Opinion ID: 2325668
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: statement reflecting consciousness of guilt

Text: A statement of a party is generally admissible as an admission to establish the proof of matters stated therein. State v. Moynahan, 164 Conn. 560, 576, 325 A.2d 199 (1973). A misstatement of a suspect to police officers is admissible against him in a later prosecution because it permits the jury to draw the reasonable inference that the misstatement was made in an attempt to avoid detection for the crime. State v. Chin Lung, 106 Conn. 701, 715, 139 A. 91 (1927). The fact that by showing a consciousness of guilt the evidence may be damning does not thereby render it inadmissible. The defendant while implicitly conceding its relevance nevertheless claims that because the prejudicial effect of the evidence clearly outweighed its probative value, the statement, even if relevant, should have been excluded. There are situations where the potential prejudicial effect of relevant evidence would suggest its exclusion. These are: (1) where the facts offered may unduly arouse the jury's emotions, hostility or sympathy, (2) where the proof and answering evidence it provokes may create a side issue that will unduly distract the jury from the main issues, (3) where the evidence offered and the counterproof will consume an undue amount of time, and (4) where the defendant, having no reasonable ground to anticipate the evidence, is unfairly surprised and unprepared to meet it. McCormick, Evidence (2d Ed.) § 185, pp. 439-40. None of these dangers is present here. Obviously if the defendant lied about his whereabouts on the evening in question, it is a fair inference that he had something to hide. When other evidence established that there was a strong connection between the defendant and the victim on the evening in question it could be inferred that the defendant's misstatement to the police was an attempt on his part to cover up his involvement in the homicide. What his statement revealed was interesting; what it concealed may have been devastating. Prejudice is not measured by the significance of the evidence which is relevant but by the impact of that which is extraneous. Applying this standard, the court's ruling was proper.