People v. Queen , 56 Ill. 2d 560 ( 1974 )

MR. JUSTICE WARD

delivered the opinion of the court:

William Queen, the defendant, was found guilty of burglary by a jury in the circuit court of Will County and was sentenced to a term of not less than 3 years nor more than 10 years in the penitentiary. The sentence was ordered to run consecutively to two sentences of 1 to 3 years imposed earlier in the circuit court of Perry County for other burglaries. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, with one justice dissenting (People v. Queen, 8 Ill. App. 3d 858), and we allowed leave to appeal.

At about 4:30 A.M. on September 24, 1970, two Joliet police officers, James Grace and David Farmer, observed Lawrence Bryan in the vicinity of Gene’s tavern in Joliet. Bryan, who, one of the officers testified, had a reputation as a burglar of taverns, emerged from the shadows at the tavern and walked rapidly away from it. Their suspicions aroused, the officers went to the tavern to examine the premises. After checking the front of the tavern for evidence of any entry, they proceeded to the rear of the tavern and observed the door there being slowly closed. There was next a sound of breaking glass in the front of the tavern and shortly thereafter the defendant jumped through a broken window to the sidewalk. The defendant exclaimed: “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot.” He was ordered to lie down and notified he was under arrest. The tavern premises were checked and no one was found in the tavern. The prosecutor, apparently anticipating defense testimony that the defendant was intoxicated, questioned the officers as to whether the defendant had any trouble in walking and whether they had observed any odor of alcohol or other evidence' of intoxication. Their answers were in the negative. There was no testimony by the officers that they had advised the defendant of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436. The prosecutor, in asking the policemen whether the defendant had spoken to them, cautioned them not to state what the defendant had said, apparently believing this would have been inadmissible. He asked them to describe only the defendant’s manner of speech. The officers said that while the defendant had spoken little, his speech was not slurred but coherent.

The defendant testified that 2 or 3 days prior to the entry of the tavern he had met Bryan on the street in Joliet and that Bryan had told him of his plans to burglarize Gene’s tavern. Bryan told him that he needed money to hire a lawyer because the police were “hot on his trail” for certain crimes and he needed money to engage an attorney. He asked the defendant to help him in the burglary of the tavern and the defendant said he refused. The defendant walked into a department store and Bryan followed him and told him that if he didn’t come with him on the burglary that he would implicate the defendant in a crime with respect to which the police were “hot on his trail.” He said that Bryan asked him to stand outside as a lookout when Bryan would be burglarizing the tavern. Bryan’s plan was to search for money but if none were found he planned to leave and pick up a friend’s auto. He would then load liquor from the tavern into the auto. The defendant testified he again refused to participate. The defendant was worried, however, by Bryan’s threat and later thought the solution would be to ostensibly participate with Bryan but in reality to plan to have Bryan arrested when committing the crime. His plan was that he would stand outside Gene’s Tavern and when Bryan came from the tavern and went to get the friend’s automobile to transport the liquor which would be loaded into it, the defendant would enter the tavern and call the police, notifying them of the burglary in progress. The police would arrive and Bryan would be arrested. The defendant did not say what his plan would have been had there been money in the tavern. Bryan’s plan, he testified, was to take the liquor and load it in the car only if he did not find money in the tavern. The defendant testified that his plan was thwarted when Bryan came out of the tavern as a police car was cruising near the tavern. Bryan walked away and the defendant entered the tavern to hide. He said that in attempting to leave the building he broke a window with a tire iron and “dove right into the arms of the police.”

On his cross-examination there was this colloquy:

“Q. [prosecutor] Did you ever relate the [above] story to the police?

MR. ANDREANO: [defense attorney] Objection.

THE COURT: Overruled.

THE WITNESS: [the defendant] Not — now, this is the only time I ever said anything about it.

BY MR. POLITO: [prosecutor]

Q. This is the first time you ever related this story?

MR. ANDREANO: Objection.

THE COURT: Overruled.

THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.

BY MR. POLITO:

Q. Why didn’t you relate it to the police?

MR. ANDREANO: Objection.

THE COURT: Sustained.”

