Opinion ID: 1750867
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Demonstrative use of bottles

Text: Defendant objects to two Galliano liqueur bottles that were used as demonstrative evidence. The demonstrative evidence consisted of one 12-inch and one 18-inch Galliano bottle, presented during the questioning of a waitress who worked the nightshift at the VFW. She stated that Defendant took a Galliano liqueur bottle with him that night, which she had given him for his bottle collection. The State showed examples of both bottles, announcing that they were for the purpose of demonstrating the bottle's appearance. [8] Defendant contends that the use of the bottles was improper because they were not logically and legally relevant. He argues that this evidence likely misled the jurors into making an unfounded connection and inflamed them with the image of a sexual assault performed with the bottles. The standard of review for the admission of evidence is abuse of discretion. State v. Anderson, 76 S.W.3d 275, 276 (Mo. banc 2002). This standard gives the trial court broad leeway in choosing to admit evidence; therefore, an exercise of this discretion will not be disturbed unless it is clearly against the logic of the circumstances and is so unreasonable as to indicate a lack of careful consideration. State v. Forrest, 183 S.W.3d 218, 223 (Mo. banc 2006). Defendant alleges an abuse of discretion due to the bottles' irrelevancy because it was never conclusively shown that a Galliano bottle caused the victim's injuries. He asserts that the bottles are irrelevant even though the sexual assault and murder happened shortly after he left the VFW with the bottle, a quarter-mile away, and even though the state's pathologist testified that some of the injuries were caused by a long, round, rigid object with some kind of ridge on it. [9] Relevance is commonly said to have two aspects. Logical relevance refers to the tendency to make the existence of a material fact more or less probable. Anderson, 76 S.W.3d at 276. Legal relevance refers to the weighing of the evidence's probative value against unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, waste of time, or cumulativeness. Id. When for the limited purpose of demonstration, an object may be properly admitted even if is not connected with the defendant or offense charged so long as it is relevant, it is a fair representation of what it is demonstrating, and it is not inflammatory, deceptive, or misleading. State v. Silvey, 894 S.W.2d 662, 667-68 (Mo. banc 1995). The fact that Defendant left the VFW club that night with a Galliano bottle was connected to the State's theory of the case. As such, the bottles were logically relevant. In addition, the bottles were legally relevant because they did not have a tendency to mislead the jury and did not unduly prejudice Defendant. Two waitresses testified that the bottles presented were of the type seen in his possession. Since a Galliano bottle has a very unique shape that is not commonly known, the presentation of the bottles likely served to clarify rather than mislead. [10] And, notably, the State made it clear that the bottles were being presented for demonstrative purposes only. Indeed, the prosecutor's clear statement that the bottles were mere demonstrative evidence, taken with the initial timing of their presentation during testimony about the activities at the VFW club, negates any potential to mislead the jury. Moreover, a collectable bottle, unlike certain weapons, is not clearly inflammatory in and of itself, nor is it inherently prejudicial to a defendant's character. [11] For all of these reasons, it was not a clear abuse of discretion that the trial court allowed these bottles as demonstrative evidence.