Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Phill BATISTE and Edward Lee
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1978-03-06
Citations: 363 So. 2d 639
Docket Number: No. 60711
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Phill BATISTE and Edward Lee.
Judges: SANDERS, C. J., and SUMMERS, J., concur in affirming the conviction of Lee but dissent from the reversal of the conviction of Batiste.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 363
Pages: 639–647

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Phill BATISTE and Edward Lee.
No. 60711.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
March 6, 1978.
On Rehearing Oct. 9, 1978.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 9, 1978.
William W. Miles, Porteous, Toledano, Hainkel & Johnson, New Orleans, for Phill Batiste.
Barry P. Viosca, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for Edward Lee.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Con-nick, Dist. Atty., Brian G. Meissner, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Opinion:
DENNIS, Justice.
Following a trial by jury the defendants, charged with distribution of heroin, La. R.S. 40:966, were found guilty of attempted distribution of heroin and sentenced to serve twenty years at hard labor. On appeal defendants rely upon four assignments of error which comprise two arguments for reversal of their convictions and sentences. For the reasons given below we affirm the conviction and sentence of Edward Lee and reverse the conviction and sentence of Phill Batiste.
The key witness in the State's case against the defendants was Earl Brown. As part of a plea bargaining arrangement negotiated in federal court following his indictment on various drug charges, Brown agreed to become a "testifying informant" in federal and state drug prosecutions. Pursuant to this plea bargaining agreement, Brown was given $200 by police officers on December 18, 1975 in order to purchase heroin from the defendants. After the alleged heroin transaction transpired, to which there were no witnesses besides the participants, Brown turned over twenty-three packets of heroin to the police. The defendants were arrested shortly thereafter and charged with distribution of heroin on the basis of the transaction with Earl Brown.
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1 and 2
At trial the first witness to testify on behalf of the prosecution was A1 Winters, an assistant United States attorney, who was involved in Earl Brown's plea bargaining arrangement in federal court. Winters testified that all counts except one were to be dismissed in exchange for Brown's testifying "completely and truthfully" in approximately thirty cases in state and federal courts. At the time of the present trial Brown had testified in two cases in federal court and fifteen cases in state court.
One of the basic rules of evidence is that testimony which establishes the credibility of a witness is inadmissible until the credibility of that witness has been attacked. 4 J. Wigmore, Evidence, § 1104 (Chadbourn rev. 1972); C. McCormick, Evidence, § 49 (Cleary ed. 1972). Louisiana codifies this principle in La. R.S. 15:484, which provides:
"Before a witness has been sworn he can be neither corroborated nor impeached, nor is testimony to establish the credibility of a witness admissible until that credibility has been attacked."
Various purposes are served by this rule. Wigmore suggests that witnesses are assumed to be of normal moral character for veracity. Therefore, as a corollary to this assumption, there is no reason why time should be consumed in proving that which is assumed to exist. It is only when credibility has been attacked that it becomes permissible to introduce evidence establishing credibility. 4 J. Wigmore, supra. See also, Homan v. United States, 279 F.2d 767 (8th Cir. 1960); cert. denied, 364 U.S. 866, 81 S.Ct. 110, 5 L.Ed.2d 88 (1960); Comments, Federal Rule of Evidence 608(a)(2); cf. State v. Cato, 116 La. 195, 40 So. 633 (1906). In addition to insuring judicial efficiency, courts have recognized that an attempt to establish the credibility of a witness before that credibility has been assailed carries the inherent prejudicial danger of bolstering, in advance, a witness' testimony and increasing its probative strength with the jury. See, e. g., Perkins v. United States, 315 F.2d 120 (9th Cir. 1963); Homan v. United States, supra; Annotation, 15 A.L.R. 1065; 33 A.L.R. 1220.
Although prejudicial error was committed through Winters' bolstering the credibility of Earl Brown before that credibility was assailed, defendants failed to object timely and to make known to the court the correct grounds therefor. Defendants allowed extensive testimony by Winters before finally objecting on the ground that it constituted opinion testimony. The tardiness of the objection and the failure to point out the true reason for the inadmissibility of the evidence thus obscured it from the court's view. An irregularity or error cannot be availed of after verdict unless it was properly objected to at the time of its - occurrence. La.C.Cr.P. art. 841.