Brief reference was made in the course of the People’s extended closing argument to this part of the defendant’s cross-examination. The prosecutor said:

“Now, I would like to center on the defendant’s version of his story. You will notice that he told no one the story until taking the stand. He did not mention anything to the police. Now if his story is true, why didn’t he mention it to the police when he was caught?”

The first contention the defendant makes is that under Miranda he had a right to remain silent at his arrest and that error was committed when the trial court permitted the defendant to be asked whether he had told the police of having been coerced by Bryan into taking part in the burglary. This prejudice was deepened, he says, by the prosecutor’s reference to the question in final argument.

We do not consider this claim of error can be supported.

Objections should be sufficiently specific to inform the court of the ground for the objection, and a general objection, if overruled, will not preserve the issue for review on appeal. (People v. Jennings, 298 Ill. 286, 288-289; O’Donnell v. People, 224 Ill. 218, 223-224.) This court noted in People v. Trefonas, 9 Ill.2d 92, 98:

“Objections to evidence should designate the particular testimony considered objectionable and point out the objectionable features complained of. Failure to make proper and timely objection to the admission of evidence claimed to be incompetent or otherwise objectionable *** generally constitutes a waiver of the right to object and cures the error, if any.”

See also Wigmore, Evidence, sec. 18 (3d ed. 1940).

Apart from the general objection being insufficient to preserve the question for appeal, the record shows that the defendant did not remain silent at the time of his arrest. He spoke with the officers and they described what he told them as being coherent. What the conversation was between the officers and the defendant does not appear in the record. As we have stated, it would appear the prosecutor apparently considered what the defendant told the police would be inadmissible because of their failure to advise the defendant of his rights. Accordingly, he cautioned the officers not to disclose what the defendant said to them and to confine their testimony to a description of the defendant’s speech. Thus, we do not have the question presented of the right of the accused to remain silent.

There was no error here in allowing the defendant to be asked on cross-examination whether he had ever related to the police the story he told on direct examination. The trial court at the conclusion of the case sensibly observed that if a man testifies that at the time of the offense he intended to contact the police and tell them a crime was being committed, it seemed proper to permit inquiry as to whether he did inform the police. The basic plan of the defendant, according to his testimony on direct examination, was to notify the police of the burglary. A fundamental in testing credibility under these circumstances would be to inquire whether the police were notified.

The defendant next contends that error occurred during the jury’s deliberations. While the jury was deliberating, the foreman sent a note to the trial court which read: “Would like the defendant’s words on the stand.” Whatever discussions took place between the court and counsel do not appear in the record. The People have filed a supplemental record here which contains a statement of the trial judge which is simply to the effect that the prosecutor and the defense attorney were present when he received the note. The record does show that the court sent this reply to the jury: “You must decide on the basis of the testimony heard in the courtroom. I cannot have any testimony of any witnesses read to you/signed/Judge Orenic 2:08 P.M. P.S. Return this paper to me along with the verdict.”

The defendant’s argument is that the request of the jury was one addressed to the discretion of the trial court and that the trial court erroneously refused to exercise this discretion.

In People v. Pierce, 56 Ill.2d 361, we adopted the view that it is within the trial court’s discretion to allow or refuse a jury’s request for a review of testimony. We consider that the reply of the trial court to the jury must be interpreted as a statement that it did not have discretion to consider the jury’s request for a review of the defendant’s testimony. There is error when a trial court refuses to exercise discretion in the erroneous belief that it has no discretion as to the question presented. (People ex rel. Chesapeake and Ohio Ry. Co. v. Donovan, 30 Ill.2d 178.) Considering the circumstances here, we judge that the error was of such substance that the cause must be remanded for a new trial. The jury’s decision as to the defendant’s credibility was a critical factor. We do not know what prompted the request for review, but we judge that the defendant was entitled to have the request considered by the trial court.

It is true that the trial court’s reply here resembled the reply given the jury by the trial judge in People v. Pierce, where we considered that the judge did exercise discretion. However, we believe that the language here must be distinguished. The court’s advising the jury here in its reply that it must decide on the basis of the testimony already heard, followed by the statement that “I cannot have any testimony of any witnesses read to you,” convinces us it was a declaration that the court was without discretion.

For the reasons given, the judgments of the appellate court and of the circuit court of Will County are reversed and the cause is remanded for a new trial.

Reversed and remanded.