Opinion ID: 1727423
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defense Richardson Violation

Text: McDuffie's first issue on appeal is his claim that the trial court erred in excluding the testimony of defense witness Wiggins based on a Richardson violation committed by the defense. The defense called McDuffie's friend, Anthony Wiggins, to testify during the guilt phase that Wiggins had, in the weeks before the murders, sent McDuffie two Western Union money transfers totaling $340. McDuffie and his wife had testified that a number of individuals loaned or gave them money in mid-October, which could account for some of the cash McDuffie had on the day after the murders and help rebut the State's contention that McDuffie was desperate over his poor financial condition. Wiggins was the only non-family member who could testify that he loaned money to McDuffie in October. The State objected to Wiggins' testimony because he had been listed only as a penalty-phase witness and not as a guilt-phase witness, and because the defense had just that morning produced Wiggins' $40 Western Union transfer receipt dated October 18, 2002, which the State had not had time to explore or verify. Defense counsel explained that Wiggins was inadvertently listed only for the penalty phase and that Wiggins had just given counsel the $40 Western Union receipt that day. Defense counsel offered to call Wiggins later or the next day. The prosecutor responded: I mean, I'm totally unaware of what this person is going to say and I'm sure that I can probably deal with it at this point in time. But the problem is it is a surprise. (Emphasis added.) The trial court announced that the defense had committed a Richardson discovery violation which prejudiced the State and that Wiggins' testimony would be excluded. On proffer, Wiggins, a barber, testified that he had been a friend of McDuffie for nine or ten years and used to cut his hair in Jacksonville. Wiggins said he wired $40, for which he had a Western Union transfer receipt, to McDuffie on October 18, 2002. He testified that he also loaned McDuffie $300 via Western Union earlier that same week, for which he did not have a receipt. The court, finding that a Richardson violation had occurred and concluding that the State was prejudiced, excluded both the Western Union receipt and Wiggins' testimony without exploring any alternatives, such as a short delay for a deposition, a continuance, or presentation of the witness later in the week as suggested by the defense. Importantly, the State never specifically asked the court to exclude the witness, nor did the State request any lesser remedy, such as a short delay to depose Wiggins. During closing argument, the State stressed that the purported undocumented loans to McDuffie were from just the family and were not credible. Where exclusion of evidence or other sanction is sought because of a discovery violation, Richardson holds that the trial court's discretion can be properly exercised only after an adequate inquiry is made into three areas: (1) whether the discovery violation was willful or inadvertent; (2) whether it was trivial or substantial; and (3) whether it had a prejudicial effect on the opposing party's trial preparation. 246 So.2d at 775. Prejudice in this context means procedural prejudice significantly affecting the opposing party's preparation for trial. See, e.g., Scipio v. State, 928 So.2d 1138, 1146 (Fla.2006). This Court will review the record to determine if this full inquiry was made and if the trial court's actions pursuant to the inquiry were proper. The same rules apply and the same procedure must be followed regardless of which party commits the discovery violation, but additional constitutional considerations are involved when a defense witness is excluded. This is because [t]here are few rights more fundamental than the right of an accused to present witnesses in his or her own defense. Alexander v. State, 931 So.2d 946, 950 (Fla. 4th DCA) (quoting Jenkins v. State, 872 So.2d 388, 389 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)) (alteration in original), review denied, 944 So.2d 988 (Fla.2006). In this case, defense counsel explained that Wiggins' name had been inadvertently listed as only a penalty-phase witness and not as a guilt-phase witness. The trial court did not find the violation to be willful and never inquired into whether the violation was substantial or trivial. The trial court made only a limited inquiry into whether the violation prejudicially affected the State's ability to prepare for trial. Here, the State, as the aggrieved party, failed to assert that it would suffer any substantial procedural prejudice if Wiggins were allowed to testify. Instead, the prosecutor tempered his mild claim of prejudice by stating, I'm sure that I can probably deal with it at this point in time. But the problem is it is a surprise. Notwithstanding that concession, the trial court immediately excluded Wiggins' testimony and evidence without exploring what substantial procedural prejudice would accrue to the State if he testified. We are mindful that Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(n)(1) authorizes a trial court to exclude evidence as a sanction for a violation of the discovery rules, but this sanction should only be imposed when there is no other adequate remedy. Furthermore, where as here the violation has not been found to be willful or blatant, this sanction is generally too severe when the only prejudice to the State is its inability to obtain evidence for impeachment of the witness. Grace v. State, 832 So.2d 224, 227 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); cf. Taylor v. Illinois, 484 U.S. 400, 415, 108 S.Ct. 646, 98 L.Ed.2d 798 (1988) (holding that if the failure to disclose a defense witness was willful and motivated by a desire to obtain a tactical advantage that would minimize the effectiveness of cross-examination and the ability to adduce rebuttal evidence, it would be entirely consistent with the purposes of the Compulsory Process Clause simply to exclude the witness's testimony). In this case, the trial court did not make a finding that the defense discovery violation was willful or intended to gain a tactical advantage, but the court excluded otherwise admissible evidence based on the State's surprise and asserted difficulty in obtaining evidence with which to impeach Wiggins. Even if the inability to obtain impeachment evidence by the State were considered a substantial procedural prejudice, the trial court's required inquiry does not stop there. First, the judge must decide whether the discovery violation prevented the aggrieved party from properly preparing for trial. Second, the judge must determine the appropriate sanction to invoke for the violation. Smith v. State, 372 So.2d 86, 88 (Fla.1979); see also Snelgrove v. State, 921 So.2d 560, 567 (Fla.2005) ( Richardson mandates that once a discovery violation is revealed, the trial court must conduct an inquiry to determine the sanctions that should be imposed on the violating party.). Where the issue involves possible exclusion of defense evidence, the extreme sanction of excluding [defense] evidence . . . should be used only as a last resort and it is incumbent upon the trial court . . . to determine whether any other reasonable alternatives can be employed to overcome . . . possible prejudice, including declaration of a mistrial. Casseus v. State, 902 So.2d 294, 295 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (quoting State v. Eaton, 868 So.2d 650, 653 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)); see also Tomengo v. State, 864 So.2d 525, 530 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (stating that exclusion of a defense witness because of a defense disclosure violation is a severe sanction that should be a last resort reserved for extreme or aggravated circumstances); Livigni v. State, 725 So.2d 1150, 1151 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (stating that the severe sanction of defense witness exclusion for witness list violation should be a last resort reserved for extreme or aggravated circumstances). When, as in this case, the discovery violation is committed by the defense, special importance attaches to the trial court's inquiry into alternative sanctions because exclusion of exculpatory evidence implicates the defendant's constitutional right to defend himself or herself. See Alexander, 931 So.2d at 950; see also McBride v. State, 913 So.2d 696, 699 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005) (holding that a criminal defendant has a due process right to present evidence and that exclusion of evidence for a defense discovery violation should be imposed only if no other remedy suffices). In this case, the trial court did not consider whether another course of action could remedy or mitigate any procedural prejudice to the State, even though the defense offered to call the witness later. The trial court could have allowed a brief delay for a deposition or Wiggins' testimony could have been postponed until the end of the defense case. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court erred when it failed to conduct an adequate Richardson inquiry and excluded the testimony of the defense witness without considering less extreme alternatives. The failure to consider less extreme alternatives is of even greater significance here because the prosecutor actually stated that he could deal with the witness. Although we no longer adhere to a strict standard of per se reversible error and a harmless error analysis is proper, Scipio, 928 So.2d at 1146, we will analyze this error cumulatively with the other errors that we conclude also occurred.