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR N0S. 3 and 4
These assignments present the issue of whether the trial court erred in allowing Earl Brown to give testimony concerning, defendant Batiste's past involvement with-narcotics. The State contends that this testimony was admissible to rebut the defense of entrapment.
During cross-examination of Brown, counsel for Batiste posed the following questions:
"Q. I believe you previously testified you asked Phill Batiste to buy a bundle of heroin for you; is that correct? Ten minutes ago; is that correct?
"A. I asked could he go get me a bundle, sure.
"Q. Phill Batiste didn't walk to you and say, 'Maybe I can get you a bundle of heroin.' You turned to him and said, 'Phill Batiste, can you get me a bundle of heroin?'
"A. I asked could he score me a bundle of heroin. And he said, 'Yes.'
"Q. In other words, you brought it up?
"A. That's right.

"Q. You asked Phill.Batiste to get you the narcotics that day; correct?
"A. I asked him could he score me a bundle. He said, 'Yes,' he could."
On re-direct examination, over objection by defense counsel, the State elicited testimony from Brown that he and Batiste had spent time in jail together. Brown further testified that two months before the transaction for which the defendants were on trial, Batiste agreed to sell him some heroin and that Batiste made arrangements for a sale. However, this sale apparently was never consummated. The record does not indicate that the previous episodes of criminal activity and incarceration were connected with the offense on trial in the instant case.
Under the generally accepted view an entrapment is perpetrated when a law enforcement official or a person acting in cooperation with such an official, for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of an offense, solicits, encourages, or otherwise induces another person to engage in conduct constituting such offense when he is not then otherwise disposed to do so. ALI Model Penal Code, Tentative Draft, § 2.10; W. LaFave and A. Scott, Criminal Law, § 48 (1972). This view, which has been labeled the "subjective" or "origin of intent" test for entrapment, reflects the views espoused in. majority opinions of the United States Supreme Court, Hampton v. United States, 425 U.S. 484, 96 S.Ct. 1646, 48 L.Ed.2d 113 (1976); United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973); Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369, 78 S.Ct. 819, 2 L.Ed.2d 848 (1958); Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 53 S.Ct. 210, 77 L.Ed. 413 (1932). The lower federal courts are in accord. See, e. g., United States v. Esquer-Gamez, 550 F.2d 1231 (9th Cir. 1977); United States v. Garcia, 546 F.2d 613 (5th Cir. 1977); United States v. Russo, 540 F.2d 1152 (1st Cir. 1976); United States v. Jackson, 539 F.2d 1087 (6th Cir. 1976). It is so called because it focuses attention on the defendant's predisposition to commit the offense as well as the actions of law enforcement officials. The inquiry under this test goes beyond the fact that criminal conduct was committed at the instance of law enforcement officials. Once government instigation is shown, the inquiry focuses upon the predisposition of the defendant. Under this test, the ultimate question is whether the inducement by the officers or the defendant's own predisposition caused the criminal conduct in question. See, 2 R. Cipes, Criminal Defense Techniques, § 30.-01 et seq. (1976). States are not presently required by the federal constitution to recognize entrapment as a defense, but almost all have done so with a majority applying the "subjective" approach.
The United States Supreme Court has adhered to the "subjective" approach over the years despite strong dissents and concurrences which advocate that the focal point of the entrapment defense should be whether the government conduct in question can be countenanced by the court. See, Sorrells v. United States, supra (concurring opinion by Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Brandéis and Stone); Sherman v. United States, supra (concurring opinion by Justice Frankfurter, joined by Justices Douglas, Harlan and Brennan); United States v. Russell, supra (dissenting opinion by Justice Douglas with whom Justice Brennan concurred; dissenting opinion by Justice Stewart, joined by Justices Brennan and Marshall); Hampton v. United States, supra (dissenting opinion by Justice Brennan, joined by Justices Stewart and Marshall). Many commentators agree with the minority or "objective" view. It holds that, since the rationale of the entrapment defense is to deter improper police practices, the character or disposition of the defendant is irrelevant. See Comment, Entrapment: A Critical Discussion, 37 Mo.L.Rev. 633 (1972); Comment, The Defense of Entrapment: Next Move — Due Process?, 1971 Utah L.Rev. 266 (1971); Comment, The Viability of the Entrapment Defense in the Constitutional Context, 59 Iowa L.Rev. 655 (1974). The ALI Model Penal Code, POD § 2.13 and some state courts have adopted this minority view. See, e. g., State v. Mullen, 216 N.W.2d 375 (Iowa 1974); Grossman v. State, 457 P.2d 226 (Alaska 1969).
