Opinion ID: 2436501
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: state's failure to disclose statement

Text: Following the State's case in chief, the defense put on several witnessesincluding Bennett. Bennett again claimed that the drowning had been accidental. To rebut that testimony, the State called the victim's daughter, Gloria Good (Bennett's stepdaughter). Good, who had taken the stand earlier, testified as a rebuttal witness in part as follows: Q. Did Richard Bennett ever tell you how your mother had died? A. Well, one time when he was hollering at me, he saidthis was after in a few weeks when we were still living with him, he told me that my mom hadn't really just fallen off the bridge, that she deliberately jumped off the bridge because she was tired of being my mother. Bennett's counsel objected that the State had failed to disclose this prior statement during discovery notwithstanding requests for all such statements. Counsel also requested a mistrial, and in the alternative asked that a cautionary instruction be given. The court determined that the objection was well taken but that a mistrial was not warranted. At the close of rebuttal, the defense renewed the motion for a mistrial. At this point the State advised the court that Gloria Good had notified the prosecution of Bennett's statement only minutes before she testified as a rebuttal witness. The court again denied the motion for mistrial. In Earl v. State, 272 Ark. 5, 612 S.W.2d 98 (1981), the defendant, like Bennett, filed a timely request pursuant to Rule 17.1(a)(ii) of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides: Subject to the provisions of Rules 17.5 and 19.4, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose to defense counsel, upon timely request ... any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant or a codefendant. In Earl , as here, the defendant took the stand in his own defense. Earl denied ever making an inculpatory statement concerning the crime chargedother than a challenged confession. During cross-examination, he was asked if after his disputed confession he had stated to one officer that he felt a lot better about getting that off his chest. The defense objected on the grounds that the State failed to disclose the prior statement during discovery. On rebuttal, the officer testified that the defendant in fact made the statement. This court concluded in Earl that if our discovery rules are to be meaningful they must be complied with where: (1) there has been a timely request; (2) there is no finding of compliance by the State; and (3) there is prejudice to the defense. id. at 13, 612 S.W.2d 98. In Williamson v. State, 263 Ark. 401, 565 S.W.2d 415 (1978), we held that Rule 17.1 imposes a duty upon the State to disclose to defense counsel, upon timely request, all material and information to which a party is entitled in sufficient time to permit his counsel to make beneficial use thereof. Any interpretation of Rule 17.1 to the contrary would indeed make a farce of the rule. The State relies upon the prosecution's claim that it was unaware of the undisclosed statement by Bennett until moments before Gloria Good testified as a rebuttal witness. However, A.R.Cr.P.Rule 19.2 in relevant part provides: If additional material or information is discovered during trial, the party shall notify the court and opposing counsel of the existence of the material or information. As such, there is a continuing duty of disclosure. Rule 19.4, like Williamson , mandates that all material and information to which a party is entitled must be disclosed in time to permit counsel to make beneficial use thereof. Neither the trial court nor Bennett's counsel had notice of the information subject to disclosure until after it was presented to the jury. In Nelson v. State, 274 Ark. 113, 622 S.W.2d 188 (1981), we pointed out that in a line of cases we have consistently, without exception, held that the State must comply with the pretrial discovery rules. It is not that the evidence is necessarily inadmissible; rather, the problem is in the court's failure to enforce the discovery rules. The State contends that there was no duty to disclose because Gloria Good was a genuine rebuttal witness and that Bennett is also unable to show how he was prejudiced. McDaniel v. State, 294 Ark. 416, 743 S.W.2d 795 (1988); Parker v. State, 268 Ark. 441, 597 S.W.2d 586 (1980); and Renton v. State, 274 Ark. 87, 622 S.W.2d 171 (1981). We find the State's reliance on the rebuttal witness argument unpersuasive, Earl, supra , and we conclude that the evidence of prejudice is overwhelming. The challenged statement by Gloria Good was the only evidence of any statement or act by Bennett which contradicted his other statements that the drowning had been accidental. The testimony likely had a devastating effect. Moreover, the court conceded that defense counsel's objection to the testimony was well taken. Had the State disclosed the statement to court and counsel before the testimony was elicited, as is required by our rules of discovery, counsel for the defense no doubt would have convinced the court that the testimony should not be admitted. See also A.R. Cr.P. Rule 19.7. In Earl, supra , the trial court refused to grant defendant's motion for a mistrial even though it was evident that the State did not comply with our discovery rules. We reversed. The State's failure to comply with the rules of discovery in this case was of equal magnitude.