Dickerson v. People , 179 Colo. 146 ( 1972 )

MR. JUSTICE ERICKSON

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent as to Part II of the majority opinion. A statement was taken from the defendant in which he admitted possession of the marijuana and also said that he had smoked two marijuana cigarettes while he was on his way to Colorado. Use of marijuana tended to show the defendant’s involvement in the drug scene and his evil proclivities. In Kurtz v. People, 177 Colo. 306, 494 P.2d 97 (1972), this Court reaffirmed Stull v. People, 140 Colo. 278, 344 P.2d 455 (1959). The principle we announced in Stull v. People, supra, is that the defendant is entitled to be tried for the crime charged. It is fundamental that a defendant should not have his guilt or innocence hinge upon his commission of criminal acts which are not the subject of the charge.

In my opinion, the facts in this case do not fit the limited pattern set by this Court in White v. People, 177 Colo. 386, 494 P.2d 585 (1972). The facts in the White case compelled us to reach the result which we did because the sexual acts which were committed were tied together in such a way that they could not have been separated, and both occurred at the same time and at the same place.

In my opinion, the statements relating to the use of marijuana should have been excised from the confession or should have been subject to the limiting instruction outlined in Stull v. People, supra. See Wooley v. People, 148 Colo. 392, 367 P.2d 903 (1961); Williams v. People, 114 Colo. 207, 158 P.2d 447 (1945).