Opinion ID: 2135655
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Disclosure of Lawler's Report

Text: Defendant claims that he is entitled to a new trial due to the State's failure, until the second day of trial, to disclose that it had evidence linking the defendant to a pair of gloves which were stained with blood consistent with that of the victim's. Defendant contends that this information was extremely prejudicial, because this was the first and only evidence linking the gloves to the defendant, and it had been the defendant's theory that the actual perpetrator of the crimes was the person who wore the gloves and who stole the 242 unaccounted-for packs of cigarettes. The murder of Suon Troeng occurred on October 27, 1988. The State furnished its original discovery list on December 2, 1988. Additional supplemental discovery lists were filed in April, August, September, and October 1989. Lawler, however, was not named as a witness on any of these lists. In preparation for trial, the State's Attorney's office reconstructed the chain of custody for the gloves. It was at this time that the State first became aware that Lawler was involved in the chain of custody, and that he was the correctional officer who found the gloves on the defendant. Upon learning that Lawler was involved, the State, on October 20, 1989, immediately disclosed his name to the defense. Since Lawler's original report was either lost or never filed, a second report was prepared on October 24, 1989, and it was filed on the next day. There is some dispute over when defense counsel received the report. The prosecutor claimed that he gave the report to defense counsel on October 25 or 26, 1989. Defense counsel, however, claimed that he did not receive it until November 6, 1989, the second day of trial, and the same day that Lawler testified. The trial and appellate courts both resolved this factual question in favor of the State. Given that the trial court is in the best position to determine factual disputes, we see no reason to disturb this finding. Prior to Lawler's testimony, defense counsel moved for either the testimony to be excluded or a mistrial. Both of these motions were denied by the trial court. Upon the denial of these motions, defense counsel failed to request a continuance and proceeded with the trial. Defendant claims that a continuance would not have been useful because a short break would not have allowed an adequate investigation into possible evidence refuting Lawler's claims that he found the gloves on the defendant. While compliance with the discovery requirements is mandatory, the failure to comply with these requirements does not require a reversal absent a showing of surprise or undue prejudice. The burden of showing surprise or prejudice is upon the defendant, and the failure to request a continuance is a relevant factor to consider in determining whether the new testimony actually surprised or unduly prejudiced the defendant. ( People v. Steel (1972), 52 Ill.2d 442, 450, 288 N.E.2d 355; People v. Ferguson (1981), 102 Ill.App.3d 702, 713, 57 Ill. Dec. 958, 429 N.E.2d 1321.) Additionally, since a recess or continuance for the purpose of pursuing an investigation regarding the gloves would have met the problem of late disclosure in a less drastic way than a mistrial, it should have been requested. A defendant cannot request only the most drastic measures, such as either an immediate mistrial or the total exclusion of testimony by a witness, and then on appeal argue that he is entitled to a new trial when these requests are not granted. A one- or two-day continuance may have allowed the defendant sufficient time to investigate the new evidence connecting him to the gloves. Even if this amount of time would not have been sufficient, by requesting a continuance, a record would have been established that a substantial amount of time was both needed and seen as important by the defendant. When the defendant failed to request a continuance and elected to proceed with the trial, the claimed error, if any, was waived. Supreme Court Rule 412 provides for the disclosure of materials and information within the State's possession. (134 Ill.2d R. 412.) Under Rule 412(f), the prosecution has the duty to ensure that a flow of information is maintained between various investigative personnel and its office sufficient to place within its possession or control all material and information relevant to the accused. The purpose of the discovery provision is to afford the accused protection against surprise, unfairness and inadequate preparation. Defendant contends that, under this rule, it is irrelevant that the prosecution did not learn of Lawler's involvement in the instant case until tracing the gloves' chain of custody on the eve of the trial. Defendant claims that Lawler's knowledge, as an officer for the Department of Corrections, is imputed to the State since investigative personnel must fully participate in providing evidence to the State's Attorney in order that discovery can be accomplished. Thus, according to the defendant, since the State possessed the imputed knowledge that Lawler found bloodstained gloves on the defendant, it was improper for this evidence not to have been disclosed until the second day of the trial. If this court were to conclude that the knowledge of every State employee who is involved in a criminal case is imputed to the prosecution, the control over criminal cases would be placed in the hands, and at the mercy, of every employee who touches the case. While the knowledge of police officers under certain circumstances has been held to be imputed to the prosecution ( People v. Young (1978), 59 Ill.App.3d 254, 16 Ill.Dec. 569, 375 N.E.2d 442), we decline to extend this line of reasoning in a per se manner. Rather, we believe that the imputation of such knowledge to the prosecution requires an individualized focus on the factual circumstances. Among the factors to be considered would be the reasonableness of such imputation, whether the failure to transmit such knowledge up the informational chain was inadvertent or intentional and whether any real prejudice occurred. In the case at hand, it appears that the failure to transmit the information about the gloves by the correctional officer may have been inadvertent. At any rate, there is no indication that it was intentional. The prosecuting attorney promptly and expeditiously passed the information on to the defendant when it came to the prosecutor's attention. Moreover, the bloodstains on the gloves were cumulative to the bloodstains on the defendant's jumpsuit and on the iron bar. Finally, while the evidence against the defendant was entirely circumstantial, the case against the defendant was overwhelming. A fair summation shows that defendant, in violation of his work assignment, failed to show up for work on the morning of the murder. Instead of being in the dining room as he was supposed to be, defendant was seen in the area of the commissary, and appeared to be hiding something behind his back. After the murder of Suon Troeng, an employee in the Stateville commissary, the defendant was seen hiding by the commissary, crouched behind a wall, near the body. Upon being spotted by correctional employees, defendant ran from the scene with a bag containing cigarettes and a set of keys which had been taken from the commissary. During the relevant time period, the defendant was the only unescorted inmate who was seen around the commissary. Defendant's fingerprints were found on two plastic bags. A boot print found in the commissary was made by a standard boot issued to inmates at the Department of Corrections and had the same pattern and size as the defendant's boot. In addition to the bloodstains which were on the gloves, bloodstains were also on an iron bar found at the murder scene, defendant's jumpsuit, and defendant's pants. The bloodstain on the iron bar and defendant's jumpsuit was consistent with the victim's blood type. The bloodstain found on the pants was consistent with defendant's blood type. Contrary to defendant's assertions, the evidence connecting the gloves to him was not the linchpin in the State's case. Defendant testified that upon seeing Troeng lying on the ground he lifted him up in a sitting position. Additionally, defendant admitted that some blood was trickling from Troeng's mouth. While defendant denied having a pair of gloves, the bloodstains on these gloves were neither more nor less incriminating than the bloodstains on his jumpsuit. Based upon this evidence alone, the jury could have determined that the bloodstains came to be on the gloves and the jumpsuit either from the defendant's attempt to help Troeng or from his attack upon Troeng. Among the factors which this court considers in determining whether a defendant is entitled to a new trial stemming from a discovery violation by the State are the closeness of the evidence, the strength of the undisclosed evidence, the likelihood that prior notice could have helped the defense discredit the evidence, and the willfulness of the State in failing to disclose the new evidence. ( People v. Weaver (1982), 92 Ill.2d 545, 560, 65 Ill.Dec. 944, 442 N.E.2d 255.) As we have previously noted, the evidence in this case overwhelmingly favored the State, and the evidence connecting the gloves to the defendant was cumulative and was not critical to the State's case. Moreover, as already noted, the alleged error was waived when the defendant did not request a continuance and elected to proceed with the trial.