This Court has recognized the defense of entrapment and has focused its attention on the predisposition of the defendant to commit the crime at issue as well as the conduct of the police. See, e. g., State v. Harrington, 332 So.2d 764 (La.1976); State v. Kelly, 263 La. 545, 268 So.2d 650 (1972); State v. Turner, 241 La. 94, 127 So.2d 512 (1961).
If a defendant chooses to pursue the defense of entrapment evidence of other criminal activity on his part may become relevant in determining whether the defendant had the predisposition to commit the present crime. In Sorrells v. United States, supra, the Court recognized the relevancy of such evidence:
"Objections to the defense of entrapment are also urged upon practical grounds. But considerations of mere convenience must yield to the essential demands of justice. The argument is pressed that if the defense is available it will lead to the introduction of issues of a collateral character relating to the activities of the officials of the government and to the conduct and purposes of the defendant previous to the alleged offense. For the defense of entrapment is not simply that the particular act was committed at the instance of government officials. That is often the case where the proper action of these officials leads to the revelation of criminal enterprises. Grimm v. United States, 156 U.S. 604, 15 S.Ct. 470, 39 L.Ed. 550, supra. The predisposition and criminal design of the defendant are relevant. But the issues raised and the evidence adduced must be pertinent to the controlling question whether the defendant is a person otherwise innocent whom the government is seeking to punish for an alleged offense which is the product of the creative activity of its own officials. If that is the fact, common justice requires that the accused be permitted to prove it. The government in such a case is in no position to object to evidence of the activities of its representatives in relation to the accused, and if the defendant seeks acquittal by reason of entrapment he cannot complain of an appropriate and searching inquiry into his own conduct• and predisposition as bearing upon that issue. If in consequence he suffers a disadvantage, he has brought it upon himself by reason of the nature of the defense." (Emphasis added.) 287 U.S. 435,451-2, 53 S.Ct. 210, 216, 77 L.Ed. 413, 422 (1932).
The issue of introducing evidence of other criminal activity on the part of the defendant in order to rebut a defense of entrapment apparently has not been decided by this Court. A survey of the jurisprudence from other states and the federal courts indicates an adherence to the views espoused in Sorrells, supra. An overwhelming majority of courts are of the view that such evidence is admissible because of its relevance to the issue of the defendant's predisposition to commit the crime. See, e. g., United States v. McCord, 509 F.2d 891 (7th Cir. 1975); United States v. Hawke, 505 F.2d 817 (10th Cir. 1974); cases cited in Wharton's Criminal Evidence, § 258 n. 11; Annotation, Admissibility of Evidence of Other Offenses in Rebuttal of Defense of Entrapment, 61 A.L.R.3d 293.
However, in recognition of the danger that the trier of fact may place undue emphasis on the evidence of other criminal activity and perhaps judge the defendant guilty on the basis of this other evidence, courts have wisely determined that the introduction of such evidence must be controlled in a reasonable manner. See, United States v. Johnston, 426 F.2d 112 (7th Cir. 1970); Hansford v. United States, 112 U.S. App.D.C. 359, 303 F.2d 219 (1962). Thus, as a threshold requirement, the evidence is not admissible unless it has been demonstrated clearly that the entrapment defense will be invoked. Anticipation by the State that such a defense may be raised is not a sufficient basis for admission of such evidence. See, e. g., United States v. McCord, 509 F.2d 891 (7th Cir. 1975); United States v. Sherman, 240 F.2d 949 (2d Cir. 1957), revd. other grounds, 356 U.S. 369, 78 S.Ct. 819, 2 L.Ed.2d 848 (1958); Walls v. State, 326 So.2d 322 (Miss.1976); People v. Mann, 31 N.Y.2d 253, 336 N.Y.S.2d 633, 288 N.E.2d 595 (1972). ALI Model Penal Code, Tentative Draft, § 2.10.
