Opinion ID: 844288
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Comment on Baumann's fear of testifying

Text: Defendant contends the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during closing argument by mentioning a fact not in evidence: that prosecution witness Michael Baumann had risked his life by testifying against defendant. As we explain, the contention was forfeited for appellate purposes by defendant's failure to object below, and lacks merit in any event because the jury would have understood that the prosecutor's remark, in context, was a proper comment on Baumann's testimony. Baumann, who, as noted, was present at the Watt Avenue McDonald's restaurant at the time of the robbery murder, testified that one of his relatives had worked with defendant at the Florin Road McDonald's restaurant. Baumann had refused to identify the relative to the police and while on the witness stand, and confirmed that he was afraid to testify in court because defendant knew where his family lived. The trial court instructed the jury this evidence was offered only to show the witness's state of mind, and not to show that defendant either directly or indirectly threatened this witness and/or any of his family members. In response to a question by the prosecutor, Baumann acknowledged that defendant had not directly threatened him. The prosecutor asked, What does it mean to you if you testify against somebody? Baumann replied, You could die. Defense counsel objected and asked that the answer be struck. The trial court declined to do so, but again admonished the jury that the testimony was relevant only on the issue of the witness's state of mind. When the prosecutor began to ask another question along the same lines, the trial court sustained the objection and directed the prosecutor to inquire into another topic. In closing argument, the prosecutor discussed Baumann's apparent fear of testifying and his identification of defendant as the perpetrator of the Watt Avenue crimes: He knows what he saw, and he was scared to death to say it and you saw it. Michael Baumann was the one, if you remember before lunch, basically saying I don't know who did it. Sean doesn't know anybody that worked with my relatives at Florin Road, and then after lunch when he realized that this is just not going to work, I have been subpoenaed, I'm here, I'm going to get it out. And he told the truth, and that's what he told Detective Minter, also, because he has to sit here and look at Mr. Vines face-to-face, and he did it. And he is a person of a strong character. [¶] We submit Michael Baumann is somewhat of your quiet hero. He is in a tough jam, but he came up on it. And he said you know what, after lunch he said I saw Sean coming in the side door. I know it was him. Defense counsel, during closing argument, reminded the jury of the trial court's admonition: [Y]ou must keep in mind that there is absolutely no evidence and there is no argument from the prosecution and the Court ... called it an admonishment when we went through this bit, but there is no evidence that Mr. Vines has done anything directly, indirectly or otherwise to cause Mr. Baumann fear of anything. The Court made that very clear to you. In his rebuttal argument, the prosecutor returned to this topic: [Defense counsel] talks about Mr. Baumann and his fear and says what did he really have to be afraid of? Just look at his face, look at his anguish. That's why we call people live so you can see them. That's why we don't want hearsay. You can see them, size them up, look at them and you can tell all over his face he is scared to death to sit in front of this man and say these things. [¶] For one thing, he has a pretty good reason to be afraid of him. He put a gun right to his face. That's a real good reason to be afraid of him. No evidence he directly threatened him. I'm not saying that, but he put a gun to his face, and he was a squeeze away from killing him. That's good reason to be afraid. And he put him in the freezer, and he knows where his family lives. And he cares about his family, and he doesn't want his family to get hurt. (Italics added.) Moments later in the argument, the prosecutor said: And when Mike Baumann has to come in here like any other witness, look at this man and put a gun to his head and shot Ron Lee in the back of the head and have to say he is the one, that takes a lot of courage. It would be real easy for him to say I don't know who it was, and he is off the hook. He puts himself into jeopardy and risk by saying it is him. He gets nothing out of it. (Italics added.) (21) Defendant contends the prosecutor's statement, He [(Baumann)] puts himself into jeopardy and risk by saying it is him, constituted misconduct. Defendant forfeited this contention by failing to object at trial. ( People v. Abilez (2007) 41 Cal.4th 472, 493 [61 Cal.Rptr.3d 526, 161 P.3d 58].) Contrary to defendant's assertion on appeal, the prosecutor's remark was not inherently prejudicial, hence defendant's failure to object may not be excused on the ground that to have done so would have been futile. Even were we to overlook this forfeiture and address the merits of the claim, no error occurred. `The applicable federal and state standards regarding prosecutorial misconduct are well established. `A prosecutor's ... intemperate behavior violates the federal Constitution when it comprises a pattern of conduct so egregious that it infects the trial with such unfairness as to make the conviction a denial of due process.' [Citations.] Conduct by a prosecutor that does not render a criminal trial fundamentally unfair is prosecutorial misconduct under state law only if it involves `the use of deceptive or reprehensible methods to attempt to persuade either the court or the jury.' [Citation.]' ( People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 819 [72 Cal.Rptr.2d 656, 952 P.2d 673]; see People v. Stanley, supra, 39 Cal.4th at p. 951; accord, Abilez, at p. 494.) The prosecutor here cannot be said to have infected the trial with unfairness or used deceptive or reprehensible methods. Both counsel told the juryand Baumann acknowledgedthat despite Baumann's fear of retaliation, there was no evidence defendant had threatened him or his family, and the court specifically admonished the jury that Baumann's testimony was not offered to show that defendant, directly or indirectly, threatened him. The jury therefore would have understood the challenged remark as referring only to Baumann's state of mind as he testifiedthat he believed he put himself into jeopardy and risk by testifying against defendantand that this circumstance bolstered the credibility of his testimony. Defendant's contention therefore must be rejected.