Opinion ID: 1237936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 39

Heading: Disregard of Trial Court Rulings

Text: (77) Defendant contends that the prosecutors committed misconduct during the evidentiary portion of the guilt phase by eliciting inadmissible evidence in violation of clear trial court rulings. (See People v. Bonin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 659, 689 [250 Cal. Rptr. 687, 758 P.2d 1217.) The first claimed instance occurred during the testimony of prosecution investigator Barry Brown. As we have previously mentioned, Brown had contacted defense witness Rebecca Williams at her home but she had declined to be interviewed. The trial court excluded evidence that Williams had telephoned defense counsel after Brown arrived at her residence and before she declined to speak with him. After the court made this ruling, the prosecutor asked Brown, in the jury's presence, whether Williams had made what appeared to be a long distance call before she reached her final decision not to be interviewed. Defense counsel's objection on relevance grounds was sustained and the prosecutor asked no further questions. Defendant was not prejudiced by this incident. The question did not suggest who Williams might have called, and the objection was immediately sustained. The next claimed instance occurred during the testimony of Detective Freese, as Freese was describing events shortly after defendant's arrest. The prosecutor inquired whether another detective had asked defendant for consent to search his car. The trial court sustained a defense objection on relevance grounds. The prosecutor asked to be heard on the matter and the trial court said he could be heard at the break, adding Go on and ask him some more questions. The prosecutor then asked, What was Mr. Price's response when he was asked to sign the consent? The court again sustained a relevance objection. The prosecutor's inquiry into a subject the court had ruled irrelevant was improper, but defendant suffered no prejudice as the questions did not suggest the answers and the defense objections were sustained before the witness could answer. Shortly thereafter, on cross-examination, defense counsel asked Freese whether he had ever directed other officers to detain defendant. The prosecutor objected on relevance grounds. The trial court overruled the objection on the ground that Freese had apparently concluded, after reviewing the robbery witnesses' responses to the composites and photographic lineups, that there was insufficient cause to arrest, and that this opinion was relevant to the identification issue. The witness then answered that on the morning when defendant was arrested by Detective Douglas, Freese did not think he had enough to arrest. On redirect, the prosecutor began to ask Freese whether his opinion would be altered by knowledge of additional facts. Defense counsel immediately objected and the prosecutor withdrew the question. We find no misconduct and no prejudice. The question was withdrawn before it was completed and, contrary to defendant's assertion on appeal, we do not find any earlier statement by the court that clearly precluded the prosecutor from asking such a question. We further note that the prosecutor's original objection on relevance grounds was well taken: whether Detective Freese believed he had sufficient evidence to arrest was not relevant to any issue before the jury. As we have previously mentioned, the police found a suitcase in the garage of defendant's mother's residence. The suitcase contained a blond wig and a Charter Arms revolver. The prosecutor asked defendant's mother whether she would be surprised to learn that the revolver had been stolen in Flint, Michigan. The trial court sustained the defense objection on relevance grounds. A week later, in response to a question by defense counsel, Sergeant Fredrickson testified that the gun found in the suitcase did not match the make and model of any of the guns taken from the Moore or Hickey residences. Outside the jury's presence, the court said it was concerned about this question and answer because they raised a question about why the officer had seized the gun, which had not been described in the search warrant. The prosecutor said the officer had seized it because it was reported stolen out of Flint, Michigan. The court commented that the officer didn't know that when he was searching and asked why the officer had seized it. The prosecutor answered: Because he knew [defendant] was a convicted felon and he had information . Before the prosecutor could finish, the court interrupted, saying: That's fine. That's a proper answer. I'll allow that. [¶] I think he's entitled to explain why he took it. Later, in the jury's presence, the prosecutor asked Sergeant Fredrickson: Where was the Charter Arms reported stolen out of? The trial court sustained the defense objection and instructed the jury to disregard the question. We do not agree that the prosecutor's question was clearly contrary to the court's ruling. The court had ruled that the witness could explain why he seized the weapon, and particularly that he had seized it because it was illegal for defendant, a convicted felon, to possess a firearm. Although the trial court evidently believed that the officer did not know the gun was stolen when he seized it, it appears that the prosecutor was attempting to dispute this assumption when the court cut him off. If the officer knew the weapon was stolen when he seized it, it is not clear that the court's ruling was intended to exclude evidence of this fact. In any event, defendant suffered no prejudice. There is no evidence that defendant was ever in Flint, Michigan, or that he knew the gun was stolen, and the jury was instructed to disregard the question. When the prosecutor asked Michael Thompson how long he had known defendant, the defense objected on relevance grounds and the prosecutor requested leave to argue the point. Out of the jury's presence, Thompson testified he had met defendant in 1979 at San Quentin. Defense counsel said the defense objected to evidence that showed how long defendant had been imprisoned. The trial court asked: Is there any problem with just simply saying he's known him since 1979 without going into all the facts and circumstances about where he met him? The trial court eventually ruled that evidence would be excluded if it showed that defendant had been in prison for a long period of time. In the jury's presence, the prosecutor asked Thompson: Can you tell me simply the year that you met the defendant, Curtis Price? The trial court overruled an objection to this question, thereby indicating that the prosecutor had correctly interpreted its somewhat ambiguous ruling. Contrary to defendant's assertion on appeal, this incident does not show disregard of a court ruling. The evidence against defendant included credit card receipts defendant had signed for gasoline purchases. The license plate number on some of the receipts was for a vehicle then registered to Michelle Scarborough. During cross-examination of Paul Tulleners, defense counsel asked, out of the jury's presence, that the witness be instructed not to refer to a transfer of this vehicle from Scarborough to Tami Shinn in 1985. Tulleners readily agreed. On redirect, the prosecutor asked whether the vehicle had been transferred to Shinn. The trial court sustained an objection to this question. On recross, defense counsel elicited testimony that none of the vehicles shown on the credit card receipts had been registered to Tami Shinn in 1983. On redirect, the prosecutor began to ask a question about selling or transferring vehicles. The court interrupted the question and excused the jury. The court told the prosecutors there had been a ruling forbidding any mention of the transfer to Shinn, and that the prosecutors had twice attempted to violate the ruling. The court cautioned that pretty soon somebody is going to be held in contempt here. This strong action by the trial court succeeded in preventing any further reference to the transfer of ownership. The transfer had little or no relevance to the issues in the case and we conclude that defendant was not prejudiced by this incident. Having reviewed each incident during the lengthy guilt phase that defendant has cited, we do not find that the prosecutors frequently or systematically disregarded trial court rulings. The charge of prejudicial misconduct by violation of trial court rulings is not supported by the record.