Assuming that the defendant chooses to raise an entrapment defense, other crimes evidence utilized by the State must be of a similar character of the offense for which the defendant is on trial. See, e. g., State v. Matheson, 363 A.2d 716 (Me.1976). Another factor which the trial court should consider in determining whether the evidence is to be admissible is the remoteness in time of the offenses. See, White v. United States, 390 F.2d 405 (6th Cir. 1968); Hansford v. United States, 112 U.S.App. D.C. 359, 303 F.2d 219 (1962). Moreover, the trial judge must consider whether, under the circumstances of the case, the evidence, even though relevant, should be excluded because its prejudicial effect outweighs the probative value on the issue of predisposition.
Applying these principles to the instant case we conclude that the trial court erred in allowing introduction of evidence pertaining to Batiste's past criminal activity during the State's case in chief. It was not "clear that the defense of entrapment [would] be invoked." ALI Model Penal Code, Tentative Draft, § 2.10. In his opening statement the defendant's counsel challenged the credibility of the State's informant-agent, Earl Brown, but he did not contend that his client had been unlawfully entrapped. Instead of denouncing the police conduct in his opening statement, the attorney made it clear that he did not intend to criticize law enforcement officials. Although testimony was educed from Earl Brown on cross-examination that he initiated the transaction by asking Batiste and Lee if they could get him a bundle of heroin, the same testimony had been elicited from him on direct examination by the prosecuting attorney. No follow-up questions were asked in an attempt to show reluctance on the part of Batiste to indicate trickery, persecution or overreaching by Brown. The great majority of the cross-examination was directed to other aspects of Brown's direct testimony. Under these circumstances it was far from being clear that the defendant intended to invoke the defense of entrapment. In contrast, see, People v. Mann, 31 N.Y.2d 253, 336 N.Y.S.2d 633, 288 N.E.2d 595, 61 ALR3d 286 (1972). Therefore, the trial court erred when it permitted the evidence relating to the defendant Batiste's criminal predisposition to be introduced in the State's direct case.
We are unable to detect that defendant Lee suffered any prejudice from the impermissible testimony concerning the criminal predisposition of Batiste.
Accordingly, for the reasons assigned the conviction and sentence of defendant Lee are affirmed and Batiste's conviction and sentence are reversed and remanded.
SANDERS, C. J., and SUMMERS, J., concur in affirming the conviction of Lee but dissent from the reversal of the conviction of Batiste.
MARCUS, J., concurs in part and dissents in part and assigns reasons.
. In the Proposed Official Draft of the Model Penal Code the ALI departs from the generally accepted "subjective" view of entrapment and apparently adopts the "objective" view. See ALI Model Penal Code, POD § 2.13. For definitional purposes and comments pertaining to the generally accepted "subjective" view of entrapment, we have used the Tentative Draft.
. See, United States v. Russell, supra; State v. Nelsen, 228 N.W.2d 143 (S.D.1975); 2 R. Cipes, Criminal Defense Techniques, § 30.04 (1976).
. See, Annotation, 61 A.L.R.3d 293; Comment, Entrapment: A Critical Discussion, 37 Mo.L. Rev. 633 (1972).
. In State v. Matheson, supra, the Court pointed out other available methods of showing a defendant's predisposition to commit the offense in drug cases: the absence of nagging persistence on the part of the government agent; knowledge of the place where drugs may be obtained; an acquaintance with a person having a drug supply.
. "The long established rule forbids the prosecution, unless and until the accused gives evidence of his good character, from initially introducing evidence of the bad character of the accused, including evidence of his other criminal acts. Accordingly, the prosecution may not introduce evidence of other criminal acts of the accused unless the evidence is substantially relevant for some other purpose than to show a probability that he committed the crime on trial because he is a man of criminal character. McCormick on Evidence, § 190 (Cleary ed. 1972); Wigmore on Evidence, § 55, 57 (3d Ed. 1940)." State v. Sutfield and Phillips, 354 So.2d 1334 (La.1978), No. 60,520.