Opinion ID: 1374533
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in excluding the testimony and courtroom presence of Bruce Thompson.

Text: [2] The right to compulsory process to obtain witnesses is guaranteed by the United States and Washington State Constitutions, but the testimony must be relevant and material to the defense. State v. Smith, 101 Wn.2d 36, 41, 677 P.2d 100 (1984); see U.S. Const. amend. 6; Const. art. 1, § 22 (amend. 10). The burden of showing relevance and materiality is on the proposer of the testimony. The defendant contends that Thompson's testimony would have laid an evidentiary foundation to argue that Pacheco's appearance was in no way unique and the eyewitness description did not fit Pacheco any more than it fit others. We do not find relevance and materiality to Thompson's proposed testimony. [3] Thompson would have testified that the police had stopped him in connection with the robbery. This would have been particularly irrelevant and immaterial to the issue of misidentification since Thompson was in a Minnesota jail on the day the grocery store owner was robbed. A look alike as a defense witness could only be relevant to a claim of misidentification if the look alike could have committed the crime. See State v. Kwan, 174 Wash. 528, 533, 25 P.2d 104 (1933); State v. Jones, 26 Wn. App. 551, 555, 614 P.2d 190 (1980). The testimony of Thompson was properly excluded. [4] The right of a public trial likewise is guaranteed. However, the trial judge has the power to control the courtroom consistent with the ends of justice. As stated in State v. Johnson, 77 Wn.2d 423, 428, 462 P.2d 933 (1969):  The power to exclude witnesses from the courtroom, we think, falls within the general discretionary powers of the court to be exercised during trial in aid of eliciting the truth, promoting the orderly presentation of evidence, and to assure that all parties, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, are afforded fair opportunity to offer all relevant evidence. See also Gatterdam v. Department of Labor & Indus., 185 Wash. 628, 56 P.2d 693 (1936). The presence of Thompson in the courtroom would not have assisted the jury but would have caused confusion. The presence of Thompson would have been inconsistent with the ruling prohibiting him from testifying and his presence would have been misleading. It was not an abuse of discretion by the trial court to exclude him from the courtroom.