Darryl Scott Stinski has been indicted on two counts of malice murder, two counts of burglary, two counts of arson in the first degree, five counts of entering an automobile, one count of cruelty to children in the first degree, and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The crimes allegedly occurred on April 11, 2002. The State has given notice of its intent to seek the death penalty. This Court granted Stinski’s application for interim review and directed the parties to address whether the trial court erred in denying Stinski’s motion to suppress evidence obtained during a warrantless seizure and search of a red tote bag; whether the trial court erred in refusing to suppress Stinski’s first custodial statement; whether the trial court erred in denying Stinski’s motion to exclude certain photographs from evidence; and whether the trial court erred in denying Stinski’s motions concerning the amended discovery statute. Stinski has raised an additional argument alleging that the trial court erred in denying his motion to quash the indictment based on the participation of an allegedly-ineligible grand juror. For the reasons set forth below, we find no error.
1. Stinski filed a motion to suppress a red tote bag and its contents. The trial court denied the motion and the State argues, inter alia, that the ruling was correct because Stinski lacks standing to seek suppression of the tote bag in that it was property stolen from one of the victims. See
Sanborn v. State,
Although “the burden of proving that the search and seizure were lawful shall be on the state,” OCGA § 17-5-30 (b); see
Davis v. State,
2. Stinski argues that his custodial statements are inadmissible for a number of reasons. As set forth below, we disagree.
(a) Stinski argues that his custodial statements are inadmissible because he was offered a hope of benefit during his custodial interrogation in violation of OCGA § 24-3-50 by certain statements made to him by the interrogating officers. The statements indicated that Stinski should help himself, that it was in his “best interest to tell” what he knew, and that the officers would “take [his] tape and show the district attorney and the judge” that he did not want to help himself. This Court has held that in applying OCGA § 24-3-50,
[i]t is not improper for the police to encourage a suspect to help herself by telling the truth. It also does not render a statement involuntary for the police to tell a suspect that the trial judge may consider her truthful cooperation with the police.
*785
(Footnotes omitted.)
Taylor v. State,
(b) Stinski argues that his custodial statements are inadmissible because they are the fruit of his allegedly-illegal arrest in his coindictee’s home without a warrant. Pretermitting the question of whether Stinski had a constitutional privacy interest based on his status as an invited guest and whether he therefore has standing to challenge the entry into the home without a warrant, see 3 LaFave, Search and Seizure, § 11.3(b), pp. 143-162 (4th ed. 2004), we find that his statements made later outside the home during his custodial interrogation are admissible regardless of whether his arrest inside the home without a warrant was illegal. Even where an arrest is unlawfully made inside a residence without a warrant, a subsequent statement made
outside
the residence need not be suppressed on Federal constitutional grounds.
Pittman v. State,
(c) Stinski argues that there was not probable cause for his arrest. This argument is meritless, as officers had been informed by other residents in the home where Stinski was living that he had admitted killing the victims, and that Stinski had even shown the other residents a tooth from one of the victims.
(d) Stinski argues that his custodial statements are inadmissible because they are the fruit of the search of the red tote bag. See 6 LaFave, Search and Seizure, § 11.4 (c) (4th ed. 2004). As discussed above, Stinski has failed to bear his burden to prove his standing to challenge the legality of the search of the tote bag. Accordingly, his claim that the statements are inadmissible as the fruit of an unlawful search must fail.
