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hearingtrialtestimonyvoir direinterrogationappellantvoir dire examination

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People v. Horrocks, 190 Colo. 501, 549 P.2d 400

Facts

The case arose from an incident on August 12, 1973, when appellant Doyle Horrocks and his companions were involved in a scuffle with a group of Indians, including the decedent, Kenneth Greyeyes. After Greyeyes approached Horrocks brandishing a tire iron, Horrocks fired a warning shot and then shot Greyeyes, resulting in his death. Following the shooting, Horrocks attempted to flee but was apprehended by police, and a tape of his interrogation was later played at trial.

The case arose out of an August 12, 1973, shooting in Durango, Colorado. In the early morning hours, appellant and two companions pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. The appellant's companions became involved in a scuffle with several Indians. The decedent, Kenneth Greyeyes, was a member of this group of Indians. Shortly after the scuffle broke out, Greyeyes approached appellant, brandishing a tire iron. Though testimony was conflicting as to exactly what happened next, appellant, who had obtained a revolver from his car, fired a ‘warning shot’ in the air. He then pointed the gun in the Indian's direction and it discharged, killing him instantly.

Issue

The main legal issues included whether the trial court erred in finding probable cause, whether the trial judge abused discretion in limiting voir dire, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction.

Appellant's first argument for reversal is that the trial court erred in finding probable cause following the preliminary hearing. Inasmuch as this matter was not raised before trial and appellant was found guilty by a jury, we regard the issue in its present posture as moot.

Rule

The court applied principles regarding the sufficiency of evidence, the discretion of trial judges in voir dire, and the standards for admitting expert testimony.

It is clear that the fairness of a hypothetical question is generally a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court.

Analysis

The court determined that the trial court's actions regarding voir dire and the exclusion of certain expert testimony did not constitute reversible error. It found that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the conviction for manslaughter, despite the appellant's arguments regarding the conflicts in the evidence and the jury's ability to distinguish between the offenses.

We find no merit to appellant's further contention that the trial judge improperly restricted the scope of voir dire examination by, at one point, admonishing defense counsel to stay away from legal questions. In our view, the court did not abuse its discretion in limiting questions relating to the law, and no prejudice has been demonstrated.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of manslaughter but remanded the case with directions to vacate that conviction and enter a judgment of conviction for criminally negligent homicide.

The judgment is affirmed and the cause remanded with directions consonant with the views herein expressed.

Who won?

The People prevailed in the case as the conviction was affirmed, but the court ultimately directed a change in the conviction to criminally negligent homicide.

The Supreme Court, Lee, J., held that issue whether trial court erred in finding probable cause following preliminary hearing was moot, that trial judge's restriction of scope of voir dire examination by admonishing defense counsel to stay away from legal questions was not an abuse of discretion, that any error, in refusal to admit certain testimony by psychologist, in response to hypothetical question, was harmless, that any error with regard to admission of tape of accused's interrogation at police station was moot, that giving of instruction on manslaughter as a lesser included offense of second-degree murder was not error, that evidence was sufficient to sustain conviction, but that case would be remanded for vacating of manslaughter conviction and entry of judgment of conviction of criminally negligent homicide and for resentencing.

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