Grissom v. State

Following a jury trial, Jerry Grissom appeals his conviction of three counts of possessing a controlled substance1 methamphetamine, alprazolam, and hydrocodone and contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial based on the State’s improper comments about his pre- and post-arrest silence. Because the Georgia Supreme Court has held that such comments violate a criminal defendant’s right to remain silent, and because the evidence of Grissom’s guilt was not overwhelming, we reverse.2 The trial transcript shows that, during a narcotics investigation, police searched a residence pursuant to a Fourth Amendment waiver in the occupant’s bond order. They found the occupant who was Grissom’s co-defendant on a bed along with Grissom and asked Grissom if he had any drugs or weapons on his person. He replied that he had a knife, and after realizing it was not on his person, he indicated it was in a black bag. The officer requested Grissom’s permission to search a bag that happened to be near the bed and Grissom consented. There was some confusion on the testifying officer’s part as to whether Grissom said that particular bag was “his” bag. Instead of finding Grissom’s knife in the bag near the bed, the officer found marijuana, prescription pills, and methamphetamine concealed therein. At trial, Grissom took the stand and disputed that the bag in the bedroom was in fact his, pointing out that, instead, his knife was in a black bag later found in his truck outside the residence.

Meanwhile, before fully searching the bag by the bed, the officer had noticed a bulge in Grissom’s pocket and asked him to remove the object, which Grissom did, revealing it to be a “hide-a-key” container. Grissom declined the officer’s request for consent to search the container and stated that it was not his and he had never seen it before. He testified at trial that his co-defendant, the occupant of the residence, had “crammed” it to him when police arrived. After a drug dog alerted on the container, police opened it and discovered methamphetamine and pills.