Smith v. State5/26/2000
e been Reid who made this statement. However, on cross-examination Harmon reiterated that Smith told him that he "hit the man, beat the man -- hit the man in the head and cut him." (R. 340.) Harmon testified that Smith asked him to go with him to get the tools from where he had left them in the woods. He said that he went with Smith and that they got the tools and took them to a pawnshop -- Smith received $200 for the tools. Harmon testified that he was currently in the county jail because his probation had been revoked.
M.A. testified that she was living at Highway Host motel with her mother and sister at the time of Van Dam's murder. She said that her sister, M., was dating Smith. M.A. testified that on November 23, 1997, she saw Smith, Reid, and Van Dam drive away from the motel in a red truck. She said that when Smith and Reid returned sometime later they were in a black car, Van Dam was not with them, and Smith had blood on his clothes. M.A. testified that Smith told her that he had hit, cut, and stabbed Van Dam in the back.
Patty Milbeck testified that she saw Smith, Reid, and Van Dam on the day of the robbery-murder. Whey they returned, she said, Van Dam was not with them and Smith appeared nervous. Smith told her that Van Dam had become angry and left. Milbeck stated that at the time of her trial testimony she was in jail because she failed to report to her probation officer.
Joey Warner, an employee of 24-Hour Pawn pawnshop, testified that on November 23, 1997, Smith pawned several tools including saws, drills, and a router. He was given $200 and he showed his Alabama Department of Corrections identification card as identification to pawn the tools. (Supp. R. 92.)
Standard of Review
Because Smith has been sentenced to death, this Court must review each issue raised in Smith's brief, even if the issue was not first presented to the trial court. This Court must also review the record to determine if there is any "plain error" i.e., error that has adversely affected the substantial rights of the appellant, see Rule 45A, Ala.R.App.P., even though the issue was not raised in Smith's appellate brief to this Court.
"The standard of review in reviewing a claim under the plain-error doctrine is stricter than the standard used in reviewing an issue that was properly raised in the trial court or on appeal. As the United States Supreme Court stated in United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985), the plain-error doctrine applies only if the error is `particularly egregious' and if it `seriously affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.' See Ex parte Price, 725 So. 2d 1063 (Ala. 1998), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 1809, 143 L.Ed.2d 1012 (1999); Burgess v. State, 723 So. 2d 742 (Ala.Cr.App. 1997), aff'd, 723 So. 2d 770 (Ala. 1998), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 1360, 143 L.Ed. 2d 521 (1999); Johnson v. State, 620 So. 2d 679, 701 (Ala.Cr.App. 1992), rev'd on other grounds, 620 So. 2d 709 (Ala. 1993), on remand, 620 So.2d 714 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 905, 114 S.Ct. 285, 126 L.Ed.2d 235 (1993)." Hall v. State, [Ms. CR-94-0661, October 18, 1999] ___ So. 2d ___, ___ (Ala.Cr.App. 1999).
Guilt-Phase Issues
I.
Smith argues that "the trial court violated Mr. Smith's rights to a capital trial free from arbitrariness when it randomly removed a juror from the venire." (Appellant's brief to this Court, p. 89.) The following occurred after the trial court granted strikes for cause:
"The Court: Okay. So that means we have lost one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. That means we've got 39. All ri
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