3. Stinski filed a motion to exclude a number of photographs of the victims’ badly burned bodies and body parts. As to those photographs that depict stabbing and cutting wounds inflicted before the fire and the effects of the fire set by the perpetrators, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in weighing the photographs’ probativeness against any undue prejudice. See, e.g.,
Whitaker v. State,
The trial court did not explicitly address and Stinski has raised no challenge to three photographs that show the complete jaw removed from Susan Pittman’s body and two photographs that seem to depict another excised portion of one of the victims’ bodies. This Court has held that mid-autopsy and post-autopsy photographs are admissible only when they depict injuries or other relevant matters not otherwise apparent. See
Jackson v. State,
4. On June 19, 2002, Stinski filed written notice of his election to participate in the criminal discovery procedure. See OCGA § 17-16-1 et seq. That procedure was amended during the pendency of Stinski’s pre-trial proceedings by the Criminal Justice Act of 2005 and a subsequent, untitled act. 2005 Ga. Laws, p. 20, §§ 12, 13; 2005 Ga. Laws, p. 474, § 1. The amended discovery procedure applies to Stinski’s case because the act amending that procedure specifies that the amendments “shall apply to all trials which commence on or after July 1, 2005” and Stinski’s trial has not yet begun. 2005 Ga. Laws, p. 20, § 17. Stinski argued in the trial court that the amended discovery procedure is unconstitutional and, alternatively, that he should be allowed to opt out of it. We disagree.
(a) We presume the General Assembly enacted the amendments to the discovery procedure with knowledge of the existing law. See
Hart v. Owens-Illinois, Inc.,
(b) Stinski argues that the amended discovery procedure is unconstitutional because it imposes certain discovery burdens on
*787
him without imposing reciprocal burdens on the State. While it is true that a discovery procedure that imposes discovery burdens on criminal defendants must impose reciprocal burdens on the State in order to satisfy due process, see
Wardius v. Oregon,
The amended statute requires a defendant to produce, at or before the announcement of a guilt/innocence verdict, books, papers, documents, photographs, films, recordings, tangible objects, and audio and visual recordings and to allow inspection and photographing of buildings if the defendant intends to use any of these items as evidence in the sentencing phase. OCGA § 17-16-4 (b) (3) (A). A defendant must also disclose, at or before the guilt/innocence verdict, reports regarding any mental health examinations or other scientific tests that the defendant intends to introduce into evidence in the sentencing phase. OCGA § 17-16-4 (b) (3) (B). Finally, a defendant must disclose five days before trial the identity of witnesses the defendant intends to call at sentencing and must disclose at or before the guilt/innocence verdict any non-privileged statements of those witnesses that are in the defendant’s possession. OCGA§ 17-16-4 (b) (3) (C).
Stinski argues that these highly-specific duties of disclosure exceed the duty imposed on the State regarding sentencing evidence, which Stinski argues is solely to “provide the defendant with
notice
of any evidence in aggravation of punishment that the state intends to introduce in sentencing” at least ten days before trial. (Emphasis supplied.) OCGA§ 17-16-4 (a) (5). The timing of the sentencing phase disclosures is unobjectionable, however, because the State’s duty to disclose arises earlier than the defendant’s. While the
contents
of the two disclosures do seem, at first blush, to be unequal, a careful review of the entire discovery procedure reveals that the State’s duties are, in fact, fully reciprocal. See
State v. Griffin,
Stinski argues that, even if the discovery duties imposed on the State are facially reciprocal to those imposed on him, his duties of disclosure are greater in light of the largely-unrestricted scope of mitigating evidence. See
Head v. Ferrell,
(c) Stinski argues that the amended discovery statute constitutes an ex post facto law and a bill of attainder. The amended statute is not an ex post facto law because it affects purely procedural rights and duties. See
Cannon v. State,
(d) Stinski argues that his additional discovery duties under the amended discovery procedure did not arise through a valid waiver of his rights. However, as we noted at the outset, the additional discovery requirements were imposed on him by the General Assembly, making an inquiry into his waiver of rights irrelevant.
5. Stinski argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to quash the indictment based on the participation of an allegedly-ineligible grand juror with arrest powers. This Court has held that a law enforcement officer with arrest powers must be disqualified from service on a
traverse
jury upon motion of a criminal defendant.
Hutcheson v. State,
Judgment affirmed.
Notes
The evidence before the trial court supported the constitutionality of the State’s seizure of the red tote bag, in that the removal of the bag from the residence by private citizens means there is no constitutional or statutory search and seizure concern regarding the privacy of the home. See
State v. Young,
To the extent that
Burnham v. State,