 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
North Carolina v. McKoy9/7/1988
ter a thorough review of the record we conclude that the totality of the circumstances permitted the trial court's conclusion that defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights and that his statements were made freely, understandingly, and voluntarily. We thus find no error in the denial of defendant's motion to suppress these statements.
Defendant next challenges the overruling of his objection to the prosecutor's argument concerning the expert testimony of defendant's psychiatrists. The prosecutor argued:
Well, I want to tell you this about psychiatric testimony. If they were the so-called experts of all times and if the law recognized them as the expert on what the condition of somebody's mind was, you wouldn't be hearing the case.
Mr. Stokes: Object.
The Court: Overruled. Go ahead[.]
Mr. Lowder: The law says that you may hear from the so-called expert witnesses, yes, and you can consider that, but it also says that you may take into account what other people have said about him. We've had other witnesses that told you about him. We had his neighbor right across the street to tell you how he was acting on this day.
Defendant contends that under N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 702, the law does recognize an expert forensic psychiatrist, qualified and accepted by the court, as an expert witness on "what the condition of somebody's mind was." He asserts that the prosecutor deliberately misstated the law in order to mislead the jury.
It is well established in this jurisdiction that " estimony regarding mental capacity is not confined to expert witnesses alone." State v. Evangelista, 319 N.C. 152, 162, 353 S.E.2d 375, 382-83 (1987). "Anyone who has had a reasonable opportunity to form an opinion is permitted to give his opinion upon the issue of mental capacity." Id. at 162, 353 S.E.2d at 383; see also State v. Davis, 321 N.C. 52, 55-58, 361 S.E.2d 724, 726-27 (1987). The evidence here included both expert and non-expert opinion testimony on defendant's sanity at the time of the shooting. The argument in question was an exhortation to the jury to consider both kinds of testimony in resolving this question.
In isolation, the statement "if the law recognized them [psychiatrists] as the expert on what the condition of somebody's mind was, you wouldn't be hearing the case" could be misleading. However, the prosecutor went on to state correctly that the law permits hearing from the experts and considering what they have to say. He then urged the jurors to consider not only the expert testimony but also that of the other witnesses. "Arguments of counsel are largely in the control and discretion of the trial court. The appellate courts ordinarily will not review the exercise of that discretion unless the impropriety of counsel's remarks is
extreme and is clearly calculated to prejudice the jury." State v. Huffstetler, 312 N.C. 92, 111, 322 S.E.2d 110, 122 (1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1009, 85 L. Ed. 2d 169 (1985). Viewed in context, the potentially misleading portion of the prosecutor's argument was not so "extreme and . . . clearly calculated to prejudice the jury" as to warrant a holding that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling defendant's objection.
Defendant next assigns error to the prosecutor's argument suggesting that the fact that defendant was competent to stand trial indicated that his insanity defense lacked merit. Defendant contends that this argument tended to confuse
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 North Carolina DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|