gory, likelihood 804 F.2d of irreparable misidentification.'" 893, 895 (6th Cir. 19861, cert. denied sub nom. Foltz v. Thiqnen, 482 U.S. 918, 107 S. Ct. 3196, 96 L. Ed. 2d 683 (1987), quoting Simmons v. United States, 390 U.S. 377, 384, 88 S. Ct. 967, 971, 19 L. Ed. 2d 1247 (1968). determination testimony of whether violates First, the determine court whether due the use process involves examines they in-trial the were a of identification two-step pre-identification unduly The suggestive. process. encounters Id. Id. to If so, "the identification may still be admissible if 'under the totality of the circumstances [identification] Duckworth, Biqqers, the identification procedure was was reliable suggestive." 93 F.3d 262, 265 (7th Cir. 19961, even Stewart though the v. quoting Neil v. 409 U.S. 188, 199, 93 S. Ct. 375, 382, 34 L. Ed. 2d 401 (1972). In the case at bar, the trial court determined that the photo array was not unduly suggestive and, thus, it never reached the second step of the test. The trial court noted that Ilit clearly apparent that all six photographs are similar. -ll- The is individuals in each photo are not only physically similar but are also clearly in custody." We have reviewed agree with the trial court's assessment. the photographs the Further, and trial court noted that the photograph of Dillingham does not include any information regarding the crime charged or the date of the crime. Dillingham's argument on appeal that he is displayed more prominently in his photograph than the persons in the other photographs other is persons not Nor is his argument that the persuasive. depicted in the photo The only evidence are substantially There was no error. dissimilar to him in appearance. VII. array SENTENCING presented during Hicks's sentencing hearing was the testimony of Jerome Melton, an employee of the Department of Corrections. from the Melton's testimony National Crime relied upon Information a computer printout Center (NCIC). The NCIC printout was not certified as required by KRS 422.040. Nor did the Commonwealth lay the proper foundation to introduce the contents of the printout as a business record exception to the hearsay rule. See KRE 803(6), 902(11). Further, Melton testified as to both arrests and convictions. Hicks made no objection to this testimony. The introduction of the NCIC printout in this manner was clearly 853, improper. 854 (1996). properly preserved See Robinson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 926 S.W.2d By singularly arguing that the issue is not for review, the -12- Commonwealth all but concedes error. This leaves us with the question of whether the error was palpable. RCr 10.26. The jury sentenced Hicks to the maximum sentence of twenty years' imprisonment. The only evidence introduced during sentencing phase was the contents of the NCIC report. the Of course, the jury is allowed to consider in the penalty phase any and all of the evidence introduced during the guilt or innocence phase of the trial. conclude upon review of the entire case, we Nonetheless, that there is a substantial possibility that Hicks would not have received the maximum punishment had the NCIC report been objected to and excluded Commonwealth, KY., from evidence. See Partin v. 918 S.W.2d 219, 224 (1996). For the reasons set forth above, the convictions of Dillingham and Hicks affirmed. However, are affirmed. Dillingham's sentence is Hicks's sentence is reversed and the case is remanded for a new sentencing hearing. Lambert, concur. by C.J.; Cooper, Graves, Keller, and Stumbo, JJ., Wintersheimer, separate J., concurs in part and dissents in part opinion. -13- COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT DILLINGHAM: Susan Jackson Balliet Assistant Public Advocate Department of Public Advocacy 100 Fair Oaks Lane, Suite 302 Frankfort, KY 40601 COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: Albert B. Chandler, III Attorney General of Kentucky Shawn C. Goodpaster Assistant Attorney General Criminal Appellate Division Office of the Attorney General 1024 Capital Center Drive Frankfort, KY 40601-8204 COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT HICKS: David T. Eucker Assistant Public advocate Department of Public Advocacy 100 Fair Oaks Lane, Suite 302 Frankfort, KY 40601 COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: Albert B. Chandler, III Attorney General of Kentucky Perry T. Ryan Assistant Attorney General Criminal Appellate Division Office of the Attorney General 1024 Capital Center Drive Frankfort, KY 40601-8204 -14- RENDERED: JUNE 17, 1999 TO BE PUBLISHED 98-SC-428-MR KENNETH RAY APPELLANT DILLINGHAM APPEAL FROM METCALFE CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE BENJAMIN L. DICKINSON, JUDGE 98-CR-08 V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE TO BE HEARD WITH 98-SC-429-MR APPELLANT ROBERT JURELL HICKS APPEAL FROM METCALFE CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE BENJAMIN L. DICKINSON, JUDGE 98-CR-12 V. COMMONWEALTH OF APPELLEE KENTUCKY OPINION BY JUSTICE WINTERSHEIMER CONCURRING IN PART AND DISSENTING IN PART I concur with the affirmance by the majority of the conviction of both Dillingham and Hicks, as well as the sentence imposed on Dillingham. However, I must respectfully dissent from that part of the majority opinion that reverses the sentence imposed on Hicks because I believe there was sufficient evidence to fix the sentence and that the error described by the majority is not palpable error as contemplated by RCr 10.26. I cannot agree that upon a review of the entire case, this Court should conclude that there is a substantial possibility that Hicks would not have received the maximum punishment in the absence of the NCIC report. Consideration of the entire case indicates that there is no substantial possibility that the result would have been any different if the irregularity is held to be nonprejudicial. Cf. Abernathy v. Commonwe~alth, S.W.2d Ky., 439 949 (1969); RCr 9.24. As I noted in my dissent to Robinson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 926 S.W.2d 853 (1996), it appears that this Court is not quite ready to fully trust the advances of the electronic age as demonstrated by the NCIC reports. Clearly, a prudent prosecutor must now exemplify such printouts pursuant to the decision in Robinson. This case was tried in 1998, two years after the Robinson decision. Robinson, those practicing in the courts of the Commonwealth must give it proper Although I may not agree with the result of deference. -2- 98-SC-428-MR KENNETH RAY APPELLANT DILLINGHAM APPEAL FROM METCALFE CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE BENJAMIN L. DICKINSON, JUDGE 98-CR-08 v. COMMONWEALTH OF APPELLEE KENTUCKY TO BE HEARD WITH 98-SC-429-MR ROBERT JURELL APPELLANT HICKS APPEAL FROM METCALFE CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE BENJAMIN L. DICKINSON, JUDGE 98-CR-12 V. COMMONWEALTH OF APPELLEE KENTUCKY ORDER CORRECTING OPINION On the Court's own motion, the Opinion of the Court rendered in the above-styled action on June 17, 1999, is corrected and the attached pages 1, 2, 3, and 4 are substituted in lieu of the original pages 1, 2, 3, and 4. Said corrections do not affect finality of the original Opinion and are made only to correct misspellings Entered: of the word "Edmonton." July 13, 1999.

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